12 Month 7300 Mile Review of Bronco Sport Badlands

[fastlax16]

The sport is an offroader first and car second. I stand by that statement having done a ton of offroading with everything from wranglers, to crossovers, to sketchy civics. The sport gets a ton of hype because it's the first crossover that people feel can meaningfully offroad. Subarus and trailhawks/etc can go offroad and handle themselves, but they always felt a little hobbled.

Given this, you can understand the design choices. I DO NOT want expensive plastic and wipers and etc, because all that stuff is gonna get scratched, cracked, ripped, and broken if you're doing actual offroad, camping, and the like. For the capability and idea of the car, I'm surprised it's as nice as it looks inside. The engine definitely does not lug when you're ripping through high incline trails, mud, and sand, for example. And I suppose you said it yourself: your wife likes the styling which is why you have it. That stylishness is going to make a lot of people disappointed when they realize they're buying an actual offroader and not a zippy city car.

At the end of the day, it's a budget offroader that is actually capable and looks cool enough to drive around as a daily commuter without shame. If that's not what you're looking for then you bought the wrong car.

So you’re saying Ford designed the Sport as a true rugged off roader and then skimped by putting materials that cant handle being taken off-road without ultimately sustaining significant damage? Higher quality materials, especially plastics, are generally more durable than cheap brittle shit, so unless I’m misunderstanding, it sounds like you’re saying the interior has a lot of cheap pieces and that’s fine cuz you’re just going to scratch and break most of it anyway?

Honestly wtf are you doing to your car that your going to be cracking/scratching the dash, the door panels, the cluster surround, the pillars the *checks notes* wipers? in a brand new car? Driving with a live cougar? Christ even the guys I know with full size broncos and newer wranglers who off-road arent actually wrecking interior components like that. It’s not a TJ.

The badlands, which is what I own and am critiquing, is basically a 40k car now no matter how it’s equipped, so it’s not a budget anything and won’t be for a long time with the way depreciation is going.

i get it, fanboy gonna fanboy. My R saw a ton of track time but I’m not naive enough to think that the vast majority of them were bought as anything more than daily drivers new even though the marketing told me otherwise. nor did I explain away negative areas of cost saving as “its fine because #racecar.” The vast majority of sports, badlands or otherwise, sold are used asdaily drivers that will never see anything worse than a dirt road or gravel driveway with their original owner.

you’re also wrong about it not working as a zippy city car. It absolutely does, at least with the bigger engine. It’s when you want/need to drive it at a less than zippy pace, like say when you’ve got a sleeping infant in the backseat, that it has some challenges. And I didn’t complain about it lugging when I rip it through anything. I have zero complaints about how it drives at wot. Heck might even take it to a drag strip and surprise some kids in imports after the diff is fixed.

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[AlohaBronco]

So you’re saying Ford designed the Sport as a true rugged off roader and then skimped by putting materials that cant handle being taken off-road without ultimately sustaining significant damage? Higher quality materials, especially plastics, are generally more durable than cheap brittle shit, so unless I’m misunderstanding, it sounds like you’re saying the interior has a lot of cheap pieces and that’s fine cuz you’re just going to scratch and break most of it anyway?

Honestly wtf are you doing to your car that your going to be cracking/scratching the dash, the door panels, the cluster surround, the pillars the *checks notes* wipers? in a brand new car? Driving with a live cougar? Christ even the guys I know with full size broncos and newer wranglers who off-road arent actually wrecking interior components like that. It’s not a TJ.

The badlands, which is what I own and am critiquing, is basically a 40k car now no matter how it’s equipped, so it’s not a budget anything and won’t be for a long time with the way depreciation is going.

i get it, fanboy gonna fanboy. My R saw a ton of track time but I’m not naive enough to think that the vast majority of them were bought as anything more than daily drivers new even though the marketing told me otherwise. nor did I explain away negative areas of cost saving as “its fine because #racecar.” The vast majority of sports, badlands or otherwise, sold are used asdaily drivers that will never see anything worse than a dirt road or gravel driveway with their original owner.

you’re also wrong about it not working as a zippy city car. It absolutely does, at least with the bigger engine. It’s when you want/need to drive it at a less than zippy pace, like say when you’ve got a sleeping infant in the backseat, that it has some challenges. And I didn’t complain about it lugging when I rip it through anything. I have zero complaints about how it drives at wot. Heck might even take it to a drag strip and surprise some kids in imports after the diff is fixed.

