More Initial Impressions with slightly different perspective

[jaruss01]

This has been my confusion since last summer. This thing is nearly identical to a Wrangler, especially sitting in the cabin. Ford was very clear this is a wrangler competitor. Yet people call this a full size, and claim it is close to the size of FSB, which is comical. The published dimensions didn't help, when people don't realize they included the ridiculously wide squatch flares and 35" spare tire hanging off the ass. It has an awesome stance, looks great, but I think alot of people with these expectations will be disappointed when they finally sit in one and the adrenaline wears off. (I'm looking at you guys with plans of 2 car seats in the back )

Very true. A big surprise to many.

This will be a tight fit for my family. But I’m prepared for that and currently making due with the outback. But not by much. We will probably outgrow it and demote it to the weekender/toy. Although you could always stuff a good bit under the rear seats and stack the trunk pretty high (the backseats are taller than the tailgate). But yeah, this is no explorer

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[Gamecock]

This has been my confusion since last summer. This thing is nearly identical to a Wrangler, especially sitting in the cabin. Ford was very clear this is a wrangler competitor. Yet people call this a full size, and claim it is close to the size of FSB, which is comical. The published dimensions didn't help, when people don't realize they included the ridiculously wide squatch flares and 35" spare tire hanging off the ass. It has an awesome stance, looks great, but I think alot of people with these expectations will be disappointed when they finally sit in one and the adrenaline wears off. (I'm looking at you guys with plans of 2 car seats in the back )

Yeah, nothing about it is F-150ish...if you want a good comparison size wise, look at the millions of Wranglers on the road. Pick out one of the hundreds of thousands with bigger tires if you want to look at a wide stance. These things aren't huge by any measure. They look bigger and more imposing than a Wrangler due to the lines, but it's in that ballpark and that is the best (only) comparison to an existing vehicle that makes any sense from an external standpoint. If you want a cabin comparison, it's a little roomier than a Wrangler up front...this thing is extremely well balanced as far as size and proportion.

 

[Boxer4]

Thank you for the write-up, great to have different perspectives.

What has hit me, over and over, people have commented how cheap the interior feels, this is really feeling like a Ford fail trying to save a few bucks.

Does anyone think we may see an improved interior in a refresh, MY23, MY24, MY25, etc.?

Hope not- Glad to see an old school utilitarian truck interior with power windows and air.

 

[swooshdave]

I'm not impressed with the interior on our Mustang. Some parts are ok, others are . I expect a little better from the Bronco. I'm prepared to be underwhelmed from Ford again.

As for "full size" that comment comes about because of the Sport not because of the actual size class.

 

[Gamecock]

Hope not- Glad to see an old school utilitarian truck interior with power windows and air.

Yeah, I would rather have durable and as water resistent as possible than "nicer". The utilitarian look fits the truck...my wife drives an Escalade if I want fancy. I don't with this, I want durable and a look that fits in with an off road utility vehicle.

 

[North7]

Hope not- Glad to see an old school utilitarian truck interior with power windows and air.

Yeah, I would rather have durable and as water resistent as possible than "nicer". The utilitarian look fits the truck...my wife drives an Escalade if I want fancy. I don't with this, I want durable and a look that fits in with an off road utility vehicle.

I think you misunderstood me, I'm not talking about the great "utilitarian truck interior" needing to be any nicer, I'm speaking about higher quality, more durable MATERIALS, plastics, leather and cloth. Many of us want our "old school" style Bronco to last 10 to 20 years, cheap MATERIALS will crack, sag and tear in that time frame.

 

[Gamecock]

I think you misunderstood me, I'm not talking about the great "utilitarian truck interior" needing to be any nicer, I'm speaking about higher quality, more durable MATERIALS, plastics, leather and cloth. Many of us want our "old school" style Bronco to last 10 to 20 years, cheap MATERIALS will crack, sag and tear in that time frame.

I'm with you there. I didn't get the impression that anything felt cheap yesterday, in that it wasn't durable. In fairness I was a little pumped about the overall impression when I was sitting in them and didn't dig in as much as I could have to the materials. Saw nothing cheap though inside. Not fancy though.

