Off-road SUVs are an interesting segment that struggles to stretch much past its performance. The 2022 Ford Bronco, like the 2022 Jeep Wrangler, failed its Consumer Reports testing, yet both models have perfect scores for customer satisfaction. If people love the 2022 Ford Bronco so much, why didn’t Consumer Reports?
2022 Ford Bronco | Ford
Consumer Reports wants more out of the 2022 Ford Bronco
Consumers are in love with the Ford Bronco. However, Consumer Reports feels differently. CR recognized that compared to the Wrangler, the Bronco was more comfortable, had better handling, and was an all-around better daily driver. However, the 2022 Ford Bronco only scored a disappointing 47/100.
However, the pitfalls of all true off-roaders were too great for the Bronco to avoid. CR had three major sticking points with Bronco that ultimately led to its poor score.
What are the biggest problems for the Ford Bronco?
2022 Ford Bronco | Ford
Consumer Reports mentions three aspects of the new Bronco that caused the 4×4 to fail. To be fair, these are the downsides of nearly all proper off-roaders. CR loved many parts of the Bronco but found the braking distance, noisy ride, and poor fuel economy as major flaws.
- Braking distance: The Ford Bronco’s stopping distance isn’t just subpar; CR says, “The Bronco’s stopping distances are among the longest we’ve seen from any vehicle in years. It took the Bronco 149 feet to stop from 60 mph in dry conditions and 168 feet in the wet. The brake feel wasn’t bad on the road, but for any emergency braking, the Bronco felt cumbersome.
- Noise: Unfortunately, the Bronco is carrying forward the off-road legacy of a noisy cabin. In the words of one Consumer Reports tester, “It’s very loud inside the Bronco’s cabin, mostly due to elevated levels of wind noise that increase as speed rises.” CR goes on to say that even with the optional hardtop with added sound insulation, wind noise is still significantly loud over 50 mph. To make matters worse, the cooler your Bronco, the louder it is. The optional Sasquatch package with the bigger, more aggressive tires adds an additional layer of racket on the highway.
- Fuel economy: When the Ford Bronco is on its best behavior, meaning the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, it only gets around 20 mpg on average. The bigger V6 gets an ever worse 18 mpg. These figures are not the coolest in normal times, but these are devastating numbers with our current gas prices.
Is the 2022 Ford Bronco worth it?
Despite these major flaws with the popular off-roader, there is still an SUV worth pursuing if you are serious about off-roading. Like the Jeep Wrangler, the Ford Bronco makes little sense if you are only looking for a casual daily driver. However, the Bronco has merit if you plan to get out in the wilder places and still want a civilized daily.
If one of these flaws were fixed, it would dramatically improve the Bronco.
But with, these flaws and the fact that you have to wait an excruciatingly long time for one or grossly overpay might make the Bronco lose some of its luster, at least for some buyers. But like the Jeep Wrangler, which mostly gets poor reviews, people won’t buy Bronco’s because they are sensible. Most people buy them because they want to drive that model. That makes things like poor critical reviews far less important to the model’s success. So, yeah, the Bronco failed its Consumer Reports testing, but who cares?
Keyword: 2022 Ford Bronco Fails Consumer Reports Testing but Who Cares?