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Would you get a Ford Bronco instead of a Jeep Wrangler?
By: The Moo News Network
Interviewer: Would you get a Ford Bronco instead of a Jeep Wrangler?
CowboyBenWade: My dad used to work at place that repaired jeeps. I think it was called Jinco jeep, or something like that. He told me they were garbage. I remember him telling me something about the cross-member, you had to bend it to put it in. It's like sprung in there. They couldn't even cut it to make it the right length, you had to wedge it in there.
Interviewer: Jeeps must not be precision vehicles then?
CowboyBenWade: People have to work on these things, and you expect things to be put together well. They are good off road, and there is huge jeep community. But I think they work on their jeeps a lot. It's a hobby, and they are okay with that.
Interviewer: Do you think Wranglers have gotten better?
CowboyBenWade: Somewhat I believe they have, but Chrysler is still the same company. I would never buy anything made by Chrysler. And Ford really has done something great with the new Bronco. For example, wranglers use a recirculating ball steering system whereas the new Bronco uses modern rack and pinion steering. I know recirculating ball steering is technically stronger, but plenty of lifted F150s have no problems with rack and pinion steering. Jeep has a an incentive to keep it the same, because when you buy a jeep you have an expectation of what you're getting.
Interviewer: Jeep came out with a V8 Wrangler to compete with the new Bronco. What do you think about that?
CowboyBenWade: They had to do it because they know the Bronco is better in every way. I think they are putting a Hemi V8, something like 6.4 liters I believe in there. It's going to get atrocious gas mileage, and I've read that it can barely tow anything. But I guess they aren't made for towing.
Interviewer: The most powerful engine in the Bronco will be 2.7 liters I believe? Is that the engine you would get with the new Bronco?
CowboyBenWade: That's right, and it's a better engine than that v8. Ford's 2.7 liter twin turbo engine is perhaps the best engine Ford has made in forty years. They are putting it in everything. It's in the F150. It's built like a diesel, but it runs on gasoline, and it will run circles around that hemi v8. The hemi is old tech. Jeep just had that engine laying around so they said, "Hey, Ford is going to take our Wrangler customers, let's put this massive engine in the Wrangler and see if we can not go out of business. I don't want to end up stocking shelves at Wal-Mart at midnight."
Interviewer: Haven't Wrangler customers been asking for a V8 for years?
CowboyBenWade: They have, and Jeep never gave it to them until Ford forced their hand. The Wrangler has been underpowered for a long time. That naturally aspirated v6 just can't do the job. I think they had a v8 Wrangler in the past but discontinued it. They get horrible gas mileage, even with the v6. A lot of the appeal with the Bronco is going to be that 2.7 liter engine. It's one of the best engines to be designed by any company in long time. It's light, small, powerful, and still gets decent fuel economy. It's also the best engine to get in an F150. The new V8 coyote uses cylinder deactivation, which is going to cause a lot of problems, and the 3.5 liter engine was never designed for turbos. They added the turbos later, but the engine isn't built to handle it - it's got an aluminum block, and it's just not as tough as the 2.7. And the 3.5 is prone to overheating, especially when towing. You can watch lots of youtube videos on that. The 2.7 was built in collaboration with a german company specifically for those two twin turbos, and they did their homework on it - bigger oil capacity, water cooled exhaust manifolds, CGI(compacted graphite iron) block, and the list goes on.
Interviewer: Do you think Ford will make a bigger version of the 2.7?
CowboyBenWade: I hope so, maybe a 3+ liter that's a scaled up 2.7. But the 2.7 can be tuned to produce more horsepower and torque without increasing displacement. That's the cool thing about that engine - it can handle more power. Just put bigger turbos on it. For some reason Ford decided to go with 2.7 liters, and I'm sure they have advanced calculations that helped them arrive at that number. They could have made it bigger if they had wanted to.
Interviewer: Will the Ford Bronco make a good rock crawler?
CowboyBenWade: It will make an excellent rock crawler, and you're going to start seeing a lot of the new Broncos at Moab and lot of other places out west. Jeeps have dominated for the longest time, and they are great out there. But a lot of people are going to be switching to Broncos, and it'll be interesting to see. This is Ford's target market with the Bronco, people that like to go off road, especially out west. You're going to start seeing lift kits and tons of aftermarket accessories for Broncos just like you have with Wranglers.
