A long wait to end in disappointment (Today I saw the Bronco Sport I ordered)

onthetrail

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First things first: I have owned a Bronco II (from approx. 1993 to 2000), Escape (2001 to 2009), and Escape Hybrid (2010-current). I have been waiting for another boxy SUV and was so excited to see the Bronco Sport (Baby Bronco, Bronco II, Bronco Jr., etc.) get announced this summer. After all these months of waiting (July to January), I will now be walking away from the vehicle and not finalizing the purchase. Very, very disappointed.

It took me 3 hours to get an online reservation for a Ford Bronco Sport First Edition. Later that week, my local Ford dealership submitted my order without my permission. I needed to finalize some of my specifications before I was going to place the order. Ultimately I ended up paying to reserve the orange one I wanted, but the reservation they had already submitted for an Area51 was also in my name. I've been getting emails about the progress of the orange one and Area51 one. The orange one made it to the dealership Christmas week. They were really antsy about getting me over there, but I delayed going through the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Today when I saw the car for the first time in person, my first reaction was - it's yellow! The "cyber orange" was yellow-orange. Yellow. The Ford employee assisting me said that others had made the same comment. I was a bit aghast having paid a premium$ for orange. I walked around opening and closing doors, the back window and hatch, and checking out the seats, etc. Even before taking it for a test drive, I had run into two main showstoppers for me: low towing capacity (not available at time of reservation, can't remember about order timing) and second row of seats don't fold flat (they are more ramp like, sloping up toward the front of the car). There are certainly interesting and thoughtful updates. But there are also other smaller, odd things that were turnoffs such as an annoying sounding turn signal and tiny rear windshield wiper. The dealership employee helping me basically replied to each of the unexpected and disappointing things I noted about my vehicle had also been said by others who looked at it. And that they had had others cancel their purchases after seeing the vehicle in person.

I was so looking forward to the advertised Bronco Sport, only to find that the vehicle I wanted to buy doesn't exist.
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Bdub

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@onthetrail sorry to hear the dealership screwed up with the color. Did you ask them if they could transfer a BL+BL in Area 51 to them in exchange for the FE? If you're not sticking with the Sport, what other vehicles will you be evaluating?
 
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onthetrail

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@onthetrail sorry to hear the dealership screwed up with the color. Did you ask them if they could transfer a BL+BL in Area 51 to them in exchange for the FE? If you're not sticking with the Sport, what other vehicles will you be evaluating?
@Bdub The dealership didn't just screw up the color, they used my name and reservation without my permission (seemingly to meet some quota or goal). They "fixed" that by making another order with my permission with the specs I wanted. It was sketchy to me that they used my reservation (personal information and reservation I'd spent 3 hours getting) without my permission. I found out because I got an email that said congrats on your order, when I knew I hadn't ordered yet. That being said, the orange that I ordered and saw yesterday wasn't any kind of true orange. After I got home I googled around and found other discussions about the "orange" being much more yellow than anticipated.

The salesperson said that if I wanted a Bronco Sport, that it didn't have to be the orange (yellow) one I ordered. However, even with a change in color and/or edition, there would still be the not-flat when folded second row (also confirmed online at various sites) and the towing capacity - only up to 2,205 lbs. I am disappointed in such a low towing capacity - a Mini Cooper Countryman can tow up to 2,425 lbs, and even the current Escape can tow up to 3,500 lbs.

I'm not sticking with the Sport. I'm going to officially release it on Monday. As for what next, I'm drawn toward boxy SUVs (Bronco II, pre-2013 Escape, pre-2013 Escape Hybrid), not those oval rounded things they call SUVs. I'm looking for something that can tow a camper trailer like this (https://www.sylvansport.com/shop/vast-adventure-travel-trailer/). The Vast weighs 2,500 lbs and can be loaded with another 500 lbs of food, gear, supplies. That's just an example, there are other trailer models that contain a toilet and interior shower and are definitely more than 2,205 lbs before adding supplies. I want to be able to tow and still have good onroad and offroad capabilities. Last night I googled around for boxy SUVs and more. I watched youtube side-by-side comparisons, etc. I'm open to suggestions. The 2022 (to be released later this year) Bremach Taos caught my eye. I may go test drive a 4Runner or Defender. I hear that Jeeps are noisy for onroad travels.

I guess I'm more expansive than concise. :)
 

OffTheGrid

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Ok thanks, we’ll let Ford know that you and others are cancelling your purchases after seeing the vehicle in person. ?
Its a chat room people are supposed to discuss the topic that is the Bronco Sport.