I get everyone's dog piling on you so you're a little salty and I commend you for an honest review, but relax dude. You saying all that tells me you don't do much camping or adventure trips. No matter how high quality the material, if you're shoving in a few surfboards, or a mountain bike, or other gear, or have a multitude of equipment bouncing around the entire car because you're trying to focus on your adventure and not being tidy, sooner or later you'll scrape something, you'll drop something, etc etc. It's just what happens. You don't need a cougar bro, you just need to be tired and shove the nose of your surfboard the wrong way (as an example).

Like I said, they designed a legitimate "budget" offroader. The full size bronco is the "true" offroader. Not sure how that's a fanboy description. It seems to me they put most of their money and design work into making sure this tiny package and relatively tiny engine can actually offroad. Also idk man I've been in a number of cars in the last year and also test drove competitors, and the interiors didn't look that much more luxurious for the price point. Maybe slightly, but nothing that made me feel like I was losing out.

As for the "can't actually handle offroad" materials, I've owned mine for a year and taken it out like crazy, camped, adventured, etc. It's all looking good so far.

 

[fastlax16]

I get everyone's dog piling on you so you're a little salty and I commend you for an honest review, but relax dude. You saying all that tells me you don't do much camping or adventure trips. No matter how high quality the material, if you're shoving in a few surfboards, or a mountain bike, or other gear, or have a multitude of equipment bouncing around the entire car because you're trying to focus on your adventure and not being tidy, sooner or later you'll scrape something, you'll drop something, etc etc. It's just what happens. You don't need a cougar bro, you just need to be tired and shove the nose of your surfboard the wrong way (as an example).

Like I said, they designed a legitimate "budget" offroader. The full size bronco is the "true" offroader. Not sure how that's a fanboy description. It seems to me they put most of their money and design work into making sure this tiny package and relatively tiny engine can actually offroad. Also idk man I've been in a number of cars in the last year and also test drove competitors, and the interiors didn't look that much more luxurious for the price point. Maybe slightly, but nothing that made me feel like I was losing out.

As for the "can't actually handle offroad" materials, I've owned mine for a year and taken it out like crazy, camped, adventured, etc. It's all looking good so far.

Not salty at all. Just saying that acting like cheap materials is a feature is fanboying. If you don’t care that’s fine, your opinion, but just because something is lower quality doesn’t mean it looks better after it’s been bashed with a surfboard.

I don’t off-road but I’ve got a house I’ve been doing a lot of work on (like I’m at Home Depot almost every weekend for the past two years). I’ve tossed a lot of 2x4s, cut plywood and drywall, bags of concrete, dirt, gravel, rocks, tools, paint buckets, etc into the car. I’ve never gotten into it when it’s loaded with lumber and thought to myself glad the materials in here arent nicer just in case I get lazy with a board. I’ve got scuffs and scrapes. I don’t feel better about them because it’s fisher price plastic and I wouldn’t feel worse about them if it was something nicer.

 

[Jumbo1953]

The sport is an offroader first and car second. I stand by that statement having done a ton of offroading with everything from wranglers, to crossovers, to sketchy civics. The sport gets a ton of hype because it's the first crossover that people feel can meaningfully offroad. Subarus and trailhawks/etc can go offroad and handle themselves, but they always felt a little hobbled.

Given this, you can understand the design choices. I DO NOT want expensive plastic and wipers and etc, because all that stuff is gonna get scratched, cracked, ripped, and broken if you're doing actual offroad, camping, and the like. For the capability and idea of the car, I'm surprised it's as nice as it looks inside. The engine definitely does not lug when you're ripping through high incline trails, mud, and sand, for example. And I suppose you said it yourself: your wife likes the styling which is why you have it. That stylishness is going to make a lot of people disappointed when they realize they're buying an actual offroader and not a zippy city car.

At the end of the day, it's a budget offroader that is actually capable and looks cool enough to drive around as a daily commuter without shame. If that's not what you're looking for then you bought the wrong car.