CowboyBenWade: My dad used to work at place that repaired jeeps. I think it was called Jinco jeep, or something like that. He told me they were garbage. I remember him telling me something about the cross-member, you had to bend it to put it in. It's like sprung in there. They couldn't even cut it to make it the right length, you had to wedge it in there.
Interviewer: Jeeps must not be precision vehicles then?
CowboyBenWade: People have to work on these things, and you expect things to be put together well. They are good off road, and there is huge jeep community. But I think they work on their jeeps a lot. It's a hobby, and they are okay with that.
Interviewer: Do you think Wranglers have gotten better?
CowboyBenWade: Somewhat I believe they have, but Chrysler is still the same company. I would never buy anything made by Chrysler. And Ford really has done something great with the new Bronco. For example, wranglers use a recirculating ball steering system whereas the new Bronco uses modern rack and pinion steering. I know recirculating ball steering is technically stronger, but plenty of lifted F150s have no problems with rack and pinion steering. Jeep has a an incentive to keep it the same, because when you buy a jeep you have an expectation of what you're getting.
Interviewer: Jeep came out with a V8 Wrangler to compete with the new Bronco. What do you think about that?
CowboyBenWade: They had to do it because they know the Bronco is better in every way. I think they are putting a Hemi V8, something like 6.4 liters I believe in there. It's going to get atrocious gas mileage, and I've read that it can barely tow anything. But I guess they aren't made for towing.
Interviewer: The most powerful engine in the Bronco will be 2.7 liters I believe? Is that the engine you would get with the new Bronco?
CowboyBenWade: That's right, and it's a better engine than that v8. Ford's 2.7 liter twin turbo engine is perhaps the best engine Ford has made in forty years. They are putting it in everything. It's in the F150. It's built like a diesel, but it runs on gasoline, and it will run circles around that hemi v8. The hemi is old tech. Jeep just had that engine laying around so they said, "Hey, Ford is going to take our Wrangler customers, let's put this massive engine in the Wrangler and see if we can not go out of business. I don't want to end up stocking shelves at Wal-Mart at midnight."
Interviewer: Haven't Wrangler customers been asking for a V8 for years?
CowboyBenWade: They have, and Jeep never gave it to them until Ford forced their hand. The Wrangler has been underpowered for a long time. That naturally aspirated v6 just can't do the job. I think they had a v8 Wrangler in the past but discontinued it. They get horrible gas mileage, even with the v6. A lot of the appeal with the Bronco is going to be that 2.7 liter engine. It's one of the best engines to be designed by any company in long time. It's light, small, powerful, and still gets decent fuel economy. It's also the best engine to get in an F150. The new V8 coyote uses cylinder deactivation, which is going to cause a lot of problems, and the 3.5 liter engine was never designed for turbos. They added the turbos later, but the engine isn't built to handle it - it's got an aluminum block, and it's just not as tough as the 2.7. And the 3.5 is prone to overheating, especially when towing. You can watch lots of youtube videos on that. The 2.7 was built in collaboration with a german company specifically for those two twin turbos, and they did their homework on it - bigger oil capacity, water cooled exhaust manifolds, CGI(compacted graphite iron) block, and the list goes on.
Interviewer: Do you think Ford will make a bigger version of the 2.7?
CowboyBenWade: I hope so, maybe a 3+ liter that's a scaled up 2.7. But the 2.7 can be tuned to produce more horsepower and torque without increasing displacement. That's the cool thing about that engine - it can handle more power. Just put bigger turbos on it. For some reason Ford decided to go with 2.7 liters, and I'm sure they have advanced calculations that helped them arrive at that number. They could have made it bigger if they had wanted to.
Interviewer: Will the Ford Bronco make a good rock crawler?
CowboyBenWade: It will make an excellent rock crawler, and you're going to start seeing a lot of the new Broncos at Moab and lot of other places out west. Jeeps have dominated for the longest time, and they are great out there. But a lot of people are going to be switching to Broncos, and it'll be interesting to see. This is Ford's target market with the Bronco, people that like to go off road, especially out west. You're going to start seeing lift kits and tons of aftermarket accessories for Broncos just like you have with Wranglers.
About the Author
CowboyBenWade does interviews and lectures on a huge variety of topics, and he is an expert in a multitude of fields. His knowledge includes but is not limited to: engineering, chemistry, aviation, cooking, and farming.
Much of the world is clamboring to interview him at any given time. This is a transcript of one such interview.