Suddenly feeling stuck between BS OB vs BS BL!!

[Grift3r]

The EPA highway ratings are 28 vs 26 mpg. That's not much of a difference.

At 10,000 miles per year that's:

10,000 / 28 = 357 gallons
10,000 / 26 = 385 gallons

So the difference is 28 gallons, or, at $4.25/gallon, $119 per year.

There is a larger difference in city mpg, so if you do a lot of city driving, the difference will be greater.

Bottom line though -- you gotta have that BL grill!

I avg about 31 MPG highway, but thats not really a reason. Had I known about the rubberized interior when I got mine, I may have gone with the BL instead lol Ultimately I was able to get the moon roof, tow package, and copilot plus and only had to wait a week for the unit. In the end, as long as youre happy with it (even if its about the front grill) thats whats important.

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[sajohnson]

I test drove an OB before placing my order for the BL and I can say that I'm glad I went with the BL simply because of the extra power. It's really noticeable. As far as MPG's go, I'm only getting about 24 mpg's in the Badlands from doing about 95% city driving. That's with only using 91 octane. Going from a 12 gallon fuel tank on my previous vehicle to the 15 gallon on the Badlands, I end up getting about the same amount of miles on a full tank as I did with a smaller 12 gallon vehicle (around 315 miles). It's not great, but considering it's an SUV/truck, it's pretty reasonable. I also didn't like the seats that much on the BL, but I was willing to put up with them for a bigger engine. Also, I've already put seat covers on (which everyone should do), so in the end your seats end up being the color of seat cover that you decide on.

It's a lot better than a Jeep Wrangler (considered a 'small' SUV) -- 14 mpg combined!:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best/bestworstEPAtrucksNF.shtml

Seriously, 24 mpg in the city is not bad. I suppose it's all relative. On that same page I linked to, there are EVs that get up to 129 mpg combined.

The BL is going to be my wife's SUV. It's replacing her 1997(!) RAV4 that gets low 20s combined. One of the main things that sold her on the BS is the 'boxy' look -- she likes the big Bronco even better. If the appearance was not such a big factor for her, we might have ended up with (say) a plug-in hybrid like the RAV4 Prime. I say *like* the Prime, because we do occasionally need a really capable all-wheel drive system -- I'm not sure how good the system in the newer RAVs is, compared to her '97.

Appearance aside, another factor is that we drive very little, so mpg really isn't as much of a factor as it would have been a few years ago, when we were driving up to 1,300 miles per week combined (the average as lower).

Gas is expensive these days, but of course the cost of driving is much more than gas. Last I saw the IRS allows $0.55 per mile for charitable driving, and according to CR, that's about the minimum cost when insurance, depreciation, maint., repairs, registration/tags, etc. are included (for a new car).

So, for example, say gas was $4.80/gallon -- that's $0.20/mile (@24 mpg). Even if you DOUBLE the mpg to 48, that only drops the cost per mile by 10 cents -- so it's maybe $0.50 instead of $0.60.

Don't get me wrong, 10 cents per mile less definitely adds up, it's just that it's a fraction of the total cost.

 

[sajohnson]

I avg about 31 MPG highway, but thats not really a reason. Had I known about the rubberized interior when I got mine, I may have gone with the BL instead lol Ultimately I was able to get the moon roof, tow package, and copilot plus and only had to wait a week for the unit. In the end, as long as youre happy with it (even if its about the front grill) that's what's important.

A *week*?! That has to be a record!

I've heard other people say they get >30 mpg highway, or about +10% over the EPA rating-- that's great. I haven't read much about hwy mpg from BL owners -- hopefully it will be about the same percentage increase, or about 29 mpg hwy.

 

[Jrl]

A *week*?! That has to be a record!

I've heard other people say they get >30 mpg highway, or about +10% over the EPA rating-- that's great. I haven't read much about hwy mpg from BL owners -- hopefully it will be about the same.

First edition 27.7 highway city not so great 17.5 mpg .

 

[sajohnson]

First edition 27.7 highway city not so great 17.5 mpg .

Almost 28 hwy is not bad. 17.5 city is really low though, considering that the EPA number is 21 city.

Beautiful FE, really sharp!

 

[tropical2022]

The EPA highway ratings are 28 vs 26 mpg. That's not much of a difference.

At 10,000 miles per year that's:

10,000 / 28 = 357 gallons
10,000 / 26 = 385 gallons

So the difference is 28 gallons, or, at $4.25/gallon, $119 per year.

There is a larger difference in city mpg, so if you do a lot of city driving, the difference will be greater.

Bottom line though -- you gotta have that BL grill!

LOL!!! BL's grille for the win!!

 

[MaxVelocity]

A *week*?! That has to be a record!

I've heard other people say they get >30 mpg highway, or about +10% over the EPA rating-- that's great. I haven't read much about hwy mpg from BL owners -- hopefully it will be about the same percentage increase, or about 29 mpg hwy.