Exactly and well said.

 

[69cuda340s]

An equivalent '22 to my '21 Badlands has MSRP around $44,500. So I think its safe to say these are not 'budget' vehicles.

Ford broke the boring jelly bean mold and caught competitors asleep at the wheel. Now they going to cash out on their hit product. Every BS that hits the empty dealer lots will quickly sell even with the steep price increases. Meanwhile competitors have the jelly bean look a like offerings and most don't offer the power of the 2.0 either....

Quality issues, cheap interior, strange noises, poor dealer service --- when all is said and done Ford has more buyers then units to sell.

 

[fastlax16]

An equivalent '22 to my '21 Badlands has MSRP around $44,500. So I think its safe to say these are not 'budget' vehicles.

Ford broke the boring jelly bean mold and caught competitors asleep at the wheel. Now they going to cash out on their hit product. Every BS that hits the empty dealer lots will quickly sell even with the steep price increases. Meanwhile competitors have the jelly bean look a like offerings and most don't offer the power of the 2.0 either....

Quality issues, cheap interior, strange noises, poor dealer service --- when all is said and done Ford has more buyers then units to sell.

Yup. As a design exercise they really hit it out of the park and in the current market they’re just not going to sit in inventory. That said, it doesn’t make someone a hater for pointing out areas where they came up short. All cars have weird quirks or areas they cut costs, especially new from the ground up designs. Issues get improved because people point them out, not because they get glossed over.

Heck I didn’t even mention the flimsy sunglass holder that gets stuck opening. I guess something like that’s just a value add if you’re driving it through a river .

 

[Jrl]

Exactly and well said.

Exactly and well said.

To the point exactly .

 

[Bronco307]

The Bronco Sport is by no means perfect. Like anything it has flaws. I think a lot of your analysis is fair, and can appreciate your perspective on the Bronco Sport, however a lot of your comparisons are between an off road oriented crossover, and an enthusiast model hot hatch, which really isn't fair to either. This is not apples to apples, not even apples to oranges, more like apples to cake. Yes they have similar price points, but fill completely different niches in the market. That's like comparing a Jeep Grand Wagoneer to a Porsche 911 because they have a similar MSRP, 4 wheels, and run on gasoline. It sounds like you mostly purchased the BS because your wife likes the looks of it. Buying anything for looks without taking the functions it was designed for into account can leave you wanting something else. The plastics and materials are on par for this segment of vehicle, it is designed to be rugged, not luxury. Hard "cheap" plastics wipe down easily and don't collect dust as badly as more premium soft touch plastics do. We traded in a Mazda CX30 for one of our Broncos, and while the Mazda had much more premium materials, I'd take the hard plastics of the BS each and every time given the choice. When you use a BS as intended and get dusty and dirty, you appreciate the ease of cleaning. The BS is expensive due to the off road tech that was researched, developed, and put into it, you paid for that even though you have no use for them. Very very few people would ever cross shop a Ford Bronco Sport with a VW Golf R. Based on your description of how you drive, this is not the right vehicle for you, not even close. Driving a BS at over 100 mph (25+ mph over the speed limit is enough to get you thrown in jail in some states) for extended periods is outright dangerous. The BS is shaped like a brick with a short wheel base, it was not intended to ride safely and handle at these speeds, better hope someone never cut you off at the wrong time or you have a blowout at those speeds. If that is how you drive on interstates you better head back to German hot hatches or performance cars. You also keep comparing to a Taos, a better comparison for sure, (crossover, AWD, similar size and prices...) but at 158 hp it has a big compromise on power. Nothing is perfect...but compare apples to apples, or at least apples to oranges.

 

[AmazingSieve]

I genuinely don’t get how people are saying the interior plastics are that bad.

I’m used to driving beamers and Audis and yes even a Golf and compared to those, the interior materials they’re still not bad in the Badlands. I actually think they’re solid.

 

[JerryC]

I genuinely don’t get how people are saying the interior plastics are that bad.

I’m used to driving beamers and Audis and yes even a Golf and compared to those, the interior materials they’re still not bad in the Badlands. I actually think they’re solid.

