Heritage LC or Bronco Raptor (2 Viewers)

[DanWiser]

Help me make a decision at a fork on the road.... from performance and aesthetics really like the Bronco Raptor (reliability not so much...)

On the other hand, my ture Love for Toyota and especially the undeniable reliability and classic design is legendary (but honestly kinda boring)

Anyone had experience with both, what should i buy?

 

[TeCKis300]

Two really nice top shelf options making for a very hard decision.

What's your primary use cases?

They have some overlap, but really excel at two different things. Each can be modified to some degree, and what's your position on modifications?

 

[studawg]

Im a huge fan of the new Bronco and had an early reservation for one, but I just kinda went cold on them and decided to wait and buy a used one for a decent price ( maybe in 10 years lol?) and wait until they work out some of the kinks on the early ones.

I had been waiting for Toyota to bring back a convertible off-roader, and for some unfathomable reason, they never did. I wanted a newer version of a 40 that wasn't a Jeep and so the Bronco nailed it.

All that being said, the one thing that I do not like about the Bronco, after getting in and out of them and driving a few of them is just that they are kinda small inside. I just feel kinda cramped in there. Im 6'3 and have two tall daughters and I dont know, I just wish it were a little bigger inside.

I assume you have driven the Bronco and spent some time in it? If not, you must drive them both first.

The 200 is damn near perfect in my opinion, and the Heritage is even better, but no removable roof and doors....

 

[achris44]

We have a pair of First Edition (non-Raptor) Broncos as well as a pair of LC200's. The Bronco is a great kid-in-high-school vehicle which is how we use them or a great vehicle to Turo for a week on vacation if you are somewhere cool where top off would be fun. But for daily use and travel, it's hard to beat or even be on par with an LC200. The Bronco, regardless of how well you tighten the roof panels and use friction reducer on the gaskets is just so squeaky and noisy. It's not a peaceful ride at all. Lastly, the rear section of the Bronco is not something most people will desire to remove very often; it's heavy, awkward, and takes up considerable storage space in the garage. Even the second row roof panel (being a single piece) is more than many will desire to remove more than a few times just for the novelty factor. After that, from most of the owners I speak with and definitely my family's pattern, the driver roof panel is removed every now and then and the passenger side about half as often.
So, I suggest getting both because they serve different purposes.

 

[Heckraiser]

I'm not a roof-off kind of guy, so LC would be my choice. Though the size of the bronco does appeal to me in some ways and the more efficient drivetrains would be nice (though the raptor isn't much better than a 200 when it comes to mpg). Tin top bronco would be cool.

 

[ryanCA]

My brothers First Edition Bronco.

Fuel efficient, good size, great tech, fun to drive.

I prefer the LC. Two different beasts for different purpose.

Mustang vs LC500

 

[studawg]

We have a pair of First Edition (non-Raptor) Broncos as well as a pair of LC200's. The Bronco is a great kid-in-high-school vehicle which is how we use them or a great vehicle to Turo for a week on vacation if you are somewhere cool where top off would be fun. But for daily use and travel, it's hard to beat or even be on par with an LC200. The Bronco, regardless of how well you tighten the roof panels and use friction reducer on the gaskets is just so squeaky and noisy. It's not a peaceful ride at all. Lastly, the rear section of the Bronco is not something most people will desire to remove very often; it's heavy, awkward, and takes up considerable storage space in the garage. Even the second row roof panel (being a single piece) is more than many will desire to remove more than a few times just for the novelty factor. After that, from most of the owners I speak with and definitely my family's pattern, the driver roof panel is removed every now and then and the passenger side about half as often.
So, I suggest getting both because they serve different purposes.

Forget the hardtop, get the soft top

 

[studawg]

The Bronco was designed from the ground up as being a removable-roof vehicle. That was kinda the whole point. I dont know why anyone would expect it to behave as a fixed-roof vehicle. If you have no intentions of removing the roof or laying it back in the case of the soft top, there are much better options, i.e. LC 200, 4Runner, etc, etc....

 

[DallasTide]

Are you hauling kids around?

 

[brando1]

I ordered my Ford Bronco Wildtrak on day one. At the time I was driving a 100 series LC. It took two years to get built, delayed by over 14 months.
The second day I had it the ABS module went dead and the car didn't make it back to my house. It spent 6 weeks at Ford waiting for parts.
Over the next couple of months, every now and then the truck would pop up similar warning lights, that would reset if you restarted the car.

