Approaching 1,000 miles. My thoughts on this Baby Bronc

[BamaBronco]

Can you change goat modes while the vehicle is moving? The manual doesn't say, and my salesperson hesitated before he said yes.

I did the other day on a trail. Swapped from Slippery back to Normal on-the-fly. I tried finding information where it explicitly says that in the owner's manual, but did not. If you have a BL (I have a BB), it does say in the owner's manual that you can select '4WD Lock' on-the-fly and in some cases depending on which G.O.A.T mode you select, it automatically selects 4WD Lock for you. So with all that being said, to answer your question: yes, I think so. It certainly didn't hurt mine when I did it.

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[Cabezone]

The only difference to the AWD system in the base and the BL is the locking rear and those two other select modes. They should otherwise perform the same. It's the same system that's in the newer Jeep Compass and Renegade.

You can definitely change the settings on the fly, it's just a software change.

 

[Ponyrider]

I did the other day on a trail. Swapped from Slippery back to Normal on-the-fly. I tried finding information where it explicitly says that in the owner's manual, but did not. If you have a BL (I have a BB), it does say in the owner's manual that you can select '4WD Lock' on-the-fly and in some cases depending on which G.O.A.T mode you select, it automatically selects 4WD Lock for you. So with all that being said, to answer your question: yes, I think so. It certainly didn't hurt mine when I did it.

Thank you! I have an OB.

 

[Osco]

Can you change goat modes while the vehicle is moving? The manual doesn't say, and my salesperson hesitated before he said yes.

Roger that,

Rolling along in "Normal" and I see a set of curves or a steep climb, I flick it Into 'Sport". That mode steps up things very well Indeed.

Sport Is the best mode when the need arises to, "Stir the Gearbox"

Watch the Indicator light when you click it in a mode, It blinks once then that mode activates.
I hesitate throttling up until the selective mode Is active.

But I cannot bring myself to hit the Low button In the middle of the gear shifter while I'm moving In anything but 1st or 2nd gear. Not that It would hurt anything as I did do It one time while descending at 65 mph while I was picking up speed really fast.
It down shifted smoothly a gear or two and the Tach moved to 5900 rpms. I just didn't like that.
Besides Brakes are cheaper so I won't use low like that.

 

[Osco]

I should have clarified. What i really meant is that the 4wd system responds really fast on the lower trims, I bet

I got Into that aspect once when I was about to buy a Grand Cherokee. It was a 2014 model.
When the system detected a tire slipping It activated 4x4 operation before the slipping tire could slip for one quarter of a tire rotation.
That Is fast,
That was 2014 Tech !
Things are even better now. As for faster ? I have no Idea but that Grand Cherokee did not slip at all on my very steep loose gravel roads Nor does my B Sport Base model.

 

[Ponyrider]

Roger that,

Rolling along in "Normal" and I see a set of curves or a steep climb, I flick it Into 'Sport". That mode steps up things very well Indeed.

Sport Is the best mode when the need arises to, "Stir the Gearbox"

Watch the Indicator light when you click it in a mode, It blinks once then that mode activates.
I hesitate throttling up until the selective mode Is active.

But I cannot bring myself to hit the Low button In the middle of the gear shifter while I'm moving In anything but 1st or 2nd gear. Not that It would hurt anything as I did do It one time while descending at 65 mph while I was picking up speed really fast.
It down shifted smoothly a gear or two and the Tach moved to 5900 rpms. I just didn't like that.
Besides Brakes are cheaper so I won't use low like that.

Thank you! I've only had my OB for 2 days. I have lots to learn.

 

[Scott@907]

Thanks for the writeup. I have a few more miles than you but I absolutely love mine as well.

A few questions:
Do you ever have to use slippery or sand modes when going up the gravel incline? How steep is the incline? Is it loose or packed gravel?

Really just interested in the off-road capabilities of any trim other than a BL or FE (even though most gravel roads aren't really "off-road" ). I'm looking forward to testing my BB a little at some point to see what it can do.

