I don't see anything in those pics to suggest a BS, especially a badlands, with AT tires shouldn't be able to make it up but the image quality isn't the best.
The folks in the Crosstrek who didn't make it up either don't have a lot of experience or have street tires...or both.
It really comes down to if you want to extra power or not, that's the only reason to get the BL if you're not going to offroad.
Have you considered the Escape? You can get the 2.0 in lower trims.
3 on which trail rating system? There's quite a few, on the old 4x4 1-10 rating the Base sport is prolly good to 2-3 and the Badlands to 4-5.
Now there's a lot of different reasons a trail might get it's rating. The Badlands will be limited by it's clearance and lack of 4 low but some 5's on...
I've had this set installed front and back on the passenger side of the mirror for a couple of years now in the CA central valley heat and they're still working well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XD6FLSY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here's a sample video showing the...
Most vehicles do poorly on these, this is a very good result.
FYI the 1.5 may not do quite as well due to the lack of torque, especially on an incline.
Yeah the all-wheel drive system is made by AAM, the ecotrac, it's the same one that's in the Cherokee KL. It's actually a really good system better than most.
Driving a fresh snow on a regular road isn't nearly as tough as a steep incline on a dusty trail. Dusty climbs are about the toughest thing you can do to an all-wheel drive vehicle. Fresh snow actually easier to drive in.
Your vehicle isn't really designed to tackle those kinds of hills, it's why manufactures should stop labeling AWDS as 4wd.
You're going to run into overheating problems any time you tackle steep loose terrain. Your AWD system uses friction to transfer power to the back and can overheat. On top...
That's incorrect both tires come in a variety of sidewall ratings. They both range from passenger to a light truck tire. In a vehicle like this a light truck rated tire is a mistake. It adds a ton of unsprung weight you don't want and negatively impacts road driving. You're unlikely to ever...
Those little Suzukis were true four-wheel drive with low range and were incredibly light.
I'm not saying the base models are useless off-road they're just significantly less capable than the Badlands and people should keep that in mind when they see Badlands reviews and off-road tests.
That's incorrect, even with it off it still applies the brake locking to keep the tires spinning at the same speed.
You pretty much wanted to disable traction control anytime you're off road.
Exactly how do you think it delivers power to each wheel without the brakes?
https://www.motortrend.com/features/2021-ford-bronco-sport-escape-suspension-awd-systems-explained/
Models powered by the 1.5-liter engine get a typical open rear differential, with individual wheel braking helping...
I think you're mixing up traction control and how the all-wheel drive system transfers power from side to side. In order to stop one wheel from spinning to transfer power to the other wheel it has to apply the brake to the spinning wheel. This creates a lot of torque loss for the vehicle. The...
One caveat to that is the first edition and Badlands have a lot more torque than the lower trims. The wheel breaking that all wheel drive systems are using eats a lot of torque, so the Badlands will have a significant advantage here also.
The all-wheel drive system in the Sport and the Cherokee...