They are beautiful trucks, and they drive nice. Pretty capable off-road as well. But they have the same build quality as the jeeps of the world.
I traded it in less then 1 year into the ownership for a 130000 miles 2013 Land Cruiser. There is no replacement for the quality we some take for granted on this forum. You want to see a real #$%^ show, check out the Bronco forums and the amount of quality issues they run into. The tie rod discussions are priceless.

 

[gasman4u]

I've heard several places about the issues with tie rods specifically when off road (Bronco). They sure look great and nailed the nostalgic appeal IMO. As previously stated, it's a stark choice between the two with some but not a lot of overlap when it's all considered.

With my prior experience with fOrD and this being a LC forum, my vote is clearly for the 200.

 

[goldwater58]

Engineers designed the LC. Sales people designed the Bronco. That's just my opinion though.

 

[777Gage]

I've driven my buddy's Bronco, and it's fun to drive, but with just under a year of ownership it's already got an oil leak. And honestly, does an offroad designed vehicle really need the Raptor powerplant - like the Jeep with the 392 Hemi? My wife has 2019 Rubicon V6 with the One Touch top, 27k miles - plenty of power, and trouble free so far, but I've already told her we are swapping it for the new LC 250.
(I do like the automatic top here in SoCal, it opens/closes up to 55mph)

The LC may be boring to drive - but to me long term reliability and peace of mind is priceless. You'll go through 2, maybe 3 Broncos to every 1 LC.

 

[residualboulders]

I traded in a 2020 Raptor truck on my 200. Not a bronco, but similar from brand quality standpoint. For an offroad specific truck it sure rattled and squeaked a lot - like more than the 1986 FJ60 did on the same road. I loved it on the pavement, awesome truck. My vote would be the 200. But I get the appeal of removing the top and such.

 

[Gr8Daneger]

I think about trading my HE in every day for a Braptor! The 2024 in Shelter Green with bronze wheels might push me over the edge. I’m almost 6’4” and I have more head room in the Braptor than my HE, but hip room is tighter. The thought is nice that I can fit 37” tires with ease, but the reliability is always the downside.

Ford has really pissed me off lately with their pricing and ADM. The Braptor itself has gone up nearly 30k in the last 3 years and ADM is a s*** show.

 

[DenverLX]

I’m actually surprised to see so many fair opinions, typically on forums people just say “that other truck is s***, ours are better.”

That being said, I see them as very different vehicles. The 200 is actually a very very unique vehicle. It’s the only vehicle out there that can be good offroad, towing, and as a luxury family vehicle for roadtrips. What I mean by that, is a wrangler or bronco is going to be better off road (especially from the factory), a HD pickup will tow better and a Yukon Denali is a better road trip vehicle, but the 200 can excel in all three areas, which makes it the perfect vehicle if you only have one.

I like the bronco, but it doesn’t have the luxury and quite interior, it doesn’t have the storage, and it doesn’t have the Toyota reliability. But I bet you anything that the raptor bronco is a hell of a lot more fun. Damn that thing is cool, but it’s built for a more narrow use case.

 

[Madtiger]

I've driven my buddy's Bronco, and it's fun to drive, but with just under a year of ownership it's already got an oil leak. And honestly, does an offroad designed vehicle really need the Raptor powerplant - like the Jeep with the 392 Hemi? My wife has 2019 Rubicon V6 with the One Touch top, 27k miles - plenty of power, and trouble free so far, but I've already told her we are swapping it for the new LC 250.
(I do like the automatic top here in SoCal, it opens/closes up to 55mph)

The LC may be boring to drive - but to me long term reliability and peace of mind is priceless. You'll go through 2, maybe 3 Broncos to every 1 LC.

One of the BIG thing that you get with the 392 besides the big engine is that it has FULL-TIME 4WD. That for me is a killer feature.

 

[bloc]

Engineers designed the LC. Sales people designed the Bronco. That's just my opinion though.

Well said.

 

[TeCKis300]

This doesn't directly answer the OPs question.

But if hardcore off-road performance is the goal, there maybe cheaper better options than a BRaptor. Any Bronco Wildtrak (sasquatch not necessary), with 74Weld portals maybe the ultimate answer. 2023s Wildtraks will come with HOSS 3.0 and upgraded steering components.

Though of course you can fit Portals to a BRaptor too?

Or Portals on an HE?

 

[G-Cat]

The Bronco is crap…the 200 is better.