Anyone care about the new Bronco?

[Thai]

Show me. I can't find any pictures. But I'd say there's zero chance the bumper and front clip is higher. Or the rear bumper. But either way - prove me wrong. Show me a picture.

Here ya go. Defender. 4runner. Stock.

 

[Ogre75]

LR, for folks who like lots of gadgetry and tech to breakdown from a company known for poor quality...

 

[Thai]

LR, for folks who like lots of gadgetry and tech to breakdown from a company known for poor quality...

Very true. Damn shame they are so unreliable.

 

[Jetboy]

Here ya go. Defender. 4runner. Stock.

How about a front shot that doesn't hide the low hanging plastics up front?

 

[Ogre75]

Very true. Damn shame they are so unreliable.

he, well... They may be unreliable, but at least they're wildly expensive to fix...:bounce:

 

[Thai]

How about a front shot that doesn't hide the low hanging plastics up front?

What low handling plastics? Huh?

LR Defender approach angle is fine. That is NOT where you should argue about! :lmao:

BTW, not sure if you know this, but it is Toyota that fudges angles and clearance data more than other OEMs.

 

[Jetboy]

This part. Although in fairness to LR - my wife's friend had her front bumper fall off her Evoque after about 6 months. So they probably do come free pretty easily if some models will fall off on the highway on their own. May be a design feature?

 

[Thai]

This part. Although in fairness to LR - my wife's friend had her front bumper fall off her Evoque after about 6 months. So they probably do come free pretty easily if some models will fall off on the highway on their own. May be a design feature?

Seems pretty good in the video: Wheeling brand new Defender @ Chinaman Gulch, CO - YouTube

Pretty capable for a base model without rear locker. Yeah, the Defender’s angles are fine.

 

[thennen]

Here ya go. Defender. 4runner. Stock.

If I were to go just by those two pics, here's what I see:

4Runner front bumper lowest point is at the upper third of the center of the wheel.
Defender front bumper is approximately the same relative to its wheel, but the spoiler extends maybe 2" lower?
Rear bumper heights are similar enough that it's hard to see differences from these pics.

So the winner (when approaching a rock ledge) is probably the one with the taller wheel/tire setup.

BUT, my two cents is that, of all the vehicles being discussed here, the LR is the least likely to be wheeled off road by its buyers. So in my opinion, whatever off-road advantages it might have would mostly serve to win arguments. Another observation, since these are photos of stock vehicles: at least Toyota selected a street tire that is more appropriate to driving off road. I can't see anyone really expecting the Continentals on the LR to be much use in mud or snow. Why put a low-profile street tire on an off-roading machine, unless you expect it to stay on-road?

 

[Thai]

If I were to go just by those two pics, here's what I see:

4Runner front bumper lowest point is at the upper third of the center of the wheel.
Defender front bumper is approximately the same relative to its wheel, but the spoiler extends maybe 2" lower?
Rear bumper heights are similar enough that it's hard to see differences from these pics.

So the winner (when approaching a rock ledge) is probably the one with the taller wheel/tire setup.

BUT, my two cents is that, of all the vehicles being discussed here, the LR is the least likely to be wheeled off road by its buyers. So in my opinion, whatever off-road advantages it might have would mostly serve to win arguments. Another observation, since these are photos of stock vehicles: at least Toyota selected a street tire that is more appropriate to driving off road. I can't see anyone really expecting the Continentals on the LR to be much use in mud or snow. Why put a low-profile street tire on an off-roading machine, unless you expect it to stay on-road?

Actually, LR off-road clubs and community are rather large...probably second to Jeep only. Either the clubs or local dealers often hold off-road events year round.

For example, in the Youtube video i linked above, that off-road event was held by LR Denver i believe. I can only dream my local Toyota dealer would do something like that!!

 

[Jetboy]

Seems pretty good in the video: Wheeling brand new Defender @ Chinaman Gulch, CO - YouTube

Pretty capable for a base model without rear locker. Yeah, the Defender’s angles are fine.

I think you need to look a little closer. Unless I'm mistaken the LR started out with the plastic panel under the center front. It didn't end with that panel on.

You can look at 10:09 to see as it comes over the rock that the panel is no longer there.

Maybe they just decided to take it off mid-trail for fun?

(Incidentally that's literally exactly where I pointed with my arrow.)

Edit: you can also see at the end that the rear bumper doesn't match up to the rear fenders on either side. Not sure what happened there. I think the fender trim aligns with the bumper normally right?

 

[Thai]

I think you need to look a little closer. Unless I'm mistaken the LR started out with the plastic panel under the center front. It didn't end with that panel on.

You can look at 10:09 to see as it comes over the rock that the panel is no longer there.

Maybe they just decided to take it off mid-trail for fun?

(Incidentally that's literally exactly where I pointed with my arrow.)

Edit: you can also see at the end that the rear bumper doesn't match up to the rear fenders on either side. Not sure what happened there. I think the fender trim aligns with the bumper normally right?

I am sure that there was some damage on the trail. Some of terrain was not exactly walk in the park for any midsize SUV.

