My Wife and I Drove, Yesterday, Into the Darkest Depths of Hell, to test drive a Bronco…

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

…also known as the Bay Area. The destination there, not far from Than Fwanthithco, was a Ford dealership that has an exceptionally good reputation.

There, for the first time, I got to see some new 6th-generation Ford Broncos, and to test drive one. I went into this with very high, possibly unrealistic expectations; a good way top set myself up for disappointment when what I finally get to see doesn't rise to those expectations.

For months, now, I've been convinced that what I want to spend a good chunk of my recent inheritance on is a new vehicle, more suitable to my current profession than the 2016 Dodge Dart that I am currently driving. I've become rather fixated on the new Ford Bronco, and as I look at other possible candidate vehicles, “on paper”, I keep coming back to the Bronco as looking like the best choice for me.

Now, having finally seen several in real life, and having test-driven one of them and examined it in detail, I can say that it has totally, utterly failed to disappoint me. It seems to be everything I expected of it, and better.

I now have my order in, and am waiting at the back of a long line, for a 2022 4-door Bronco Badlands. I wanted the hard top, but the dealer estimate that settling for the soft top would cut my wait time by about half a year, and after my test drive, I've decided I can live with the soft top until a hard top becomes available much later to install in its place. Perhaps, by then, the aftermarket may even come out with something better and/or less expensive than the version that Ford is struggling so much to get to market.

This link leads to the build that I ordered.

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Congrats, man. Ordering a brand new vehicle is exciting. If you're an off-roader, I think it's a perfect build. I really dig them, and I'm a Jeep guy. The Badlands package you got is probably pretty close to the setup on my '99 XJ. Solid axle, front/rear lockers, center diff lock. Mine has a '6 suspension lift, 35' tires, custom aftermarket fenders & front/rear bumper with winch, rock sliders, overlander roof rack, LED spotlights everywhere. I even upgraded the original 1999 Daimler-Chrysler head unit (with a cassette player) with a 9' aftermarket HD touch screen that required me to hack the dash apart to make it look as close to factory as I could. It's the perfect build for the terrain I regularly use it for, which is far from urban, but it is also comfortable at highway speed.

Whereas I had to spend close to 15-20k over many years of blood, sweat and tears to install and dial in my aftermarket upgrades, yours now come from the factory. Ford has really stepped it up in this arena with the Bronco as well as the F-line trucks. I think the new Bronco is super cool, and shows how far the new car build tech process has come when it comes to off-roaders. The aftermarket is a true player in the average consumer build now, and I think that rocks. I've seen Broncos right out of the showroom, that are indistinguishable from aftermarket builds.

So, once again, congratulations! Enjoy your new ride.