We have 500ish miles on our OB and love it. Since it’s winter in Alaska we have used the slippery mode some, I can tell the difference between normal and slippery. It seems to work the traction between the wells really good and the throttle response seems to
Help also.

 

[5Dogs]

Can you change goat modes while the vehicle is moving? The manual doesn't say, and my salesperson hesitated before he said yes.

Wondering this myself...

 

[Osco]

Wondering this myself...

Yes you can !

 

[fourthgear]

Had our OB model in fairly deep sand in sand mode & low , was on the beach in the 4x4 only section , Had no issues with going through loose sand , was high centering in the deep ruts made by many trucks ( I could clearly see the drag marks from the bottom of the BS )& this with the std all season Michelin tires . I also purposely drove out of the ruts to see how it would work , hardly slowed the BS down , worked great , not as good as my Super Duty , but I will not hesitate to go back on the beach with the BS or worry about the Wife doing so .

Found that Sport mode will not shut engine down at red lights , not sure about sport or slippery modes yet .

 

[Osco]

I've passed 1500 miles now so I Goated up sport mode and got on it.
Not WOT but spun up the revs smoothly and got to 90 mph with no drama.
I will say the engine was busy giving me what I wanted.
Handling was great.
The 1.5 had a little more to give but I didn't ask.
At 90 areodynamics was the thing, lots of frontal area and a flat verticle back end making quite the vacume.
I topped this off with some serious braking. My base model remaind very well composed but during hard hi speed braking you better do your part, both hands on the wheel.
I'll never know if it goes any faster and will most likely never cross 75 mpg again.
you did a good job Ford :'P

 

[Osco]

My still unanswered question is, "Does cylinder deactivation only happens in Eco mode?"

And still unanswered for me also....
Any takers ?

 

[Osco]

At 2,975 miles today, purchased off the lot on Dec 19 2020. Been on mid grade fuel (89 octane) for more than two tank now.
The engine is subliminally smoother it seems. I will admit it could be an engine that's breaking in more and more, or warmer weather, or both.
Or I could be imagining it.
My mpg average has moved from 26.1 on 87 octane to 26.8 with the 89 octane,
BUT !
It is warmer so I've lowered my dailey remote start warm ups to five minutes from fifteen, often getting in and driving off in three or four minutes.
Eco mode still makes my engine feel anemic, like it needs a tune up but in normal mode things feel,,,,,, different, sort of, I think, maybe.
I'll stay on mid grade fuel till summer and see what a longer term avg/mpg may be.
As the weather highs move from 40 to 60 to 70 I've let my tire pressure down still aiming for 33 psi cold. This is a must people, don't forget this.
Oil life is down to 65% @ 2975 miles so you can judge that for yourself, still on the factory oil load. Oil on the dipstick is about 10% down from the max fill line showing me a perfectly oil tight motor that's breaking in properly.
The transmission is unchanged, just as quick shifting as the day I got it. I'll never like these no dipstick in the tranny configs as I liked to watch my fluid darken and change it while it still looked and smelled right.
How many of you old guys remember smelling the tranny fluid on the stick ?
,
Still 100% happy with my new base model Bronco II :'P
,
FWIW a new Kia something SUV parked next to me at work. I can see my BS all day, watched the Kia owner do a walk around of my Bronco Sport. He did a second walk around, shook his head and walked away.
I walked out there and did my own walk around of the Kia. The two vehicles were the same size. The Kia looked so cheaply made with such dated styling.
The guy came out and we started a chat. His Kia dealer is a mile from my Ford dealer. He got his two months before I got mine, did not know the Bronco Sport was coming at all. He always thought Ford's were over priced.
I asked, he got his for 32,000 plus the triple T... Tax, Tag. and Title.
When I told him my BS base was 28,000 he shook his head and left...
Just saying.

 

[tRex]

Summer formulation gas has a higher energy density, so should provide improved mpg.

 

[Osco]

Summer formulation gas has a higher energy density, so should provide improved mpg.

Roger that. With 4 and 5 dollar per gallon coming thanks to the Dems more mpg is a good thing right !

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