I am getting ready to order a new Bronco sport I need some advice on OB vs BL

Mrdhatch

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I am debating between the OB and the Bad Lands. I will most likely never off-road. It will be my daily driver with an 80-mile round trip, through winters on roads that have not been cleared yet most of the time. I drove the 1.5 liter and it seemed fine. I am a little weary about not having enough enjoyable power. I am also a little worried about how the 3 cylinders will hold up as compared to the 4 cylinders. Please talk me out or into the badlands vs the OB. Just looking for Advice.
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Bronco307

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Between my wife and I, we have one of each (1.5 and 2.0) and to be honest I find the 1.5 in her Big Bend more than enough. I have never felt like it needed more power and I live and drive at high elevation with mountain passes. It flat out scoots when you get after it, and it gets significantly better mpg than my Badlands.
My 0.02 is to get the OB and don't look back. If you buy a Badlands with no intent of off roading you are spending a lot of money on things you don't need and won't use. And even if you decide you do want to do some off roading down the line, the OB is likely all you'll need anyway.
I traded a 4runner for my Badlands and thought I needed the Badlands for its capability. Truth be told, even with all of the dirt road exploring I do in Wyoming and Colorado, a Big Bend is probably what I should have bought.
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Cabezone

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It really comes down to if you want to extra power or not, that's the only reason to get the BL if you're not going to offroad.

Have you considered the Escape? You can get the 2.0 in lower trims.
 

Tigger

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I like my OB and from your description, it seems to make better sense. On your commute, you can expect close to 30 in gas mileage.
 

thekingprawn

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If you look at the order guide, the Badlands is a more off-road capable Big Bend. The Outer Banks is more of a luxury trimmed Base, IMO.
 


Ponyrider

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What Bronco 307 said. I have been driving my OB for close to 18 months. I have never felt underpowered. You just need to try and shut out most of the noise on this forum about the 2.0. It can be deafening.
 

Adam CW

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After owning a Ford with the 2.0 Ecoboost for the past three years, the 1.5 in the BS I test drove felt noticeably slower and less refined. I think it has adequate power.

It’s possible the one I test drove had something wrong with it, but I couldn’t get over the amount of engine vibration that could be felt everywhere.

The 2.0 is quicker, smoother and less noisy. It’s more fun to drive and has power when you need it. The only downside is fuel economy.

For me it’s not about going fast. It’s about effortless power. I don’t want it to feel and sound like the engine is having to work really hard.
 

bjbena

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It really comes down to if you want to extra power or not, that's the only reason to get the BL if you're not going to offroad.

Have you considered the Escape? You can get the 2.0 in lower trims.
He can, but he would still have to opt-in for AWD.
 

Funkygus

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When my wife ordered her Badlands it was all about the 2.0. If they offered that engine on the other trims would have grabbed an Outer Banks. Just my own opinion and experience, but I will not buy a vehicle where the engine is just "good enough". The few times I went good enough I regretted not buying something with a little more juice, so yeah when she said she wanted a Bronco Sport I advised her to go with the 2.0.
 

Badwolf13

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My Big Bend is my daily driver. It does not feel like it lacks in power and handled the deep snow with ease this past winter. I also had doubts about the 3 cyl. motor, so I talked to an engineer at Ford directly. He said as long as the oil is changed every 4-4500k mi. (no matter what the manual says) and if starts running a little rough-get the plugs and coils checked out, I should be good for at least 250k miles on it(barring a manuf. defect which is always a possibility.) The 3cyl. motor is in the Fiesta ST, Ford Escape, Ford Puma ST.
 
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bjbena

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I thought the same as you. I 'settled' for an OB.

Seven months later I had buyer's remorse and drove 500 miles, each way, to claim a used BL.

Never regretted it ...
 

MJE

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This is probably one of the most common quandaries in trying to choose a BS. Because the BL doesn’t necessarily sit at the top of the chain, there are always some trade offs in one vs. the other.

