New 2025 base

[NVCowboy]

Inside every Raptor is a base yearning to be set free.....
My dealer said he had some 17 inch new black steelies and tires from a Black Diamond I could have when they did the Roush upgrades to one. It is a slippery slope indeed with the mods. -- Ok I'm done again. I think... Is this how crack addicts start?

Well done. I ended up buying a Big Bend SAS versus the Black Diamond that was on order. No regrets, except the BD Steelies. They just spoke to me on a certain level.

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[KevinInChicago]

I tried to add some interior mods, cup holders, and a console phone holder, and the rear cup holder behind the console. I did not like the quality or fit of any of them and sent them all back. I did notice that it seems like every screw you undo is barely tight. Designed that way or what but they were barely tight at all. The door pocket interfered with my left leg and clutch application. The double center phone holder on both sides interfered with my right leg. The rear console cup holder was cheap and did not fit right and the legs that bolted to the console to hold it rubbed hard on the seat when I have it fully back for me. If you put any drink that is a bit taller in the manual console, it interferes with your arm shifting. Not bad, just annoying. Next project is to find a way to stiffen up the rear a bit. Shocks, springs, Sumo Springs, or something. I know softer suspension would help off road, but mine won't see that ever and I won't pretend that it ever will. I just love the stick shift. Looking into the front hood body armor edge to keep some of the bugs and possible rocks off the flat windshield now. Under $100 from Ford so see if I can find that now before a long trip killing a lot of bugs.

 

[KevinInChicago]

I put the bug deflector piece on a few days ago. It seems to work well. Went maybe 200 miles so far and not a single bug smash on the window yet. I did not think such a small little deflector would have that much upside but so far I am impressed. Simple enough to install and less than $100 from Ford parts. Be very careful with the single wipe that is not the alcohol one. It seems to fog up the clear coat immediately upon contact. I would have skipped that part if I had known how harsh it was and just take a chance on just the alcohol wipes being enough to clean the area alone. I had to buff out a small 1/8" strip when I went outside what the deflector would cover to get rid of the haze I made. I did not notice any different wind noise because of it. It matches perfect to the grill and other plastic on the Bronco. Have a long trip soon so I will see if it keeps bugs and rocks clear at higher speeds. Before I killed hundreds of bugs quickly with the flat windshield. On the same sort of topic, I drilled a small hole into the top of the washer fluid lid so the washer fluid would spray. It sealed too tight and kept washer fluid from being able to spray with the pump. Venting made the washer fluid work all the time now and much better. Just a tiny hole is all that was needed.

 

[KevinInChicago]

I took the side steps off that I put on. It took away from "base". Even though the black spokes look good, the steelies are haunting me to put them back on. I just really like the simplicity of the base look. Probably do the base steelies with better tires like Duratrac RT in just a smidge wider by maybe 10mm to square them up a bit, but nothing excessive. I bought a base to be a base look. Simple clean and understated. I see so very few base models staying as a base look making them really rare. I think plain Jane is my goal with my 2 door 7 speed. I did buy some black 17 inch steels from the Black Diamond from model years before. Use the tires off of the 17 inch spoke wheels and that might just keep it base enough in my view with the General Grabber 265-70-17.

 

[UncleBrad]

I took the side steps off that I put on. It took away from "base". Even though the black spokes look good, the steelies are haunting me to put them back on. I just really like the simplicity of the base look. Probably do the base steelies with better tires like Duratrac RT in just a smidge wider by maybe 10mm to square them up a bit, but nothing excessive. I bought a base to be a base look. Simple clean and understated. I see so very few base models staying as a base look making them really rare. I think plain Jane is my goal with my 2 door 7 speed. I did buy some black 17 inch steels from the Black Diamond from model years before. Use the tires off of the 17 inch spoke wheels and that might just keep it base enough in my view with the General Grabber 265-70-17.

Exactly! With a 2-door manual base, what you now have is a unicorn: a quick, tossable, durable full-framed vehicle that is lighter and easy to clean and satisfyingly fun to drive. It has removable top and is is comfortable on long drives. It will still get you through just about anything nature will throw at you on the road or on the farm - all at around 22MPG. With the 16" or 17" tires some good ATs will handle surprisingly well (my Duratrak RT's did unfortunately add some squirm). You can do some reasonable towing if you need to, and by removing the rear seats you have lots of covered room.

These vehicles are already uncommon. All those wonderful classic lines just work with the 2-door. You can feel in the Getrag manual its performance roots. With the ProCal4 tune you really couldn't ask for more power. It's the whole picture; not just the off-road chops.

Everything in life is a compromise. Configured like the base it is, it "checks a lot of boxes" and it looks good doing it!

