New 2024 Bronco Sport owner...

[Warped9]

Okay, so last week I picked up a plug for the trailer hitch. Today I picked up the rear seat back rubber liners. I have my aftermarket wheels on order and I’ll pick up the tires to go with them when the wheels arrive.

Awhile back before Christmas I swapped in a K&N air filter. I still have to install my Redline hood struts.

While I was at the dealership we got to chatting about exhaust systems when they asked me if I had any other upgrades in mind. I mentioned my interest in making my Bronco Dport a little more “growlly“ in sound. They made a few suggestions and assured me installing a cat-back or axle-back system would not void my warranty, but that an axle-back would be simpler to achieve the same effect.

So I will be looking into that.

But so far what I’m seeing I like Borla or Magnaflow best.

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[Warped9]

My new wheels were delivered today! I have already ordered my tires and made an appointment to have them installed as well as unmounting my winters.

 

[Warped9]

Looking at these wheels I'm reminded that different manufacturers have varying ideas of what something is. I'm referring to the colour of the spokes here that Vors calls Hyper Black. But other manufacturers have quite a different notion of what Hyper Black is and it's not this. Other wheels I've seen in "Hyper Black" actually look like a darker tone of chrome that changes with the light. I had XXR wheels on my 2004 CrownVic that were Chromium Black, their version of Hyper Black., and they looked very much like chrome only a bit darker. In most online pictures my XXR wheels looked distinctly darker than they did in person. Indeed they looked much better in person than they did in most photos.

But here this doesn't look at all chrome like and is more simply a dark metallic grey. It still looks very nice, but it's not really what I was expecting. That said they do look better in person than they do in many online photos, which often seems to be the case with aftermarket wheels.

Nonetheless it should look pretty good with my Bronco's Hot Pepper Red.

They also have an interesting design in that the majority of wheel designs today are concave in varying degrees. But these wheels have a more convex design which is interestingly different. These are 18x8 w. 35 offset versus the 18x7 w. 37.5 offset wheels I presently have installed. So these new wheels poke out 5/8 in. more which is pretty negligible. But with the wider tires it'll look a bit meatier.

 

[Warped9]

Bummer. Last week I was all set to get my new wheels and tires mounted when I ran into a snag. Firstly the ordered tires didn't arrive when expected so that was one delay. That said they have since arrived. But the real snag was I completely forgot about TPS sensors for the new wheels, not realizing I couldn't use the existing sensors on my factory wheels. Arrgh!!!

Now we're waiting for the new sensors on order to come in. Hopefully this week everything will finally get done and I can post some pics with the new wheels and tires installed.

 

[Warped9]

Got a call this morning the TPS sensors on order are now in. I have an appointment Thursday to have the new wheels installed. I’m a bit excited to see them on my Bronco. I’ll post pucs.

On another good note I finally sold the winter tires from my CrownVic, so thats one more thing out of the garage.

 

[Warped9]

First pic with new wheels.

 

[rocks]

Congrats!

 

[Warped9]

Different view.

 

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After a quick wash.

 

[Warped9]

It’s been eight months since taking delivery of my Bronco Sport. And so far I haven’t found anything I don’t like.

I really appreciate the ease of getting in or out of the vehicle or using the cargo area. The rear seats fold down flat easily with an easy release giving you lots of room for whatever you want.

Driving is the part I like most. I like the chair like seating position with good support so it’s never tiring. The large windows allow excellent visibility outward all around. All the frequently used controls are physical switchgear you quickly find by hand and don’t have to navigate a display screen to find. The info screen is modest sized so it‘s not obtrusive or distracting.

This vehicle is agile and very maneuverable especially around town. The modest size and tight turning circle lets you park almost anywhere and navigate in-town streets easily. The overall handling is excellent particularly with my upgraded stickier tires. I particularly like the steering—very responsive and weighted just right (for me).

The 1.5L engine has good power even in Eco mode. I never feel there is a lack of power and it always responds quickly. I really enjoy it on the highway where it’s stable, composed and tracks very well.

There are things I appreciate I never had before. The blind sport alert is great when backing up and you can’t clearly see what is on either side. The rear camera is welcome to see what is below the hatch window. In addition the backing-up sensor alerts you to how close you’re getting to whatever you can’t see. The heated seats are nice in cold weather.

I was reasonably sure I’d like my Bronco when I bought it yet I’m liking it more than I expected.

 

[rocks]

It’s been eight months since taking delivery of my Bronco Sport. And so far I haven’t found anything I don’t like.