This was exactly my issue as well and my use case was about as similar to yours as you could get from what I read. I went BL, but with a coin toss another person might choose OB. Here was my logic:

1. The BL in Canada includes features such as windshield de icing & rain sensing wipers. They’re actually standard on all models here, so that made a couple of less things that would normally only be found on the OB & not the BL, and helped the decision.

2. Because of that the only thing I could think of that I’d give up in moving to a BL vs. choosing the OB that I test drove was ambient lighting. Perhaps disappointing but a minor omission I could live with.

3. Front Camera. Because the Sport lacks front parking sensors (yes my use case might point towards an Escape or Corsair for C2 platform vehicles, but the Sport is up there with the Maverick for being the best of breed) I absolutely wanted the front camera. This should at least be an option on all models, but it isn’t. & though there are threads about it, I’m not sure I’ve seen a good solution yet.

4. Interior. I like the ebony/roast and wanted a premium interior to begin with (Of course if you are comparing BB to BL you could forego this for the cloth BL without PP). But if brown isn’t your thing & you prefer the navy premium interior, that is OB only. Sadly they should have a Navy premium interior for the BL but don’t.

5. Steelies. I like the look of the optional BL wheels, they say vintage 4x4 to me rather than cheap winter wheels. Taste may vary, but the optional Falken tires were worth it to me since I plan to run them year round rather than switching winter to summer. Save a few $ there at least.

6. Rubber Floor. I have a dog, and hair sticks everywhere on fabric & carpet. I actually think the rubber floor is a great idea.

7. Economy. It’s a fun car for me, I don’t really have a daily commute, but highway mileage for longer road trips could be important. Still over the life of the vehicle even a couple MPG’s adds up, but it wasn’t enough to sway my decision back to the OB from the BL I ordered. But yes, in testing the OB I didn’t find the 1.5 lacking at all, though I went into the test drive expecting it to not be quite enough.

8. Which brings me to budget. I’m not particularly budget constrained so could spring for just a bit more for the BL & be fine with that. I couldn’t buy an equivalent full size mind you, but the bit extra for BL was alright.

Of course there are also many threads on several other topics like the 1.5 vs. 2.0 to read, but here’s some starter ones for more different opinions on others who have faced the same decision. Another one you might try searching out is people who have sold 1.5’s to get into BL 2.0’s. There are a few threads about that too (one from a fellow here right recently too) but those didn’t come up in my quick search.

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/suddenly-feeling-stuck-between-bs-ob-vs-bs-bl.5357/#post-91582
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/outer-banks-vs-badlands.2808/
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/badlands-vs-outer-banks.4057/
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/badlands-vs-outer-banks.1222/
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/ob-or-bl.2815/#post-47325
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/badlands-v-outer-banks-decision.1317/
 

MJE

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If you look at the order guide, the Badlands is a more off-road capable Big Bend. The Outer Banks is more of a luxury trimmed Base, IMO.
That’s actually probably the best summary of it I’ve read yet! I’m not sure if most like me expect every trim to build on the last & therefore for the BL to be on top of the food chain though it’s not quite. Your explanation makes sense. Reading the order guide, both diverge off the BB By what they say, rather than the BL building on the OB.
 

13MikeH

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I bought a badlands at the suggestion of two different dealers for the bigger motor. A year into ownership I love my sport...but like a number of others I felt the 1.5 was plenty zippy and capable. I don't know what others are doing to feel more power and refined driving. I came from a challenger....this thing is a brick in comparison but it was what I wanted. Seasons do whatever they want here and the snow capability was a chief focus.
I love the simple cloth seats and rubber steering wheel. I added tow package and upgrade 235 tires...otherwise it's bare stock and that's what I want.
I'd say the OB has the advantage of comfort and conveniences the other trims don't and has all the capability your needs require. The Badlands is a lot of hype. It's not bad...I love mine... And they are somewhat limited with all the ordering constraints. That's the only advantage I could think of in your case.
 

JerryC

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All the data you need is above in the thread.

The OB may be all that you need and the BL will be more than you need, so which one do you want?

My 2 cents is that you are spending a chunk of money either way and you should get what you want.
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