The ground clearance is the biggest issue but lifting it really doesnāt help much if you already have a Badlands in my opinion. It is what it is. Itās a great utility vehicle that can go off road provided the terrain doesnāt get to crazy. The length is about the same as my 2 door. I donāt really notice the width being an issue either way. I sure there are cases a few inches will help but most problems are with pinstriping and not with rock formations but trees.I've got a BS Sasquatch. It's a matter of ground clearance. The BS is shorter, a bit narrower which can make a big difference in certain situations. I've been able squeeze my rig through some tight spaces (with a few scrapes)...but I'm thinking about a lift kit.
Given a stock ā21 BS Badlands made it up Hellās Gate, Iām not sure that thereās much it canāt handle that most other stock rigs can. Sure, itās not what Iād call a good platform for building a rock crawler from, but donāt shortchange it.
Hellās gate isnāt really a clearance obstacle. Granted, itās not a forest road but itās not considered a high clearance obstacle. Itās way more mentally challenging than anything with the deep vee notch. Thereās been plenty of vehicles that have made it up that with probably less clearance than the Sport. A Kia Sorento and a Cybertruck have made it up stock as has a Porsche SUV. Again, not dismissing the Sport, but a high clearance vehicle itās not.
I had a friend back in the 70ās take his really nice ā69 Camaro Z-28 back on the off road area. He made it pretty far before getting high centered. Iām sure alcohol had no influence on that decision! And that was back in the day when 31ā tires were considered large. Once people moved to 33ās and 35ās, those trails became impossible even for many vehicles. Itās even worse now with 37ās and 40ās becoming more popular with those out west.