 

[broadicustomworks]

I think you misunderstood me, I'm not talking about the great "utilitarian truck interior" needing to be any nicer, I'm speaking about higher quality, more durable MATERIALS, plastics, leather and cloth. Many of us want our "old school" style Bronco to last 10 to 20 years, cheap MATERIALS will crack, sag and tear in that time frame.

I agree.
Plus I do not feel this is Ford-specific on the quality/durability factor.
I've owned several vehicles in my life and have experienced good and bad from most all brands.
As far as fit and finish/quality I'd have to say the best overall feel has come from my Acura. It feels more substantial (as far as fit and finish/gaps/fitment), wind noise is very noticeably less.

However, strictly speaking about interior stuff on vehicles I've owned in the last 15 years or so:
-Acura dash has a million cracks in it, the seats disintegrated and I replaced them.
-Chevys I have owned from 09 models up to 2019: 09 was horrible. Cheap, thin plastics used, faux chrome peeling off of inside door handles and slicing your fingers. very noticeable wear on the steering wheel and shift knob, door panels after about 2 years. '19 so far seems considerably better but the faux chrome on the door handles and vents might be an issue.
-Fords I have owned from 03 F250 and a few 04-06 Expeditions and Mercury Mountaineers. Interior was better than Chevy. Dashes all remained looking good. As with the Chevy the faux chrome stuff tarnished easily and quickly, but never peeled. the tan was a nightmare to keep clean. Noticeable wear on steering wheel and seat leather once it started, quickly failed miserably.
-Toyota Camry- Don't get me started on the interior crap and sticky, shiny dash. Total fail.
-Nissan Frontier (04)- Surprisingly good interior fit and finish. Cheaper looking plastic gauge cluster. at 6k miles I found a mysterious bolt in my driver side footwell, never found where it came from. Excellent solid vehicle, great in sand, horrible gas mileage for a V6.

All that long post summed up:
I think all manufacturers have been going to cheaper plastics and less substantial materials overall since what feel like '97 on. And it got progressively worse in the 00's.
I am hoping all of the griping people have done has steered them towards making some improvements.
I mean, the ride and cabin feel of my '19 Silverado vs my 03 F250 is night and day better.
As it should be.
Prices have went up by crazy amounts on new vehicles in the last 20 years.
With that added cost should come some better quality products that are able to last a good 10-15 years/couple hundred K miles. In my opinion.

 

[FstFrd00]

Noticing your cup holder photo - does it have inserts that can be removed for cleaning? With the textured bottom, they will become filth magnets unless the insert can be removed and washed.

It looks that way, the tab on the "right" cupholder is usually a tell-tale sign

 

[broadicustomworks]

And as a comparison:
I have seen the MGV interior in person, felt the seats, took a good hard look at the High pkg dash layout with the large screen.
What I see from that perspective (not having actually sat in the seat yet, only felt and squeezed the material) is that it fits the ruggedness of the vehicle (as long as the electronics are reasonably water-resistant) and had a much richer, full look to it vs. Wrangler.
I mean, initial perception is I am impressed.
We shall see how it weathers time and well, weather.

 

[DeltaBravo]

Reason 742 why the 2 door is better. Less large.

 

[_finack]

I also made it to a dealer to see the two 4 doors. Overall, it’s very cool. I wish they had a 2-door there, but alas... I had some different impressions than others I’ve read. The interior doesn’t feel very big to me. Not really much bigger than our JLU. But the exterior feels enormous. It’s kind of the opposite of what I expected. My take:

Good things:

• exterior design looks even better in person. It really is sweet.
• The lack of a center bar makes the open top experience really cool (especially sitting in back)
• Shifter on manual feels really nice
• Seats felt pretty comfy
• Some cool details on the high trims (like power on the dash)
• Soft top design is really good

Not so good:

• I’m not wild about how big it feels (like it might not go some places a Jeep would go)
• Interior materials did not impress me generally (I think our Jeep’s interior is nicer)
• Specifically, MGV felt much cheaper to me than I expected
• “Leather” wrapped steering wheel feels super cheap, like not even good pleather.
• Just does not feel like a $50k vehicle (and the two there were probably that or more)

I took a few pics of things I didn’t remember seeing pics of like the power outlet and accessory mount on the dash and the inductive phone charger. The dealership was super nice and the Bronco is definitely a cool vehicle. Seeing these reaffirmed that for me, the base Squatch is the way to go (someday when manual is available). I liked both colors. I think I’m leaning iconic silver for a base and it was nice. The AMB looked great too, better than I expected.

