Badlands VS. Outer Banks

Osco

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For me it was the sum of all factors.
My needs, my wants, my budget,
My 1.5L Base model fit best.
The extra 3 to 4 mpg’s of the 3 banger was not the deciding factor.
It was the $5,000 lower price that did it for me.
It was December 2020 and I got one of the first ones before any price increases.
Looking at that sticker with my mouth hanging open, the sales man had nothing to do.
$26,000 plus destination.
That worked for me, and I got top dollar on my trade not the common low dollar they skin you with on the trade game.
I mean $28,000 plus the triple T’s was hard to beat for an AWD/4x4 sport Ute.
 
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R. Bird

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Eco mode shuts down one cylinder and isn't intended for hills.
So the 1.5 is only using 2 cylinders in Eco??? That’s impressive! I haven’t really noticed a difference in performance between Eco and Normal, except for the shift points. I only have 300 miles, all city driving (1 to 2 mile hops), more stop than go, and have been averaging 20.4 mpg. Just filled up for the first time after a month, so I’m not too concerned about the low mpg. My Colorado was only getting maybe 17. But it was a V6.

We bought the OB for the looks (Who wants to drive a jellybean in a world of jellybeans?) and creature comforts. Our biggest “Off-roading“ adventuring consists of getting up our driveway in the winter (Many FWD and RWD have tried and failed). We absolutely LOVE our OB and the 1.5 works for our needs.
 

M3H7363

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So the 1.5 is only using 2 cylinders in Eco??? That’s impressive! I haven’t really noticed a difference in performance between Eco and Normal, except for the shift points.
Only under light load. If the situation calls for more power, it's using all THREE cylinders.
 

Glamdring70

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So the 1.5 is only using 2 cylinders in Eco???
No, it can use two if the computer thinks 2 is enough. I think when I drove it up the hill it was using 3, but it still felt extremely grandpa mode compared to 1.5 normal or the 2.0 in eco. In fact, I think the 2.0 in eco feels stronger pulling hills, than the 1.5 in normal.
 


thesavo

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in my opinion, my 1.5L in Eco pulls hills way better than my 2008 V6 Mariner with 202,000 miles. .. ...and better than any other vehicle I have owned.
 

The Shark

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I just went from a OB to a BL, I talked about this in another thread but I'm pretty pleased with the BL so far, you really notice the power of the 2.0, much smoother than the 1.5, one thing I really noticed was the transition with the start/stop, you almost don't notice it with the 2.0, the 1.5 was much more pronounced. The BL came with the 235/65 Falkens, I was worried about the noise/ride but honestly I think with the enhanced suspension and tires its a quieter and smoother ride with better handling. Very impressed so far. Just a different feeling vehicle.

Now I found the 1.5 to be competent and if you have one and never drove the 2.0 then you will be perfectly happy. :)
 

fastlax16

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The NVH from the 1.5 was a non-starter for us after test driving both motors back to back. The price difference between the ob and badlands once they both had all the options we wanted also wasn’t that large and (not that it really matters) I’d expect to recoup it on resale, but obviously tbd.
 

Bubbaloo

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We’ve had our Badlands with the 2.0L since first week of May and have put about 7000 miles on it. It’s been great. We like it enough that we just ordered another one! The second one will be more of a company vehicle, but my wife will probably be driving it a bunch and my daughter when back from college over the summer. …Who knows when we’ll get it though. It’s a BL + Premium package, two, 360+ and moon roof. We may not get it until late spring/summer…. Hope it doesn’t take that long, but I’m trying to temper expectations. Our current Badlands Sport was ordered first week of December and so it took right at 5 months and that was before the chip shortage hit.

We test drove a BB with the 1.5L and a BL with 2.0L prior to ordering the first one. I knew I wanted the 2.0L from the start anyway. The 1.5L was fine and would do just great around town, but if you do any off-road or mountain driving, you’ll want the 2.0L.
I got the Badlands/Area-51 in March 2021, with the premium package. I was ready to purchase the OBanks and trade-in my 2014 Escape Titanium. When we arrived at the dealer, the sales rep told me there was a "slight accident" on the dealer lot and the door of the OB that I was ready to buy had been damaged. So my wife convinced me to test drive the Badlands. Glad I listened to her. The 2.0 is by far a better engine. Acceleration is much better. Go for it.
 

Osco

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I never use Eco, I think it’s pointless.
 


Escape2Bronco

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New here. I was waiting on a big Bronco but my 2005 Ford Escape decided to die, so I put a deposit on a BS Outer Banks yesterday. Has almost all options, but with the 1.5 engine of course.

It's a bit of worry for me since the 2005 Escape has a v6 and is not exactly peppy, esp. when trying to tow a small trailer. Found it surprising that the BS OB can only tow 2k and even the BL only adds 200 more at 2.2k.

So we'll see. But engineers have made such amazing progress on engines in the last twenty years, I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised. And I'm going to get mine before all of you who did custom orders, so :p
Same boat as you. My 2006 has the rear quarter cancer and with the recent news what I thought would be a ‘22 big Bronco now may be a ‘24. Planning on helping the cause by getting a Bronco sport through Granger to bridge the gap. Biggest concern is the 1.5 vs 2.0.
 
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AllTerrain

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I am comparing the 1.5 to the 2020 Tacoma I had, not my F150 2.7 twin turbo... because that twin turbo will do laps around the 1.5 without breaking a sweat. However if you put the 1.5 into sport mode to merge into Hwy traffic on those on ramps that are only 20 feet long it will get there in plenty of time from my experience.

With that said, my job relies on my keeping a clear MVR so I do not speed, I do not aggressively drive and I honestly am in no hurry most days. Life, to me, is so much better when I take my time, enjoy the drive.
Toyota made an error in there gearing and transmission on that generation Tacoma.
 

thegadgetfish

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One of the reasons I got my OB was because the seats looked so much better. Not a fan of the leather badlands espresso seats.

Most of my driving is on flat roads, and with gas pushing $5/gal, I need all the mileage I can get. And yes, I was looking at hybrid cars for a long time, but they were just so boring! (Fingers crossed for a BS hybrid soon)

I came from a cvt 2014 crosstrek, so the 1.5 feels like enough power for me. If I was constantly in the mountains, i’d go for a 2.0, but it was just overkill for my driving conditions.
 

AllTerrain

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One of the reasons I got my OB was because the seats looked so much better. Not a fan of the leather badlands espresso seats.

Most of my driving is on flat roads, and with gas pushing $5/gal, I need all the mileage I can get. And yes, I was looking at hybrid cars for a long time, but they were just so boring! (Fingers crossed for a BS hybrid soon)

I came from a cvt 2014 crosstrek, so the 1.5 feels like enough power for me. If I was constantly in the mountains, i’d go for a 2.0, but it was just overkill for my driving conditions.
After comparing to Subarus also, imagine after that crosstrek a with Ford's 1.5 turbo + gearing is substantially better.
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