My recent comparisons would be to 2017 Ram Rebel, 2020 Rav 4 hybrid and a 2021 4Runner.

Look and feel the BSBL plastics give a lower quality impression. Whether or not they are actually durable or not I don't know as try not scratch them.

The quality of my 4Runner feels like a luxury vehicle next to the BSBL, but it also very dated.

All of them were several thousand dollars more expensive than the BSBL.

 

[fastlax16]

The Bronco Sport is by no means perfect. Like anything it has flaws. I think a lot of your analysis is fair, however you are comparing an off road oriented crossover to a enthusiast model hot hatch, which really isn't. This is not apples to apples, not even apples to oranges, more like apples to cake. Yes they have similar price points, but fill completely different niches in the market. That's like comparing a Jeep Grand Wagoneer to a Porsche 911 because they have a similar MSRP. It sounds like you mostly purchased the BS because your wife likes the looks of it. Buying anything for looks without taking the functions it was designed for into account can leave you wanting something else. The plastics and materials are on par for this segment of vehicle, it is designed to be rugged, not luxury. Hard "cheap" plastics wipe down easily and don't collect dust as badly as more premium soft touch plastics do. We traded in a Mazda CX30 for one of our Broncos, and while the Mazda had much more premium materials, I'd take the hard plastics of the BS each and every time given the choice. When you use a BS as intended and get dusty and dirty, you appreciate the ease of cleaning. The BS is expensive due to the off road tech that was researched, developed, and put into it, you paid for that even though you have no use for them. Very very few people would ever cross shop a Ford Bronco Sport with a VW Golf R. Based on your description of how you drive, this is not the right vehicle for you, not even close. Driving a BS at over 100 mph (25+ mph over the speed limit is enough to get you thrown in jail in some states) for extended periods is outright dangerous. The BS is shaped like a brick with a short wheel base, it was not intended to ride safely and handle at these speeds, better hope someone never cut you off at the wrong time or you have a blowout at those speeds. If that is how you drive on interstates you better head back to German hot hatches or performance cars. You also keep comparing to a Taos, a better comparison for sure, (crossover, AWD, similar size and prices...) but at 158 hp it has a big compromise on power. Nothing is perfect...but compare apples to apples, or at least apples to oranges.

Good grief. Not sure why I'm bothering to respond because the 911 comment is ridiculous.

I compared it to the R because I happened to own both simultaneously. I admitted its not a perfect comparison. That said, you're being obtuse with the wagoneer/911 comparison. The Golf and the Sport are significantly more similar than a 3 row suv and rear engine two door, two seat (yes I know the 911 has a token shelf back seat) semi-exotic sports car. The golf and the sport are easily apples to oranges maybe even apples to pears if you're cross shopping as daily drivers. (which is most people, even sport owners).

I know more than a few people who have cross shopped Golfs (gtis and Rs) with compact SUVs, including the sport, since you actually get similar daily utility out of them. Since you brought up the CX30 let's compare. Both 4 door 5 passenger hatchbacks. the Golf actually has more front head room (38.4 vs 38.1), front shoulder room (55.9 vs 55.6), rear shoulder room (53.9 vs 53.6), cargo room with the seats up (22.8 vs 20.2) and down (52.7 vs 45.2) and interior volume (116.3 vs 114). I see what you mean. Totally different in every way imaginable... like apples and cake. I'm imagining the specs are equally different on the Wagoneer and the 911.

As far as materials/fit and finish, the Badlands new pricing puts it over 40k. It's below par with the crossovers and suvs that start coming into play at that price. Does different things well sure. Not sure why pointing out some short comings is met with such derision. If I was in a big bend I'd picked up for 29 grand I wouldn't have cared.

I gave credit to the car for being easy to clean, I have an infant. Wiping dust and dirt out of the texted dash is actually a pain in the ass in my experience (lots of home depot trips...)

The horror of hitting 110 on an empty stretch of the interstate in central Iowa for ~30 seconds at 6 am. If it was as dangerous as you say at those speeds shame on ford for not putting a limiter on it. sounds irresponsible of the,. It was a matter of fact statement, not even a criticism. And I said its a great highway cruiser at more typical speeds.

