Comfortable for longer road trips? Thinking of buying.

[Frznrth]

Hi
My wife likes the look of the broncos but is concerned about how comfortable they might be for a 10 hour road trip. We live in Alberta and drive to Saskatchewan occasionally (as infrequently as I can help it).
It would be a badlands trim. Unlikely Sasquatch, but if we found a great deal it could happen. She drives a Ram 1500 right now and finds it comfortable so she’s not Lexus fussy or anything. She likes the open feeling of the cab - she has some claustrophobia and she’s a bit taller, 5 10” so she likes to stretch out her legs. She also does not like any wind noise - not that this should be an issue - would it?
Thanks for the help.

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[Quashish]

Not the most comfortable seats in my opinion. The side bolsters on the back are okay, the headrest only height adjusts no tilt, and the base of the seat is just flat with no factory adjustment, and kind of short.

I added some spacers on the front of the seats from Desert Does It to give a bit of an angle which helps some. Definitely better on those long trips. But still, ford could've done better on the seat design. One of my only complaints about this car is the seats and cabin room. With my seat adjusted comfortably there is little room in the back row.

 

[Schuelady]

I have an 2025 Outer Banks and find it not very comfortable after 5+ hours on the road! I did purchase a Sketcher seat cushion from Walmart that really seems to help with that comfort!

 

[RSH]

I would do some test drives to see if the Sport is really what you want. Yes the look calls your attention and the only way to get the 2.0 is in the Badlands trim or variations of.​

Wind noise and road noise are two different things, at normal highway speeds the Sports wind noise isn't to bad, though the faster you go like 80mph for example the louder it gets, it's not the most aerodynamic vehicle.​

Road noise is more of an issue and is dependent on tires, I have a 2021 Badlands with all terrain tires and they are on the noisy side.​

Assuming your Ram isn't a base model work truck, the Ram has better seats than the Sport and a larger cab which allows for more comfort, depending on the trim level they call upper level pickups cowboy Cadillacs, that's not the Sport.
Also, if you tow anything over approximately 2500 lbs, that's the limit for the Sport.

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[Garth]

We’ve gone on 3+ hour drives and I have no problems with it. It does have noticeable wind noise which is to be expected with a square vehicle, but I can’t imagine it being worse than a pick up truck. The front seats are comfortable for us. I wouldn’t subject anyone to sit in the backseat for that length of time if they have long legs . They are a small vehicle so you have to keep that in mind.

 

[incavulator]

I think long trip comfort is going to be a definite downgrade from the RAM1500. I don't think it's terrible, but it wouldn't be my first choice for extended trips.

 

[Garth]

Well, the best thing is to see if you fit before you take it for a drive because once you start driving it whether you fit or not might not be the selling feature. When I was vehicle shopping the week before I bought my bronco sport Badlands I took a Mazda CX 50 for a drive. I really wanted to like it, but it was hard to see out of and not particularly comfortable to sit in the day I bought my bronco sport. I had just taken out A Toyota RAV4 trail and was about to go into the office to discuss a deal and on the way he pointed at this 25 Badlands and I took that out for a test drive and I bought it. What I wasn’t prepared for is all the electronics in these new vehicles

 

[Bill G]

Everyone’s different, so you need a good test drive before deciding.
I’m 5’8” and my wife’s 5’0”. We find the seats very comfortable and have taken many 6-8 hour drives (we do stop every few hours and “stretch our legs”). We never travel with back seat passengers but do have lots of “luggage”. My wife likes her seat waaay back and she’s always fine even with the back seats folded down.
can’t really address the wind/road noise as we’re running AT tires and have roof crossbars. Both those things add some noise, but with the windows up and ac on we don’t find it too objectionable.

 

[TheX]

Front seats are *ok*, but the back seats are tight for a normal sized human. Car seats are a tight fit.

 

[thomasm23]

My 21 OB is a joy to drive. My seats are great on long trips. I do 5-8 hour trips all the time.

The Michelin Primacy tires are very quiet on the highway. The intelligent adaptive cruise control with lane centering makes for a relaxing, enjoyable drive.

It is the type of tires that make for a noisy, rough ride. Not the vehicle.

 

[Quashish]

@thomasm23 I felt like my legs are wanting to fall asleep at hour 3 before I raised the front of the seats.

