New potential Badlands buyer. Any advice, tips etc about buying?

69cuda340s

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Yep, you want a Badlands get in line, elbow others out of the way, out bid everyone else, spend every day searching hours away, then you might be able to get one. And after that hope you not are stuck dealing with first model year defects.

Back in January I did build and price then search for match. Matches came right up two local dealers options and color just like I wanted. I was told both manaquins not able to sell. Both dealers had no interest in me and hoped I would just go away. Their phones were ringing off the hook day and night everyone wants those vehicles. Yeah I could have kept on them and elbowed everyone else out of way, out bid everyone else, so I could grab one of those. Early built first model year vehicle, no discount, and a long line of other buyers trying to buy same vehicle. Nope not me pass...
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MuddyBoots

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Yep, you want a Badlands get in line, elbow others out of the way, out bid everyone else, spend every day searching hours away, then you might be able to get one. And after that hope you not are stuck dealing with first model year defects.
As a Badlands owner, I can say that there are some...quirks. They aren't specific to the Badlands, but to the first year Bronco Sport, and hopefully they will be addressed for the next model year, whenever that comes out.

Here's the first few that come to mind:
  • As many have noted, the "bumps" that give the hood it's unique shape and look, also create some really gnarly solar glare when the sun is at the correct angle. It's that last little downturn as it approaches the windshield, it reflects right into your eyes and makes driving pretty difficult.
  • The visor (on the driver's side at least, I don't know about passenger) bends at the last inch or so to accommodate for the curve of the roof down towards the door when stowed up. However, this little fold gets in the way and bumps into the beam between the door and the windshield, and doesn't allow the visor to go forward enough towards the windshield. This makes the visor feel like it's right in your face, and you have to crouch down a bit to look under it. You can lower your seat (I'm not too tall, only 5'7"), but then I feel like I can't see over the hood well enough, and this is not an option for more vertically gifted folks.
  • The vents are...weird. They are very strong, even on low settings, and the vent between the steering wheel and the radio always seems to blow on my arm while I'm holding the wheel, even when I point the vent as far right as possible. So, with the A/C on my right arm is basically always cold.
  • The front passenger seat for the Badlands without the Badlands package is not the same seat as the driver's seat. The driver's seat is very comfortable, but the same is not necessarily true for the passenger seat. Yes, I realize the driver's seat has power adjustments, and the passenger is all manual, but even the shape of the seat is different. It feels as if the back is shorter then the driver's seat, and the top half of my back is not supported. It almost feels as if the area from my shoulder blades and up are floating.
  • The above issue is only made worse by the fact that you cannot change the angle of the head rests. And they're skinny and fairly upright to begin with.
  • It is not possible to lift up the wipers without opening the hood of the car. This is due to the fact that there is a massive cavity between the windshield, hood, and bottom of the wipers. I mean we're talking like a 6-8 inch hole. I got mine after the snow season, so I have not yet experienced this, but others have noted that it is extremely annoying to try to remove snow from this area. It also makes lifting your wipers so they don't freeze to windshield during a snow/ice storm impossible.
  • And this isn't really so much a complaint or issue but just something...odd. Has anyone else noticed when driving in the rain when making a sharp turn or braking there seems to be a wave of water that splashes up on the hood from the front of the car? It's the weirdest thing, and something I have never experienced in any other car...It's not a small amount of water either, and I have no idea where it even comes from.

With all that said, I still really like the car and I am happy with my purchase. Having driven both the Outer Banks and the Badlands, I am really happy I went with the Badlands. The 1.5L engine in the lower trims is certainly competent, but it's no comparison to the 2.0 in the Badlands. This thing has more torque than my wife's 2016 WRX. It is quick, and fun, and nimble. I have yet to take mine off road (a brand new baby leaves little time for such adventures), but a quick google search will yield plenty of results showing the Badlands is no joke when it comes to off-pavement prowess. If you're looking at getting a bronco because you want a Bronco, then the Badlands is worth waiting for.
 
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CobraPat

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Got our Badlands in early April.
4100 miles now. 2 trips to Denver and back. Off roading quite a few times. Gone to our cabin deep in the forest 5 weekends in a row. No complaints. We haven’t had any problems others are having. The one I’m worried about is the lug nut issue. We had an Escape and had the lug nut problem.
 

Fordfan

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I might suggest looking at smaller rural Ford dealers. I know in my city there are hardly any but small rural dealers seem to have a couple at least.
 


Glamdring70

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@MuddyBoots
I shared several of your criticisms about the design and while I agree totally about the 2.0 engine, there are bunches of people happy with the 1.5 Anyone shopping should really try to drive both to get an impression of what they can live with, but I know how hard that can be with supply so thin. I shopped for months and visited at least 10 dealerships looking for BS models to compare colors and options.

I added a matte hood decal to the bumps which helps, but doesn't eliminate that glare completely. I don't know if it is better or worse in different colors of car.