Look, I get it. It's the toughest most off road ready suv ever built and every single owner trailers them to and from the trailhead so how it functions when its not fording a river or traversing fallen trees is totally irrelevant to everyone, because 101% of buyers commute through Moab every day. There is nothing disappointing or wrong with the car or its design, its all really just proof of how much effort went into its offroad worthiness. That's why they never picked up the apparently very common issue (am I allowed to use that word?, are we calling them features now?) with the rear hatch not opening keylessly. Had to spend that money off road testing instead of on QA.

I've also learned that the Mazda CX30 is a Porsche 911esque package compared to the Bronco Sports Wagoneer.

 

[Mick2022OB]

I have a Badlands on order but currently have a Big Bend. I had the same "problem" with the transmission. I read some posts about going with premium fuel and tried that. I have found that running the mid grade makes the Big Bend shift perfectly. Not sure what the connection is but it has worked for me. If the Badlands already requires premium, then I doubt this will work.

 

[AlohaBronco]

Good grief. Not sure why I'm bothering to respond because the 911 comment is ridiculous.

I compared it to the R because I happened to own both simultaneously. I admitted its not a perfect comparison. That said, you're being obtuse with the wagoneer/911 comparison. The Golf and the Sport are significantly more similar than a 3 row suv and rear engine two door, two seat (yes I know the 911 has a token shelf back seat) semi-exotic sports car. The golf and the sport are easily apples to oranges maybe even apples to pears if you're cross shopping as daily drivers. (which is most people, even sport owners).

I know more than a few people who have cross shopped Golfs (gtis and Rs) with compact SUVs, including the sport, since you actually get similar daily utility out of them. Since you brought up the CX30 let's compare. Both 4 door 5 passenger hatchbacks. the Golf actually has more front head room (38.4 vs 38.1), front shoulder room (55.9 vs 55.6), rear shoulder room (53.9 vs 53.6), cargo room with the seats up (22.8 vs 20.2) and down (52.7 vs 45.2) and interior volume (116.3 vs 114). I see what you mean. Totally different in every way imaginable... like apples and cake. I'm imagining the specs are equally different on the Wagoneer and the 911.

As far as materials/fit and finish, the Badlands new pricing puts it over 40k. It's below par with the crossovers and suvs that start coming into play at that price. Does different things well sure. Not sure why pointing out some short comings is met with such derision. If I was in a big bend I'd picked up for 29 grand I wouldn't have cared.

I gave credit to the car for being easy to clean, I have an infant. Wiping dust and dirt out of the texted dash is actually a pain in the ass in my experience (lots of home depot trips...)

The horror of hitting 110 on an empty stretch of the interstate in central Iowa for ~30 seconds at 6 am. If it was as dangerous as you say at those speeds shame on ford for not putting a limiter on it. sounds irresponsible of the,. It was a matter of fact statement, not even a criticism. And I said its a great highway cruiser at more typical speeds.

Look, I get it. It's the toughest most off road ready suv ever built and every single owner trailers them to and from the trailhead so how it functions when its not fording a river or traversing fallen trees is totally irrelevant to everyone, because 101% of buyers commute through Moab every day. There is nothing disappointing or wrong with the car or its design, its all really just proof of how much effort went into its offroad worthiness. That's why they never picked up the apparently very common issue (am I allowed to use that word?, are we calling them features now?) with the rear hatch not opening keylessly. Had to spend that money off road testing instead of on QA.

I've also learned that the Mazda CX30 is a Porsche 911esque package compared to the Bronco Sports Wagoneer.

Haha dude, your posts are killing me. Just admit you got pussywhipped into buying a car you hate and move on.

 

[AmazingSieve]

Haha dude, your posts are killing me. Just admit you got pussywhipped into buying a car you hate and move on.

I once had a friend almost fight me after I outed him for buying a Subaru Ascent. He wanted to keep that his little secret for the rest of his life.

 

[69cuda340s]

If the Badlands already requires premium, then I doubt this will work.

Per Ford Owners Manual Badlands requires minimum 87 octane. Mine feels like it runs smoother quieter on 93 so that what I run in mine. But your gonna have ppl start screaming higher octane make no diff waste of money blah blah blah blah....so its a run what you want personal preference type of thing...

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