3 Week, 900 (almost) mile Bronco Sport Badlands review & thoughts (including off-road)

[jay.gordon]

Yep, 91 octane. I'll be experimenting with some various 91 blends. We have some stations that are ethanol free and with my Raptor I always got better mileage (at least 1 maybe 1.5 mpg better) so I'll be trying that out too.

Did you have you Raptor tuned and are you planning on tuning your BS?

I'm looking at 5 star, they did my Gen 1 and the shifting improvement was well worth it.

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[DSanchez]

Three weeks ago today I picked up my BL (with the optional Falken Wildpeak tires). I've taken it on a few road trips, several off-road excursions and quite a few just short trips to learn the vehicle.

As opposed to when I bought my Raptor back in 2013 and fell in love instantly, the Bronco Sport has been different. At first, it was like, this is nice. Feels solid. Decent power. Nice all-around vehicle. But now, after 3 weeks, I am gaining a much deeper appreciation for what this vehicle can do and it's impressive. Took it on one of my favorite short off-road trails today and got to test the mud/ruts mode. I was impressed how low a gear it seemed to be in (almost felt like a 4L gear). In fact, it made the fairly steep, rutty, climb so easy that I ended up going back to just normal mode. It can go slow when you need it to but it also handles the faster trails too. It's not a Raptor but it can handle some pretty decent speeds on the open trail like nothing.

Gas mileage has been improving steadily. Last tank was 27.7 mpg and that included a mixture of highway driving and several off-road trips. It seemed to have picked up a couple mpg recently. I was even able to pull off over 29 mpg on a 150 mile trip. More than happy with that considering the fun of driving the 250hp 2.0L in this mini-beast!

Headlights are great at night. High beams really throw well down the road. No problems with any of the nannies. Kind of like the lane centering notification. Never had a vehicle with this many nannies. If I have one complaint, it would be the cloth seats. They are a little hard. I'm hoping they break in with time and they're not bad but they could be just a tad softer. Not annoying just a little noticeable. Heated seats are impressive. If anything, too hot! Great when you start up and it's cold though. Definitely would feel it through multiple clothing layers!

Overall, I think Ford hit a homerun and anyone who thinks this isn't deserving of a Bronco badge hasn't driven it yet!

Wow. I thought it was only me. I've been hoping for a vehicle like this for a long time. Something like a Range Rover, but smaller. Most important, a dependable daily driver. Wish it was a bit longer, but, hey that's life. A true 4X4 if ever I need one in the mountains or desert. I've been looking at all models lately and I keep coming back to the BL. Waiting for my delivery in early April. I'm looking forward to some long road trips/camping. Anyone know where I can get a carpet kit? Thanks, and happy motoring!

 

[Wyo]

Did you have you Raptor tuned and are you planning on tuning your BS?

I'm looking at 5 star, they did my Gen 1 and the shifting improvement was well worth it.

No, I kept my Raptor bone stock and loved it just like that. I tend to like keeping my vehicles stock for 2 reasons. 1. I like to see what it can do which I rarely exceed. And 2. When others see you doing things with your truck, they always ask what did you do to your truck. I'm always like nothing. This is a stock Ford from the factory. I just like knowing what I can do bone stock and showing others, you don't need to modify these vehicles. Raptor or Bronco. I did use the pedal commander to tweak the throttle response which was amazing. I found 411hp more than enough! And 250hp in the BL BS is more than enough!

 

[AKAKTM]

I am fortunate enough to have a week long demo of a BS Badlands with all the options. As others have said, I liked the vehicle from the outset and am liking it more each day with a couple of exceptions and I’d appreciate input here.

I have a loaded BS Badlands and I find it has more road noise than I expected and far more wind noise. For reference, my normal vehicle is a 2019 Ford Raptor (my third) and I’m a Ford guy! I think the level of road noise I hear may just be normal for compact crossover utility vehicle and I can live with it. The wind noise, which seems to be coming from up high, I can’t live with. On a calm day, it picks becomes noticeable between 35mph and 40mph and is a dominant sound above 55mph. It’s a shame because the BS Badlands cruises really well at 75mph. If I could eliminate the wind noise, it would be acceptable. I suspect the roof rack or maybe the mirrors. Do any of you have a similar experience and any remedy?

I want to purchase this one, but am reluctant due to the noise as I will be driving it on the highway often.

 

[Wyo]

I'm not really having that issue on my BL. I think there is some roof rack wind noise at speed but nothing of consequence. It's not a Raptor. My 2013 was like being isolated from the world. This is a Bronco and it's not that. I suspect the full-size Bronco will be the same. I guess it's all relative unless you do have some sort of issue with something loose or ??.

 

[AKAKTM]

I drove well 55 mph in one and I can confidently say wind noise is not any louder than most vehicles. Maybe there is a loose door seal. Can you record a video of the cabin noise in the bronco sport and the raptor. Curious how much louder road noise in a bronco sport is than a raptor

The overall noise level is much noisier than a Gen II Raptor. That said, the Raptor is a very quiet vehicle. The Bronco Sport BL is quiet below 50 with only moderate road noise, but the wind noise picks up steadily above 50 to become a dominant source of noise. I wonder if the roof rack is easy to remove.

 

[SM05]

I drove well 55 mph in one and I can confidently say wind noise is not any louder than most vehicles. Maybe there is a loose door seal. Can you record a video of the cabin noise in the bronco sport and the raptor. Curious how much louder road noise in a bronco sport is than a raptor

Test drove one last weekend. I could tell it was a bit quieter than my current 2013 RAV4 tin box, which is fine by me. Granted, I never got above 55-58mph.