 

[RidingTheBronco]

Hi
My wife likes the look of the broncos but is concerned about how comfortable they might be for a 10 hour road trip. We live in Alberta and drive to Saskatchewan occasionally (as infrequently as I can help it).
It would be a badlands trim. Unlikely Sasquatch, but if we found a great deal it could happen. She drives a Ram 1500 right now and finds it comfortable so she’s not Lexus fussy or anything. She likes the open feeling of the cab - she has some claustrophobia and she’s a bit taller, 5 10” so she likes to stretch out her legs. She also does not like any wind noise - not that this should be an issue - would it?
Thanks for the help.

I have seat cushions from Amazon. I rotate them. They are the kid of cushions intended for office chairs.

I would get a few different cushion models. I've used them on airplanes, the couch and in other vehicles. So I believe in rotating cushions.

 

[Rockboz]

Shortly after buying our BS we went on a 5000 mile road trip with no issues.
We have Badlands. This past fall, our service loaner was a 2025 Big Bend, seats were terrible, narrow shoulders. Our next service loaner in January was a Bad Lands Sasquatch, those seats were marvelous!

Body size and shape is the important factor.

 

[Glamdring70]

Not the most comfortable seats. I really miss the ones in my Chevy. The power seats had two more points of articulation so you could raise the front and back of the bottom (i.e. tilt). I know some people have found aftermarket fixed-tilt solutions but that's not a substitute. I've also sat in way worse seats. I'd probably rate them about a 7/10. The base Badlands have some kind of neoprene covering that I might go half a point higher because they have a cooling, solid feel. There are at least 5 different seats depending on the year and trim, so you'll really have to try the exact ones you are shopping.

The vehicle isn't built for comfort. There are quieter rides and better low-geared ones out there. I have AT tires so its possible the regular road tires are smoother and quieter although brick-in-the-wind is still an issue for noise. But the A/C blows really cold and I don't need the window down, If you're a person that wants windows down, the buffering is pretty bad in this car and so you'll want 2 down at least. Honestly don't know how you would get "no" wind noise in a car unless you get to a high end luxury model designed to mitigate it. If you end up with a sunroof, it's not too bad open and doesn't do the wind buffering with only roof open.

That said, I could do 10 hour drives. There is a lot of legroom and side room and headroom. Even in the rear seat, the safari roof gives a lot of clearance. The adaptive cruise makes it really relaxing to drive long, steady paces. Overall, there's no way the Sport is less comfortable than my Chevy truck. I would guess it is similar if you came from a RAM 1500. You might appreciate the enclosed cargo space to carry gear or a cooler and the more practical size and mileage of a compact SUV. Trucks aren't for road trips, they're for trucking stuff around.

 

[pixlpush]

I have a 2025 Badlands Sasquatch, and I really like it. My wife and I recently took a trip from Portland, Oregon, to Los Angeles. This is about a 16 hour 1000+ mile drive. We hit a little of everything. Pouring rain, a little snow and hot SoCal sun. We had no issues with the comfort of the vehicle. It was actually quite good.

I find the seats to be just fine, and the highway ride quality — even with the mud and snow tires — was better than expected. They’re slightly louder than all-season tires, but not enough to bother me. The adaptive cruise control is great as well. I never thought I needed the 360° camera, but it’s a game changer in tight spaces.

My one complaint about the seats is that there’s a seam right in front of where the seat back meets the bottom cushion that kind of bisects my butt. Maybe I just have a bony ass, but I can definitely feel it when I first sit down. After I’ve been in the seat for a while, though, it stops bothering me. I really wish it wasn’t there, but it’s not a dealbreaker by any stretch.

Conversely, we recently took a trip to Utah and ended up renting a Jeep Wrangler. I get that they’re very capable off-road, but what a god-awful road vehicle. You’re constantly sawing at the wheel just to keep it going straight. It didn’t help that Enterprise rented us one with virtually bald all-season tires, which I’m still pretty pissed off about.

Overall, though, everything about the Bronco Sport was better in my opinion.

That said, you really should do a test drive before buying. I’m a big proponent of renting any vehicle I’m seriously considering and driving it for at least a few days. If you can’t find one through a major rental agency, Turo is another good option. I really think it’s money well spent before committing to owning a vehicle long-term.

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