I really appreciate the ease of getting in or out of the vehicle or using the cargo area. The rear seats fold down flat easily with an easy release giving you lots of room for whatever you want.

Driving is the part I like most. I like the chair like seating position with good support so it’s never tiring. The large windows allow excellent visibility outward all around. All the frequently used controls are physical switchgear you quickly find by hand and don’t have to navigate a display screen to find. The info screen is modest sized so it‘s not obtrusive or distracting.

This vehicle is agile and very maneuverable especially around town. The modest size and tight turning circle lets you park almost anywhere and navigate in-town streets easily. The overall handling is excellent particularly with my upgraded stickier tires. I particularly like the steering—very responsive and weighted just right (for me).

The 1.5L engine has good power even in Eco mode. I never feel there is a lack of power and it always responds quickly. I really enjoy it on the highway where it’s stable, composed and tracks very well.

There are things I appreciate I never had before. The blind sport alert is great when backing up and you can’t clearly see what is on either side. The rear camera is welcome to see what is below the hatch window. In addition the backing-up sensor alerts you to how close you’re getting to whatever you can’t see. The heated seats are nice in cold weather.

I was reasonably sure I’d like my Bronco when I bought it yet I’m liking it more than I expected.

I like it so much I bought another one. The only thing that bugged me was the 1.5L in my Outer Banks. The Badlands 2.0L makes a significant difference in power and is more reliable, making the BS almost perfect, in my opinion.

 

[Warped9]

I might have considered a Badlands, but I really don’t like the blacked out roof. To my eyes it looks unfinished.

 

[rocks]

I might have considered a Badlands, but I really don’t like the blacked out roof. To my eyes it looks unfinished.

I feel the opposite. Looks too plain without the black roof. Different strokes for different folks. On the '23 model, the black roof was a $500 option. When I bought the '23, I didn't consider the Badlands for a couple of reasons. I didn't need a truer offroad vehicle and at that time, the main reason was market adjustments on a Badlands were nuts. I was able to buy an OBX for a bit under the sticker price, but dealers were adding market adjustments of $ 2,500 to $ 10,000 on a Badlands, plus dealer add-ons. I drove both and the Badlands is big difference in power but the market adjustments at that time were just too much. I believe that only 10%-15% of Bronce Sports produced are Badlands and dealers take advantage of the rarity.

 

[Warped9]

Fortunately in Canada dealers are prohibited from adding markups.

And I wasn't buying my Bronco to go off-road. The worst it will see is Canadian winter driving and maybe some gravel road or fire route trails. If I were seriously off-roading then I might have considered a Badlands further or maybe even a full-size Bronco given the Base model has returned.

Interestingly I had been considering a Mazda CX-30 as an alternative to the Bronco Sport. Recently I had a chance to take a closer look at the the CX-30. It's a really nice vehicle, about the same price (maybe a bit less), that would have suited my needs pretty much just as well. But two things make me glad I chose the Bronco Sport. Firstly I like the look of the Bronco Sport better than the CX-30. Secondly the outward visibility is much better in the Bronco Sport, particularly out the back. Technically the CX-30 handles better than the Bronco Sport, but I have no complaints whatsoever with my Bronco's handling--as I mentioned upthread I find it really fun to drive.

 

[Warped9]

So today my brother and his wife were visiting. I was surprised to see he no longer had his white 2021(?) VW Tiguan, but instead had a new 2025 Tiguan in silver. And I got a chance to ride in it when we went out for a bite to eat.

If I had thought his previous Tiguan was nice, but meh, the 2025 is even more meh. The exterior design is even more generic me-too-ish. It is a totally soulless, bland design made even more so by dark silver colour. The silver with the black plastic trim just looks…invisible and sleep inducing. I don’t know if they could have chosen anything more pedestrian looking.

It rides nice enough, but no one should complain to me about the Bronco Sport’s ride after riding in this Tiguan.

And if I thought the exterior was bland the interior was…disappointing. The overall fit and finish and materials are nice enough, but it’s a collection of grey tones thats again sleep inducing. And the dashboard is nothing but a shelf with an oversized video game tablet dominating the centre of it. I said nothing, but I simply hated the look of it.

I used to love VWs, but they are rapidly losing whatever appeal I once saw in them. For me VW used to be affordable entertaining European driving machines. In North America that is almost all gone now replaced by a collection of appliance like SUVs.

I’m so grateful for my 2024 Bronco Sport in practically every respect especially compared to such a soulless and characterless appliance.

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