So far my BL is getting 23-26 but we haven't taken a strictly-highway trip yet. Our commute is around 50 miles roundtrip per day that is mostly rural 2-lane, 55-70 MPH with some city stop-and-go traffic. We do have 6 miles of mountain pass that skews the numbers.

The lower MPG tanks were due to Sport mode. I've been experimenting with ECO mode but so far it doesn't seem to be making much difference. The high MPG tank of 26 was on Normal mode.

 

[Jrl]

Almost 28 hwy is not bad. 17.5 city is really low though, considering that the EPA number is 21 city.

Beautiful FE, really sharp!

I can guess why , I live in the hills of Pittsburgh pa . Thanks I am just in the process of finishing up with my new E Z Flares on all 4 corners . Very interesting and easy product. Will Follow up with more pictures.

 

[The Shark]

Having owned both a OBX and BL I'd get the BL everytime because of the 2.0. Nothing wrong with the OBX 1.5 but boy what a noticable difference between the two. The BL is more capable off road if that is applicable for you. I also own a Bronco which has the 2.3/4, in a perfect world I would have gotten the 2.7/6 but availability and some early valve problems with the 2.7 made me lean toward the 2.3. The 2.3 is fine but having that extra power and torque would be nice. Really the MPG between the 1.5 and 2.0 like the MPG between the 2.3 and 2.7 is not that remarkable, we aren't talking Escape Hybrid MPG and the BS isn't a light vehicle. As stated above by sajohnson I think the MPG difference for me was about 2 MPG on average.

I understand $$ comes into play but if you are wrestling with the choice between the two then I suppose $$ isn't the issue, if you couldn't afford it then OBX or BB would be your choice. It really sounds to me like you have made up your mind but want some reinforcement of your decision.

PS, if you don't get the BL don't ever drive one and you won't know what your are missing, I've never driven the 2.7 Bronco

 

[tropical2022]

Hope I'm not cross posting because I just mentioned in another thread that I finally placed order for the BS BL!

 

[sajohnson]

Hope I'm not cross posting because I just mentioned in another thread that I finally placed order for the BS BL!

Congratulations!

Color?

Options?

 

[tropical2022]

Congratulations!

Color?

Options?

Thanks!
I like the cyber orange and cactus gray but ended up choosing AREA51 with carbonized gray roof, front/rear splash guards, moon roof, cargo mat and Co-Pilot360 Assist (forced premium package on me to get certain things) and ebony/roast seats.... and I think that's about it ?

 

[spiritedcharm]

Thanks!
I like the cyber orange and cactus gray but ended up choosing AREA51 with carbonized gray roof, front/rear splash guards, moon roof, cargo mat and Co-Pilot360 Assist (forced premium package on me to get certain things) and ebony/roast seats.... and I think that's about it ?

I don't know how accurate this information is, or if you even care, but my dealer advised taking the cargo mat off the order as it can slow it down. He said that can easily be added later.

 

[sajohnson]

Thanks!
I like the cyber orange and cactus gray but ended up choosing AREA51 with carbonized gray roof, front/rear splash guards, moon roof, cargo mat and Co-Pilot360 Assist (forced premium package on me to get certain things) and ebony/roast seats.... and I think that's about it ?

Sounds sweet!

Area 51 exterior is nice. That was our second choice after Cactus Gray.

Initially, we were going to order the moon roof too -- until we realized we would have to pay $2,100 additional for the Premium Package. That was too steep for us. There is some cool stuff in that package, but speaking only for us, the stuff we liked was not worth $2,100. Of course it's all subjective.

The price for the moon roof alone wasn't too bad -- if it was available separately we would have gotten it.

I hope you do not have to wait too long.

 

[rootdoc]

Sounds sweet!

Area 51 exterior is nice. That was our second choice after Cactus Gray.

Initially, we were going to order the moon roof too -- until we realized we would have to pay $2,100 additional for the Premium Package. That was too steep for us. There is some cool stuff in that package, but speaking only for us, the stuff we liked was not worth $2,100. Of course it's all subjective.

The price for the moon roof alone wasn't too bad -- if it was available separately we would have gotten it.

I hope you do not have to wait too long.

Ahhh...that's the key issue regarding the options packages. It's really too bad that Ford Motor Company put those packages into play. It would be nice to be able to get a moon roof without the extra cost of the packages, similar to being able to get the larger engine on the Big Bend without the cost of the higher trim packages. Maybe FMC should have kept things simple for the custom buying customer instead of trying to nickel and dime every customer to death. For me, spending more money for leather seats, an electric passenger seat , dual climate control function and extra brand name speakers in a a small vehicle with the same engine just didn't make sense. That's why I ordered the BB instead of the Outer Banks. Still waiting to take ownership of my BS BB.

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