The visor thing is bad, but I'm not a visor user. I wear a brimmed hat instead of using the visor, but I 100% agree that should be redesigned. I discovered it is more annoying in a parking lot, with a passenger. They put the visor down and were in front of the window themselves, and it basically blocked me seeing anything on that side. If they do make a different version, it should pop right in for an adventurous swapper. It's hard to test out all of that kit on a lot but it really pays off to experience as much as you can.

Your next points about the seats are accurate. That is part of why I wanted the leather seats. The headrest adjustment is really nice and the power seats have a better feel and better options to move it into a comfortable position. I raised mine up considerably to take advantage of the very tall roof and give a more truck-like feel. This does work against the visor of course, but as I said, I am not a visor guy. Same advice as before, someone has to sit in as many as they can.

The wipers legit annoyed me until just the other day, someone posted this:
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/quick-easy-wiper-windshield-cleanup.2978/post-50925

I haven't experienced the water issue, but I did think the car threw a lot of sand up onto the hood and roof. I think maybe the water is the same issue. The A/T tires really are slightly wider than the body fenders. I think flares would help somewhat. I will have to drive in a heavy rain to see how it is.
 

13MikeH

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As a Badlands owner, I can say that there are some...quirks. They aren't specific to the Badlands, but to the first year Bronco Sport, and hopefully they will be addressed for the next model year, whenever that comes out.
  • It is not possible to lift up the wipers without opening the hood of the car. This is due to the fact that there is a massive cavity between the windshield, hood, and bottom of the wipers. I mean we're talking like a 6-8 inch hole. I got mine after the snow season, so I have not yet experienced this, but others have noted that it is extremely annoying to try to remove snow from this area. It also makes lifting your wipers so they don't freeze to windshield during a snow/ice storm impossible.
actually this was debunked. The wipers while sitting below the hood line, also have a 'neutral' feautre when the car is not running. You can simply grab them, gently guide them up the windshield and they move in synch...then you can lift them off the glass. I've done it a few times washing and waxing...it's a quirk, but it's not as bad as it seems.
 

13MikeH

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That can work for ppl who have time for that search. And the willingness to travel far away. There are ppl who have traveled several hours or more to get the high option badlands. They can be found yes but it is not easy and requires effort a bit of luck. And most likely settle for missing options not your favorite color ect. None of that is anything I am willing to do.
yep, and you are not alone with very specific wants. But there are equally those, myself in that camp who have a want list and a need list. I was convinced I'd still be waiting until winter...I just by chance got a call from a dealer I had built a relation with, and boom, I've been driving a sport for a month. I gave up the cargo management system...that's it. Yeah pretty fortunate. But I also put the time in searching 100 mile radius, then trying different zip codes across the state. I also happen to be in a very saturated area for sports/
 

MuddyBoots

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actually this was debunked. The wipers while sitting below the hood line, also have a 'neutral' feautre when the car is not running. You can simply grab them, gently guide them up the windshield and they move in synch...then you can lift them off the glass. I've done it a few times washing and waxing...it's a quirk, but it's not as bad as it seems.
I had not heard that yet, I'll have to give it a shot. There will still be a lot of snow in that area to dig out after a snowstorm though.
 


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would you guys sacrifice the color? If Say you found the badlands with the package that you were looking for. I think I might get one in my area but the color is not what I want. I really want the Area 51 primarily. Or do the sports simply look good in any color?
 

69cuda340s

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13MikeH

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I had not heard that yet, I'll have to give it a shot. There will still be a lot of snow in that area to dig out after a snowstorm though.
yeah still a hole, but if you knew ahead of time, which USUALLY there is some predictive, you could push and set the wipers up and out, make cleaning easy and have at it. It's never simple in the north so I get what you meant.
 

13MikeH

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would you guys sacrifice the color? If Say you found the badlands with the package that you were looking for. I think I might get one in my area but the color is not what I want. I really want the Area 51 primarily. Or do the sports simply look good in any color?
I chose area 51 because it was a new color. I have seen all of them in person, they all look great, and all of them fitting on the sport. To me if there was one option in a Badlands which meant the least, color would be it. I say that knowing for some buyers the color is all the difference. Everyone has their own perspective. If you are asking, color isn't your deal-breaker.
color threads you can see them all here. I have A51, there is a cyber orange, a red, and a white where I work every day. I've passed several carbonized grey, cactus grey was my second choice, but once I saw the Alto Blue...it was so difficult to pick one...
 

13MikeH

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Got our Badlands in early April.
4100 miles now. 2 trips to Denver and back. Off roading quite a few times. Gone to our cabin deep in the forest 5 weekends in a row. No complaints. We haven’t had any problems others are having. The one I’m worried about is the lug nut issue. We had an Escape and had the lug nut problem.
the lugs are an easy fix. I found some on amazon full metal, $20. Search for Lincoln MKZ lug nuts, M12x1.5 bulge acorns... a lot of options and a quick peace of mind.
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