Ford Bronco Wild Trak / Badlands etc. for offroad / Dune driving in Dubai

[Nilakantan Erode]

Appreciate any views / thoughts on Ford Bronco...especially the Wildtrak and Badlands models...for offroad (especiually dune / deserrt driving in UAE. Positioned as a strong competitor to Wrangler / Rubicon. Test Drive was great (but of course on road only!!). Seems to bridge the On road / Off road (at least from specs) balance...but with a slightly (!!) higher price tag ..  And...repairs and resale untested. Don't think this will  challenge / displace the UAE Dune premier league dominated by FJ , Prado / LC, Safaris etc but nevertheless worth a look. 

[Gaurav]

We have had a few Bronco's here in the past and let's see what those owners have to say

@Marco B. @Vivek Khetan @Mark Stark and @Mehek Merchant

I have done Masterclass with two of these guys and Bronco seems as ready as FJ and Wrangler based on the first drive.

[Looper]

Badlands is similar to Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, meant more for rock crawling. You will do better with WildTrack imho. My understanding from the reviews is that WildTrack is technically the highest end vehicle in Bronco lineup irrespective of Badlands having slightly more features in transmission (source reviews from the time of introduction). 

TC Customs YT compared WildTraack vs BadLands

(PS: there’s one more video by TCCustoms where they have listed all the features of all the Bronco models, I’ll add that link when I find it)

PPS: don’t find many Bronco being driven in desert. I had a post asking the same. Wonder why! 

[Looper]

Here you go. How should you order Bronco

badlands from Ford doesn’t come with Sasquatch pack as standard, WildTrack does that’s why it is top model in US. In UAE dealer orders Badlands with Sasquatch package by default so making it top end here. 
 

PPPS: my DP is inspired by Ford Bronco logo. While getting it done I suggested the designer to do something like that and they “chapofy” it.

[Pavel Pashkovskiy]

10 minutes ago, Looper said:

Here you go. How should you order Bronco

badlands from Ford doesn’t come with Sasquatch pack as standard, WildTrack does that’s why it is top model in US. In UAE dealer orders Badlands with Sasquatch package by default so making it top end here. 
 

 

No spare parts, no upgrade kits, no specialized garages, absolutely nothing. Jeep, Nissan or Toyota you can repare at any coffee shop. "Please one Karak and one shock absorber... and driveshaft for the balance please..."

Why people even thinking about cars like Bronco for offroading? It was the name long time back, same like Defender, but now they are typical mall crawlers 

 

[Nilakantan Erode]

Yes @Pavel Pashkovskiy

the bronco ecosystem is not fully developed (yet) w.r.t. Repairs / spare parts / mods etc . Jeep seems well established and Japanese vehicles have their own ecosystem to take care of repairs and mods. One of my American friends told me that … repairs / spare parts are not that big a concern in US as most folks there have a D.I.Y. Mindse ( unlike here in Middle East where cheaper labour is available)!!

Was also reading @Loopercomments on a related bronco thread ‘With dunebashing (vs baja racing) not a large part of the American off-road scene, and focus on national park trails, rock crawling and overlanding focus overall, it will take time for American manufacturers to embed themselves into the driving culture of the desert.’ So True!!

And…Bronco Badlands has some good specs but again rock crawling is not the culture here in UAE (quoting directly from a Al tayer salesperson!!). Guess they are positioning it wrongly . Rubicon also has similar specs but is not held back by lack of ‘ Rock crawl’ culture!!
 

for the time being .. nothing is going to be no change in the desertscape … as there is hardly any supply / delivery of broncos (ignoring limited ones in the pre owned market) and the latest from dealer is that none will be released soon as there is a recall in place for broncos because of a seat belt issue and that needs to be be fixed before new cars are delivered!!
 

 

[Nilakantan Erode]

@Gaurav @Looper@Pavel PashkovskiyUltimately the proof is in the pudding! So decided to go for a 20223 Bronco Wildtrak. Of course had some help from some old contacts of mine at Ford...on the final purchase!! 

@Marco B. @Vivek Khetan @Mark Stark @Mehek Merchant Good to know that there are some bronco folks already here in Carnity. 

See you all soon!