Guess it didnt occur to you...keep defending its just a topic their not attacking you personally, relax
COOL DOWN
#essentialDefenderofinsults
 
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Dave B

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Im sure they’ll sell it to someone else. Interesting how people talk themselves out of something.
 

magicbus

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I was concerned about the seats not folding flat enough for our dogs. When we first saw an OB my wife goes “I don’t think that’s flat enough”. We then looked at the BL, which is what we ordered, the seats folded noticeably flatter. My thought is the different rear seat, which is not a bench in the BL.

@essentialemployee, at what level is your contact at Ford that you are sharing this kind of information?
 

olly12

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I was concerned about the seats not folding flat enough for our dogs. When we first saw an OB my wife goes “I don’t think that’s flat enough”. We then looked at the BL, which is what we ordered, the seats folded noticeably flatter. My thought is the different rear seat, which is not a bench in the BL.

@essentialemployee, at what level is your contact at Ford that you are sharing this kind of information?
To be clear, I don't think the difference is rear seats b/w OB and BL. On BL (and those with tow package), there is a full size spare and the cargo area deck is raised up by small amount. This lines it up more with height of rear seats and makes it look more flat.

Floor Height with donut spare
https://accessories.ford.com/liner-luggage-compartment-12875.html#2021/Bronco Sport

Floor Height with full size spare
https://accessories.ford.com/liner-luggage-compartment-12876.html#2021/Bronco Sport
 

magicbus

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I do have a decent level of contacts at Ford. I’ll share them below:

Ford Bronco Sport A long wait to end in disappointment (Today I saw the Bronco Sport I ordered) 79F4EC55-7620-49CF-A9D9-33677B159006

Ford Bronco Sport A long wait to end in disappointment (Today I saw the Bronco Sport I ordered) 263189E7-F480-4713-84D7-88457E6461CA

Some people believe ford customer service is the bronco sport forum or that it’s a complaint box.

My understanding is that not everyone has access to these contacts (guess I have a higher clearance level at Ford.com) or else they would be using them.. so I share their issues with my contacts
Looks just like the Contact Us page I get but it never would have occurred to me to contact them with other people’s complaints.
 


magicbus

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...So in this case I’m waiting for ford to get back to me one they have corrected the annoying sounding turn signals, the seats folding into a ramp, the tiny windshield, and the cyber orange yellow to cyber orange orange.
I’m sure they appreciate the input on those issues and I’ll watch for Ford to fix them in the 2024 model year! :)
 

Zolutar

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Sure there's some little annoyances, but to me, this was a case of making a reservation without getting all the facts and knowledge in before actually placing the order.

Cyber Orage? all the preliminary images and preproduction units showed the color well, and even comments of "it's yellow" were around then. Towing capacity? well, its a CUV and expecting more than 2500lbs of towing was a stretch, I also believe there were early indications with towing capacity compared to the platform shared Escape. While the 1.5L was the same at 2000lbs, the 2L's was disappointing, coming in at 2200lbs vs the 2020 Escape 2L's 3500lbs. The engines being the same, but the locking rear differential I think was the killer of the towing capacity. I am no engineer, but I think I can understand why this nerfed the towing capacity.

Some of the other things I think are just nitpicks with the signal indicator, and tiny wipers. but they do the job. All in all though, its a solid CUV, and in a world of bubble cars, it stands out.

But hey, its not for everyone, and I get that. My wife's first car was a Bronco II, and she loves boxy as well. And I will admit, there's a few things I am not crazy about my OB compared to my Escape, but it goes the other way as well. But we love our Bronco Sport, and hope you find what you're looking for. See ya OP.
 

fourthgear

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Just an observation , my OB when installing the rubber mats on the rear seats ( they were wrapped in plastic in the cargo area ) the rear seats would not go down all the because the Head Rests were hitting the back of the Front Seats , because of the angle of the Backs , I moved the front Seats up a little & the Rear backs laid right down flat & the Front seats were able to move back in to their original position we had them in .
 

Freeskierdude

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Just an observation , my OB when installing the rubber mats on the rear seats ( they were wrapped in plastic in the cargo area ) the rear seats would not go down all the because the Head Rests were hitting the back of the Front Seats , because of the angle of the Backs , I moved the front Seats up a little & the Rear backs laid right down flat & the Front seats were able to move back in to their original position we had them in .
there is a button on each of the headrests in the back seat that tilt them forward 90 degrees so you don't have to ajust the front seats. :) let me know when you get it
 

Osco

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I can see where towing capacity would be a deal breaker for some but i would have known that long before placing an order if that spec meant something to me.
I cannot fathom someone ordering a vehicle without knowing anything about its design and capabilities.
As for the other things you didn't like,
A small rear wiper, really ? My tiny wiper works just fine, It lets me see just fine.
Oh wait I got mine for one reason and one reason only,
I liked it.
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