Had windshield replaced on my RAV4 last month. Asked installer to come back cause I was hearing lots of wind noise from the top of the roof. He found an issue at the bottom of the windshield. After fixing it it's back from very noisy to normal noisy RAV4 now. So could be windshield issue in the demo too. HTH.

 

[TinyCadon]

I am fortunate enough to have a week long demo of a BS Badlands with all the options. As others have said, I liked the vehicle from the outset and am liking it more each day with a couple of exceptions and I’d appreciate input here.

I have a loaded BS Badlands and I find it has more road noise than I expected and far more wind noise. For reference, my normal vehicle is a 2019 Ford Raptor (my third) and I’m a Ford guy! I think the level of road noise I hear may just be normal for compact crossover utility vehicle and I can live with it. The wind noise, which seems to be coming from up high, I can’t live with. On a calm day, it picks becomes noticeable between 35mph and 40mph and is a dominant sound above 55mph. It’s a shame because the BS Badlands cruises really well at 75mph. If I could eliminate the wind noise, it would be acceptable. I suspect the roof rack or maybe the mirrors. Do any of you have a similar experience and any remedy?

I want to purchase this one, but am reluctant due to the noise as I will be driving it on the highway often.

I just turn the radio volume up a bit, don't even notice wind noise now. You get accustomed to it, kind of like living on a busy street, traffic noise just tends to blend into the background.

 

[jptravsi4]

I've been wondering about road/wind noise, as it's something you can't really get much feel for on a quick test drive. I have a BL + BL on order to replace my 2012 Escape, which I've enjoyed a lot but finding the noise at 80MPH+ getting to me more and more. Drives very well - just loud cabin. Any thoughts on comparisons between those two? If I went for something bigger instead (considering a 4Runner right now) would that generally be better or worse? All this lead time for production gives me too much time to overthink this.

 

[tRex]

I have a low-profile, tightly sprung, hard-top convertible that is VERY noisy going down the road -- road noise and wind noise. The Sport seems to generate some wind noise around the front area of the roof (turbulence?). As I've observed so far, anything rack-mounted on the roof will make a lot of noise in addition. And still, it's quieter than my convertible. There is a little bit more thumping sound from the suspension over holes and bumps -- but my tester had the tires all at 45 PSI which could only make bumps and sounds worse. Tire roar -- not a problem. This is a lean, mean, smaller vehicle, not a cushy, isolated, expensive, luxury SUV -- but doing very well in refinement for what it is. It is never going to provide that "living room" riding/driving experience.

 

[jptravsi4]

I have a low-profile, tightly sprung, hard-top convertible that is VERY noisy going down the road -- road noise and wind noise. The Sport seems to generate some wind noise around the front area of the roof (turbulence?). As I've observed so far, anything rack-mounted on the roof will make a lot of noise in addition. And still, it's quieter than my convertible. There is a little bit more thumping sound from the suspension over holes and bumps -- but my tester had the tires all at 45 PSI which could only make bumps and sounds worse. Tire roar -- not a problem. This is a lean, mean, smaller vehicle, not a cushy, isolated, expensive, luxury SUV -- but doing very well in refinement for what it is. It is never going to provide that "living room" riding/driving experience.

Totally understand. Not looking for anything hermetically sealed, but I am curious how it will compare to my current car and other SUVs.

 

[fourthgear]

I believe any Unibody will be a little noisy compared to a Full Frame set up . Ours was much quieter after setting the Tire pressure to the correct level also . Don't have an issue with wind noise .

 

[VapourTrails]

I believe any Unibody will be a little noisy compared to a Full Frame set up . Ours was much quieter after setting the Tire pressure to the correct level also . Don't have an issue with wind noise .

It seems not bad to me. There is some tire noise. Of course, the biggest factor in wind noise, is the wind. What was the direction and how fast was the wind?

 

[Aleta51]

LOL, I'm sure my wife will have divorced me long before I take delivery. Every day it's all I can talk about... researching tires, accessories, trailers, off-road trail excursions, this forum, etc. Hopefully by the time I can actually pick it up and drive it, the novelty will have ratcheted down to just a pleasant hum and I can enjoy it as the daily driver and weekend warrior it is intended to be, and not a daily obsession!!

You are NOT alone !! Can’t wait to get it !!

 

[RRD]

The 93 will help with keeping the engine clean. If the 2.0 is direct port injection like my Type R was the lower octane was a no no.
Check with some of the local ricers and see what gas stations have the cleanest gas, it may take a while to get past the E85 crowd but the pump gas guys will tell you where to get the good stuff.

Octane rating does nothing to keep your engine cleaner, or dirtier either. Detergent added to the fuel is for that and ALL gasoline, at all octane ratings have to have a minimum detergent additives for sale, in the US at least.

Octane is a rating on how heat resistant the fuel is which prevents premature ignition commonly known as "knocking".

Octane, itself, does not increase performance either and if a engine is not designed to take advantage of higher octane levels then it is just wasting money for that higher cost of fuel. Higher octane allows for higher compression which can be used if designed by the factory to then give higher performance.

Ford has, from what I been told, designed all of their engines (I am not sure about the turbo 4 in the Mustang) to run normally on 87 octane rating gas. Ford Bronco Sports, per the owners manual, state you will get more performance using 91 octane rating in hot weather or towing. (page 156)

My source for all this information is simple google search, very easy to verify

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