I would say find a way to test drive it, cuz they are very different I personally could only get the Badlands cuz I don't believe in 3 cylinder engines. God that thing must shake at idle I dread to think of how many motor mounts it would go through. Ok that's probably over exaderated but still there is a noticeable difference in power. And for my badlands if I drive semi aggressive I still get 23.5/ gallon and I can get 27 mpg driving conservatively in eco mode which I think does make a difference. If your not a big off-roader I think the standard AWD should suffice I had a 2014 escape which is basically the same setup as the broncosport as far as I know and it was a champ in mud and snow. I never did anything else, not enough clearance or skid plates for that(I went to NAU in Flagstaff with it for years and never got stuck and I went in some crazy stuff for a CUV). I also wanted leather, mainly for my dog but God it also looks and feels great, the seats are even better than in my titanium escape, the only option on my Badlands was the premium package which was worth it (and the falken atw3s which I swear the sidewall is smaller that any of my other atw3s were, I wonder if Ford had them alter it slightly to better fit city driving, not they they were ever anything but great on pavement). I've never had a heated steering wheel but in Flagstaff in the cold it was awesome. So I would say you sound like you would be ok with an outer banks, but I would really really try to find a way to drive both to make sure cuz I love that 2.0 it's not crazy fast but it feels like it when you realize your in a 4 cylinder CUV. I had 135k miles on my escape and it was still going strong no issues (but turbo wastegate linkage issue but the turbo itself was fine) when a red light runner ruined my baby. I would have bet it would easily have gone over 200k. This 3 cylinder engine I think is new but maybe it's what the fiesta st had so I'd read about that motor and if it had any issues in the long run on cars that have had it for years. And to 13mikeh comparing my 14 escape awd (about the same setup as a non badlands/first edition) to the Badlands and I would say it is definitely more capable off-road for the lift, goat modes (I know I can't believe they make a difference either but they do) two locking diffs center and rear (not really locking diffs they will slip under high load they are just special clutch packs and are actually precursors to the new AWD system Ford will start using in the future as I understand it, that uses 3 electronically controlled clutches, front center and rear, instead of mechanical limited slip differentials to better control grip and driving. The old brake system like on my 2014 escape and non badlands/first edition bronco sports will only do so much and can really heat up the brakes with high usage)(wow that was too long for parentheses but I love em) But if your not off-roading like really going you'll be fine with the outer banks especially if you put some good light duty all terrains on it, and I would not suggest going bigger it will eat I to your mpg and you can't go big enough to really matter unless you do a lift and even then I think it's debatable on these cars. I suggest the falken AT's it's a less aggressive version of the falken atw3s they last forever wear is great and they are spectacular on snow and mud over just about anything else in it's catagory and it's what I ran on my 2014 Ford escape awd titanium (so I'm Definitely not biased) for 60k miles and they were still good when it was totalled. But really I've tried a decent number of tires and I usually go falken unless I want racing or mud tires.
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, but the Sport needs something a bit brighter. Maybe something in Shamrock?
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