What trail was that? And for the record, I agree that the ride even on 1, 2, or 3-rated trails in Moab (on the 10-point scale) in a Wrangler is pretty harsh. Washboard and small-rock surfaces will beat the hell out of you, even going slow.

 

Just Chicken Corners. Relatively easy trail, but thoroughly unpleasant in the Rubicon. I felt like getting out halfway and catching them on the way back but got beat up all the way out.

 

I love it back there. I've stayed with Tom at Base Camp, which you passed on the way to CC. I've also done the most amazing and miserable day in a Wrangler around that area. Staying with Tom at Base Camp I left at 8am, drove back through Hoorah Pass to Moab, tanked up, including 2 aux 5-gal Jerry cans. Drove 70 miles on road to Canyonlands Needles District, where I ran Elephant Hill, Beef Basin, Confluence of Green and Colorado Rivers, then intended to camp just outside of Canyonlands in Lockhart Basin. Campsite was full so I decided to just drive till we saw a decent flat spot and camp there. Headed up Lockhart Basin trail, which is a 38-miler if I recall that takes you back up to Chicken Corners, from the south. The farther I went the less decent camping spots I found, so I just wound up driving back to Base Camp, right there by Chicken Corners, where I had a room for the night anyway. Got in at 12:30 am, 16.5 hours after leaving. 275 miles for the day, 205 of them on asphalt, the rest getting beat up on rocks.

 

So I'm on a vacation with the family and took the opportunity to rent a JLU Rubi. I know we're talking subjective things, but I feel like your characterizations border on princess and the pea from my perspective.

No it's not as comfortable and refined as our D110. I assumed as much from owning my JKU Sahara. But the turbo 4 is quite responsive even at 8500'+ altitude, the cabin with insulated hardtop is very quiet, the leather on the seats and dash looks and feels quite nice, etc.

I can compare them (i.e. the Defender and the Jeep) and see merit in both.

There are a ton of small improvements over my JK, to the point where the SO said to me within minutes that she understood if I wanted to upgrade. I told her perhaps add more than upgrade in the future.

But a JLU would get me a number of things I don't have on the JK like push button start and heated steering wheel, and I could spec full time 4wd. Yes all things our D110 already has. When the time comes I'll likely at least consider a D90 as well, but I can't take the top and doors off a D90 or D110.

It's nice to have choices.

 

Reviving this thread just as I have revived communications with my salesman. Ford sent out the delivery estimate email today to all of us that haven't gotten a build date yet. Basically, Ford said they have no ****ing clue. Hard top production issues are preventing mass production. I could probably be scheduled in August if I switched to a soft top, but under no circumstances will I buy another soft top vehicle.

They have a P400 D110 in stock, as long as it isn't sold I'll finally be able to test drive one tomorrow.

 

I got to drive it! It was a pretty basic D110 SE that had cooled seats, the Urban Package, and not much else. In short, the test drive was pretty underwhelming.

At first.

When I first drove off the lot, everything felt pretty normal. Everything met my expectations, exactly what I wanted and what I thought it'd be. Everything was just nice and I loved it when I realized just what was going on. My expectations for any car are LOFTY. This thing rides great. The inline six is amazing. It's quiet as hell, quieter than anything I've ever owned. It may just have my favorite auto trans I've ever driven. There was a bit more body roll than I'd have imagined, but it wasn't offensive. All-in-all, it's fantastic and I love it.

But I just still do not know if I want to give up on the Bronco yet. I guess I just need to wait until I can get my hands on a demo unit to finally decide.

 

KEV - we must have been sitting on the same fence . However, I made my up my mind and decided for a Defender.

But, before going into the decisional process let me state a few things here:
- it is a personal choice : be it financial, or the purpose of the vehicle usage.
- is a matter of taste, and that it is also very personal
- and lastly, are you a technical person or not ?

Why was I on the same fence: I ordered my 110 last year in December. I knew it will be a waiting period, more than any car I've purchased before. So I was having a backup with Bronco, just in case. Was it worth waiting for the Defender in the end ? - I will get to that in a minute, bear with me.
Now, while waiting for the Defender, I started researching about the Bronco and what they call now "baby" Bronco, I almost was ready to put an order on it. As people would say that Defender is not the old Defender ( and is not ) I can say the same thing about Bronco. Is definitely not the old Bronco. If any one looks for the old thing, they will be disappointed. It is not - neither one. If you ask me, that is a good thing.
Now, back to Bronco: what is on the market today is a decent vehicle, no question about it, but is very different from the actual Defender as capabilities, purpose, and size even. Now, my question to you is: what is the purpose of it ? what are you going to use it for ? Light off-roading, passionate hard core off-roader, daily driver, or anything else.
I would highly suggest that you may want to look into some youtube videos about Bronco being tested off road. I was disappointed to say the least by its technical capabilities. Not going to get into lots of technicality here, but when the differential got hot, it decoupled it to prevent damage (!!) - it is not based on real gears, but disks. The "locking" is done mostly by software. This is where Bronco lost me.
Now, the big Bronco is not out there yet. Will it be more capable than the Defender ? I have no idea. From what I am hearing the "big" Bronco will be out in the fall at best, or next year.
I have not seen a decent review of the new "big" Bronco, just YouTube hype. However, the Defender 110 and 90 is one fine machine - yes, I do have one and I may be subconscious biased. It is also a great on road vehicle. Super nice to drive, on road and off road. I am not going to get into details here, there are a lot of great YouTube reviews.
Now, I am obviously not you, but if I would have to chose between the "baby" Bronco, and Defender, I would definitely go with Defender. I have sat in and drove the Bronco, and it feels cheap(ish) - not bad but if I would spend that kind of money for a vehicle in that class, I would get a Subaru.

Anyways, the Bronco and Defender are very, very different vehicles - that is why I think you need to asses what do you expect from one, and how much are you prepared to spend. Oh, and definitely be prepared to wait for a new Defender if you haven't yet put an order out. For me, it was worth it.

 

This decision pulls two very different strings from my heart. Part of me wants to be relaxed and finally own another quiet, comfortable car for the first time in years. Part of me wants to row my own gears and drive around without doors. Both are exactly as capable as I need them to be off-road. I'm a diesel tech by trade, so I plan on doing any and all repairs when needed (I say when because let's be real, neither is going to last 15 yrs without something breaking).

I just have no clue which direction I want to go. I feel differently about them every day.

 

I think you may have confused me with the OP, because I have a Wrangler and a P400 D110.

And for the record I am a very technical person.

But let me address a couple of your points with a quick explanation. The "baby" Bronco (Sport) is for all intents a purposes the equivalent of a rebadged Escape. It compares to the upcoming Bronco like the Jeep Renegade compares to the Wrangler. That is to say a small crossover fwd-based AWD vs a body on frame rwd-based 4x4.

Shy of the name and perhaps a strong visual design resemblance there's nothing about the Bronco Sport that really indicates the build quality, fit, finish, ergos, handling, or capability of the upcoming Bronco.

Yeah they are both Fords, but that's about it.

I'm sure the Bronco is going to be a decent vehicle. But there's no way it's gonna be better than the D in just about anything, especially on road. I already bet the price of a very well equipped D110 on that. Lol

 

KEV - you right, I did mistyped the name to which I replied. My bad !