Finally: getting the base 2-door manual makes you a rebel. All the dudes want to be like you, and all the chicks think they can change you.

 

[bf4445]

Exactly! With a 2-door manual base, what you now have is a unicorn: a quick, tossable, durable full-framed vehicle that is lighter and easy to clean and satisfyingly fun to drive. It has removable top and is is comfortable on long drives. It will still get you through just about anything nature will throw at you on the road or on the farm - all at around 22MPG. With the 16" or 17" tires some good ATs will handle surprisingly well (my Duratrak RT's did unfortunately add some squirm). You can do some reasonable towing if you need to, and by removing the rear seats you have lots of covered room.

These vehicles are already uncommon. All those wonderful classic lines just work with the 2-door. You can feel in the Getrag manual its performance roots. With the ProCal4 tune you really couldn't ask for more power. It's the whole picture; not just the off-road chops.

Everything in life is a compromise. Configured like the base it is, it "checks a lot of boxes" and it looks good doing it!

Finally: getting the base 2-door manual makes you a rebel. All the dudes want to be like you, and all the chicks think they can change you.

Nice clean simple lines with 2dr's is what i like.
I would also want rain sensing wipers and locking differentials with bench seat with drop down arm rest with storage like you can get on f 150 and 250's. Would never drive a car down the road with tires protruding outside the wheel wells throwing rocks and other debris at other motorists. Not into throwing rocks at others.

 

[KevinInChicago]

Katskin black leather with grey stitching with heaters goes into the base next week along with the trailer hitch. I think the steelies need to go back on with just a bit larger tire than stock to keep the original flavor. Added Ford rock rails to cover up the body seam and wire harness on the side. I think the base look is the rarest Bronco look out of all of the models I see on the road. I might see 200 Broncos before I see a base one pass. 2 doors even more rare.

 

[KevinInChicago]

Leather in a Base. I like the contradiction it makes. Katskin install $1600 total. They went up a bunch in the last 5 years but the quality has been top notch on my other vehicles with it. I just got the basic black leather, no options, no perforation, with grey stitching to match the console lid and seat heaters. I had really no complaints with the cloth interior but once I got leather interiors in my vehicles I never went back. Seats are a bit firmer now and made just a tad more leg room somehow.

I guess I have "un-Based" my Base now:
Black diamond spoke wheels (new take off)
Twisted shifter white shift ball
Steeda clutch spring
Ford rock rails
Front mud flaps that insert into the rock rails
Rear Weathertech mud flaps
Auto-Stop Eliminator
Ford hitch
Ford hood deflector
Weathertech mats
Extended shank ball mount to clear past spare for trailers.
Keypad on back of fuel door.
Katskin leather

For a stripped out Base with zero options, it turned out nice. Mine will never see off-road. I just wanted a 2 door stick shift.

 

[UncleBrad]

Love it. Positively perfect. They have a classic, elegant look which just works! Did you cover the rear seats as well, or did you remove them entirely?

 

[jalcruces]

I had an original reservation back in 2021 that I never acted on after all the delays then, so I waited. Just wanted the most basic 2 door manual. The manual was unobtainium in 2023, and then the base was gone for 2024. When the base came back in 2025, and the manual probably had all the bugs out by now, and there was a Marsh Gray that looked like my F-150 Leadfoot I thought, I put my order in. 9 months of waiting and a few delays it was finally built. The base models were to be built last in the yearly run. It arrived this weekend and I picked it up. Yea, looks kind of plain, but the color is cool, a bit of green, some bit of sparkle, and a strange kind of tan that looks good. I don't plan on changing a thing on it, not even tires. Put a Twisted Shifter white ball on the shifter, and probably do the Steeda clutch spring tomorrow and add a keypad, but then I am done.

The gages look a lot better in 2025, all one screen now. Where are the numbers for the needle? It just displays digits in the center.
The tach side of the gages shows what gear you are in in large digital. Wish I could turn that off. I know the gears.
The center screen is huge, even on the base. Has Apple car-play and vehicle hot spot which I was surprised to see on a base.
Headlights are LED and work really well. Those are even standard on the base mode.
This sucker is fast! I did not expect that.
For 2025 they added port injection along with the direct injection so intake valves should be staying clean.
With the stock pizza cutter tires and rims, it is really quiet. Dealer put wheel locks on. Why? I took them off. I will be the one who runs base wheels & tires.
2025 has cruise control which I think was not on the base before in 2021.
Hard top has sound deadener standard.
Dealer said I had the only 2025 stick shift sold. They don't stock any or order any for the lot. I did not drive one and took a chance.
getting 21mpg in all kinds of mixed driving. Has good highway stability which I was surprised being a short wheel base.
I guess it went up about $10,000 over the 2021 same model, but there are a lot of nice improvements since 2021 on the base model now.

