Totally makes sense, and this is exactly what test drives are for. Glad OP got the chance to check one out in detail before purchasing.
Coming from a 2019 JL (also having owned a 2015 Taco and 2018 4Runner), I’m surprised to say that I agree that some of the materials on the interior are subpar compared to the competition. However, the technology is significantly better in my opinion, and the touch points themselves (seats, steering wheel, shifter, arm rests) aren’t noticeably worse (with the exception of the center console lid; it feels really cheap to me, needs more padding and a more solid connection with the base when closed; applying any weight, you can feel the padding bottom out and the lid move too much relative to the base). The rest of the dash that you don’t regularly touch, though, feels not great or actively terrible when you do.
And let’s leave the MIC quality out of this post, though I’ll note that my issues with mine are purely cosmetic at this point and I plan on switching to a good aftermarket soft top when one is available; this is a convertible after all and if you don’t take advantage of that, you’re making a lot of NVH compromises for no gain.
Otherwise, everything matches or far exceeds the competitive vehicles that I’ve owned. Handling, transmission smoothness, engine power (I’m not worried about the 0 or 5 to 30+, my 4Runner, taco, and JLU all sucked off the line and I had no expectations otherwise), lighting, visibility, features, HVAC effectiveness, safety ratings (likely), interior space, cosmetic looks, etc.
That being said, this is a vehicle with compromise, as all are. People who are expecting the NVH, safety, handling, performance, and efficiency characteristics of a unibody crossover or car or even some more finessed BoF SUVs like Tahoe and don’t actually take advantage from any of the specialized capabilities of this vehicle (like it’s off-road capability, or convertible capability) but buy it anyway for looks or cool factor will not only be disappointed but will actually be paying the price on a daily basis a la worse fuel efficiency, worse NVH, worse safety, worse handling, maybe worse performance.
The point is, different needs fit different options more and less appropriately. It’s a great idea to gut check and think hard about and/or spend some time in one of these before making the leap.
Edit: Oh yeah, the Bronco’s implementation of the frameless window drop absolutely blows compared to the other vehicles I’ve owned with frameless windows (2 Tesla’s, 2 BMWs). On those, the window drops far enough and fast enough when you open the door to clear the weather stripping and metal borders completely as the door opens, resulting in no boingy boingy of the window. One of my Bronco windows actually makes a boingy boingy sound as it bounces back and forth when opening the door, but the rest just do it mostly silently with no sound effects.
Coming from a 2019 JL (also having owned a 2015 Taco and 2018 4Runner), I’m surprised to say that I agree that some of the materials on the interior are subpar compared to the competition. However, the technology is significantly better in my opinion, and the touch points themselves (seats, steering wheel, shifter, arm rests) aren’t noticeably worse (with the exception of the center console lid; it feels really cheap to me, needs more padding and a more solid connection with the base when closed; applying any weight, you can feel the padding bottom out and the lid move too much relative to the base). The rest of the dash that you don’t regularly touch, though, feels not great or actively terrible when you do.
And let’s leave the MIC quality out of this post, though I’ll note that my issues with mine are purely cosmetic at this point and I plan on switching to a good aftermarket soft top when one is available; this is a convertible after all and if you don’t take advantage of that, you’re making a lot of NVH compromises for no gain.
Otherwise, everything matches or far exceeds the competitive vehicles that I’ve owned. Handling, transmission smoothness, engine power (I’m not worried about the 0 or 5 to 30+, my 4Runner, taco, and JLU all sucked off the line and I had no expectations otherwise), lighting, visibility, features, HVAC effectiveness, safety ratings (likely), interior space, cosmetic looks, etc.
That being said, this is a vehicle with compromise, as all are. People who are expecting the NVH, safety, handling, performance, and efficiency characteristics of a unibody crossover or car or even some more finessed BoF SUVs like Tahoe and don’t actually take advantage from any of the specialized capabilities of this vehicle (like it’s off-road capability, or convertible capability) but buy it anyway for looks or cool factor will not only be disappointed but will actually be paying the price on a daily basis a la worse fuel efficiency, worse NVH, worse safety, worse handling, maybe worse performance.
The point is, different needs fit different options more and less appropriately. It’s a great idea to gut check and think hard about and/or spend some time in one of these before making the leap.
Edit: Oh yeah, the Bronco’s implementation of the frameless window drop absolutely blows compared to the other vehicles I’ve owned with frameless windows (2 Tesla’s, 2 BMWs). On those, the window drops far enough and fast enough when you open the door to clear the weather stripping and metal borders completely as the door opens, resulting in no boingy boingy of the window. One of my Bronco windows actually makes a boingy boingy sound as it bounces back and forth when opening the door, but the rest just do it mostly silently with no sound effects.
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