I agree about the interior materials. I was very disappointed in them. I am coming from a Lincoln MKZ so I wasn't expecting parity, but it was not good. The center console especially seemed incredibly cheap.

 

[ZackDanger]

I agree.
Plus I do not feel this is Ford-specific on the quality/durability factor.
I've owned several vehicles in my life and have experienced good and bad from most all brands.
As far as fit and finish/quality I'd have to say the best overall feel has come from my Acura. It feels more substantial (as far as fit and finish/gaps/fitment), wind noise is very noticeably less.

However, strictly speaking about interior stuff on vehicles I've owned in the last 15 years or so:
-Acura dash has a million cracks in it, the seats disintegrated and I replaced them.
-Chevys I have owned from 09 models up to 2019: 09 was horrible. Cheap, thin plastics used, faux chrome peeling off of inside door handles and slicing your fingers. very noticeable wear on the steering wheel and shift knob, door panels after about 2 years. '19 so far seems considerably better but the faux chrome on the door handles and vents might be an issue.
-Fords I have owned from 03 F250 and a few 04-06 Expeditions and Mercury Mountaineers. Interior was better than Chevy. Dashes all remained looking good. As with the Chevy the faux chrome stuff tarnished easily and quickly, but never peeled. the tan was a nightmare to keep clean. Noticeable wear on steering wheel and seat leather once it started, quickly failed miserably.
-Toyota Camry- Don't get me started on the interior crap and sticky, shiny dash. Total fail.
-Nissan Frontier (04)- Surprisingly good interior fit and finish. Cheaper looking plastic gauge cluster. at 6k miles I found a mysterious bolt in my driver side footwell, never found where it came from. Excellent solid vehicle, great in sand, horrible gas mileage for a V6.

All that long post summed up:
I think all manufacturers have been going to cheaper plastics and less substantial materials overall since what feel like '97 on. And it got progressively worse in the 00's.
I am hoping all of the griping people have done has steered them towards making some improvements.
I mean, the ride and cabin feel of my '19 Silverado vs my 03 F250 is night and day better.
As it should be.
Prices have went up by crazy amounts on new vehicles in the last 20 years.
With that added cost should come some better quality products that are able to last a good 10-15 years/couple hundred K miles. In my opinion.

I think there's also a funny thing happening in the last few decades where material science has progressed drastically, and the result is that things feel cheaper.

Plastics have come such a long way that a thinner plastic (less material, less weight, less cost) is just as, if not more durable, than the materials that were previously used.

The result is that interiors are holding up just as good, if not better... but our perception is that things are getting "cheaper" (perhaps in a way they are, but not in the sense that we are talking about here).

You can see this in the science of the door "clunk." Modern materials and better design means that car doors can be lighter and stronger, providing more protection to the occupants. The down side is that these doors feel "cheaper" to people... as we have an association of weight to protection and quality.

Vehicle engineers end up creating an amazing door... and then working to find ways to make them feel and sound heavier just so we perceive the quality accurately.



But of course, this starts getting into philosophical "if a tree falls in the woods" conversations.

Even if the interiors are far superior and of high quality... if we don't perceive them to be, are they really?

 

[Ksjrb03]

I can speak on the plastics used. They are the same as what has been used in the F series for years. Same material and thickness. The look might not scream luxury as some of the top tier F series trucks, but it is the same material. It will not crack or discolor for many many years. They are not cheap plastics by any means, the most expensive on the market actually. The amount of plastic used, and the finished appearance are one thing, but don't worry about the quality, Ford did not cheap out as they could have here.

 

[BEM-S4]

Steering wheel is a very easy fix, not expensive to have it recovered.

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