So far, I like it a lot. I keep things to 400,000 miles. See if this one holds up to that over time. Wish it was aluminum like the F-150 to avoid rust later on.

Almost same, except I got the Squatch package. I know, I've read a bunch of guys saying that to add the Squatch to a Base is stupid, just buy up, but it's still cheaper than buying up. I used to have the only raised 2dr manual Geo Tracker hard top around. Now I have the only raised 2dr manual Bronco around. They had ZERO manuals at the dealership. They offered me all sorts of discounts for me to get one of their "autos" on the lot. This is the last truck I will ever own and I want what I want. Don't plan on hotdogging it in the dirt, but driving a lot of off road trails and unimproved roads with plenty of rutts, snow, heavy flooding rains, sand beaches,

and what have you. After "retiring" my still wonderful and working Tracker after 30 years, I decided to splurge and get this done. Loving this. It drives just like my Tracker, only smoother. However, my husband has a hard time driving it, lol. It's remarkably quiet, considering all the negativity about noise. The headliner does NOT come standard. It does, however, come with the Sasquatch package. The only thing I don't like about this thing is all of the new technology. Don't need or want any of that! But, it is what it is, and we'll deal with it. We're not going to be around much longer... perhaps by the time any of this stuff breaks down (k.o.w.), it'll be in someone else's hands... Although, things tend to break in new cars within the first 3 yrs.

 

[jalcruces]

BTW, here's my 1995 Geo Tracker from about 10 yrs ago. 205s were stock, bought it with 225s, raised it and put on 31" tires. (15" wheels). 31s were the largest it could take due to the wheel well without more alterations. I like my trucks, and I like them rough and tumble!!

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[UncleBrad]

Almost same, except I got the Squatch package. I know, I've read a bunch of guys saying that to add the Squatch to a Base is stupid, just buy up, but it's still cheaper than buying up. I used to have the only raised 2dr manual Geo Tracker hard top around. Now I have the only raised 2dr manual Bronco around. They had ZERO manuals at the dealership. They offered me all sorts of discounts for me to get one of their "autos" on the lot. This is the last truck I will ever own and I want what I want. Don't plan on hotdogging it in the dirt, but driving a lot of off road trails and unimproved roads with plenty of rutts, snow, heavy flooding rains, sand beaches,

and what have you. After "retiring" my still wonderful and working Tracker after 30 years, I decided to splurge and get this done. Loving this. It drives just like my Tracker, only smoother. However, my husband has a hard time driving it, lol. It's remarkably quiet, considering all the negativity about noise. The headliner does NOT come standard. It does, however, come with the Sasquatch package. The only thing I don't like about this thing is all of the new technology. Don't need or want any of that! But, it is what it is, and we'll deal with it. We're not going to be around much longer... perhaps by the time any of this stuff breaks down (k.o.w.), it'll be in someone else's hands... Although, things tend to break in new cars within the first 3 yrs.

Preach it! 100% with you.

 

[KevinInChicago]

Here is how the rear turned out with Katskin on my Base. Before with cloth and after. It really smells good inside right now.

 

[KevinInChicago]

I love the look of that Sasquatch Marsh Gray 2 door. I thought about changing mine to Sasquatch when I could but it was I think almost $9k more and this was just a toy to play with. The lockers and shocks and larger wheels and heavier suspension parts and stronger front differential would have been nice, but mine is staying on the road and it would just be for looks so I just ordered the cheapest 2 door I could possibly order. It is a slippery slope. Well if I get Sasquatch, then maybe move up to Badlands with Black Diamond, and this and that and next thing you know the vehicle doubles in price. The dealer was trying to talk me into getting some additions on the order but I held firm. They later ordered 2 more like mine in white and green but 10 speeds. I think my dealer only sold 2 manuals in 2025 models of which mine was one and a 4 door badlands loaded up was another in the bright blue with every option. Happy knowing mine is super rare in the end but I really just ordered mine to play with the manual like in my youth again. The muscle memory was still there without even thinking about it. Wish I could turn off the auto throttle in 1st gear since I can do better than the computer can. Might eventually go back to steelies stockers and have stripper on the outside and luxury on the inside vibe since nobody seems to run stock steelies very long and I rarely see any on the road.

 

[adamruiz2001]

The gages look a lot better in 2025, all one screen now. Where are the numbers for the needle? It just displays digits in the center.

Do you have a picture of the new Gauge cluster? If it is the new all digital cluster, I need to find out if it is possible to put that in my 22 WT ASAP!!!

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