 

[Ogre75]

If I were to go just by those two pics, here's what I see:

4Runner front bumper lowest point is at the upper third of the center of the wheel.
Defender front bumper is approximately the same relative to its wheel, but the spoiler extends maybe 2" lower?
Rear bumper heights are similar enough that it's hard to see differences from these pics.

So the winner (when approaching a rock ledge) is probably the one with the taller wheel/tire setup.

BUT, my two cents is that, of all the vehicles being discussed here, the LR is the least likely to be wheeled off road by its buyers. So in my opinion, whatever off-road advantages it might have would mostly serve to win arguments. Another observation, since these are photos of stock vehicles: at least Toyota selected a street tire that is more appropriate to driving off road. I can't see anyone really expecting the Continentals on the LR to be much use in mud or snow. Why put a low-profile street tire on an off-roading machine, unless you expect it to stay on-road?

While they may appear to be at the same level, the 4R's nose sticks out further, which lowers approach angle.

 

[thennen]

Actually, LR off-road clubs and community are rather large...probably second to Jeep only. Either the clubs or local dealers often hold off-road events year round.

For example, in the Youtube video i linked above, that off-road event was held by LR Denver i believe. I can only dream my local Toyota dealer would do something like that!!

Yeah, two different manufacturer/dealership mindsets, I imagine. Lots of Toyota owners are more the impromptu off-road types, it seems. From all I've read, not many LR owners off-road informally. I know that, perusing this forum, I'll see tons of Jeeps with 4Runners out wheeling, but I don't recall seeing more than maybe one or two LRs. And in all seriousness, maybe a LR owner is more comfortable on 'sponsored' rides (not meaning financially here) where there is tech support and/or similar vehicles in the event of a breakdown. NOT bashing here, fyi.

But c'mon, those tires, really? Those weren't in the video, btw.

 

[thennen]

While they may appear to be at the same level, the 4R's nose sticks out further, which lowers approach angle.

Actually, I was responding to Jetboy's assertion that the 4R can clear a taller rock ledge or 'step' more easily because the 4Runner's lowest point prior to the tire is higher off the ground than the Defender's. This wouldn't involve approach/departure angles, but would be more applicable to a particular rock, log, etc.

 

[Thai]

Yeah, two different manufacturer/dealership mindsets, I imagine. Lots of Toyota owners are more the impromptu off-road types, it seems. From all I've read, not many LR owners off-road informally. I know that, perusing this forum, I'll see tons of Jeeps with 4Runners out wheeling, but I don't recall seeing more than maybe one or two LRs. And in all seriousness, maybe a LR owner is more comfortable on 'sponsored' rides (not meaning financially here) where there is tech support and/or similar vehicles in the event of a breakdown. NOT bashing here, fyi.

But c'mon, those tires, really? Those weren't in the video, btw.

Yeah true. I don’t see LR owners taking their rig to local park either. But their events are cool though. My brother used to go to them because he had LR at one point...the old one with solid axles.

 

[spartacus]

That is a challenging trail without a lift and lockers. The defender did good but the spotter was awesome. Good tire placement and no body damage was all spotter.

 

[Jetboy]

While they may appear to be at the same level, the 4R's nose sticks out further, which lowers approach angle.

They are very similar when overlaid. Of course that assumes stock 4Runner - but I don't know anyone who spends much time offroad that has stock suspension on a 4Runner and inversely I'd guess there very few LRs that will ever have suspension upgrades. Stock 4R vs LR at max suspension height is still lower throughout the belly area by a few inches and has a higher rear bumper cut.

Lifted 4Runner is significantly higher all around of course.

 

[Ogre75]

They are very similar when overlaid. Of course that assumes stock 4Runner - but I don't know anyone who spends much time offroad that has stock suspension on a 4Runner and inversely I'd guess there very few LRs that will ever have suspension upgrades. Stock 4R vs LR at max suspension height is still lower throughout the belly area by a few inches and has a higher rear bumper cut.

Lifted 4Runner is significantly higher all around of course.

Hard to tell, but to be more accurate to compare for approach angle, you'd have to overlay so the front wheels are exactly on top of each other, and converserly the rear tires over top of each other for the departure angle. So two different overlays. Not that it matters, I'm sure all of this is listed somewhere, if you trust the mfg numbers.

 

[LandCruiser]

They are very similar when overlaid. Of course that assumes stock 4Runner - but I don't know anyone who spends much time offroad that has stock suspension on a 4Runner and inversely I'd guess there very few LRs that will ever have suspension upgrades. Stock 4R vs LR at max suspension height is still lower throughout the belly area by a few inches and has a higher rear bumper cut.

Lifted 4Runner is significantly higher all around of course.

If you've ever gone on a trail in one of these independent suspension monstrosities, you know it's mess of teetering over obstacles, lifting the tires, chattering ABS brakes, rocking back and forth, and lots of electronic drama to make up for the fact that independent suspension sucks at this and LR knows no one will seriously do this except for magazines and the random idiot.

I'm sure if you have 10 people helping you, you can take a dump while doing a headstand and not get shit all over you... but why would you want to?

Plus all the electronic wizardry will heed the call of Lucas the Prince of Darkness and self-destruct when you need it most.