2025 Badlands Bronco will have Fox 2.5 inch live valve shocks (per Ford at NORRA Mexican 1000 race)

[flip]

If I had to put one together today it would be a 4D BL, 2.7, SAS 2.5, BFG TA KO2, HD steering gear, no sway bar disco, MGV interior, vinyl floor, large screen, 10 speaker with low outs, MIC hard top, MOD front bumper, gloss black grille, tow, full under body shields including raptor trans skid, true rock rails with raptor removable boards and maybe flush tail lights.

ETA: On demand rear locking diff in any drive mode.

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[mjp2]

I just finished a week as crew in the NORRA Mexican 1000. Ford had a decent presence with a Badlands doing the race and a heavily modified Bronco from Ford Performance also in the race along with some interesting chase vehicles and trailers. I believe someone posted the bronco with the bronco trailer last year. In the race last year they ran a stock Wildtrak.

I asked why they were running the Badlands this year given that it had smaller shocks and different steering rack than the Wildtrak. They told me that they were testing based on the version of the Badlands that will be released for 2025, which will have the Fox 2.5 inch live valve shocks. One of them might’ve even said that they thought this would substantially hurt the Wiltrak sales going forward. I guess we will wait to see what the marketing team comes up with to boost the demand for the Wildtrak in 2025.

I'm guessing an all-new, limited-edition, Wildtrak-exclusive shade of grey.

 

[userdude]

I'm guessing an all-new, limited-edition, Wildtrak-exclusive shade of grey.

Wildebeest Taupe

 

[strawhatguy]

If I had to put one together today it would be a 4D BL, 2.7, SAS 2.5, BFG TA KO2, HD steering gear, no sway bar disco, MGV interior, vinyl floor, large screen, 10 speaker with low outs, MIC hard top, MOD front bumper, gloss black grille, tow, full under body shields including raptor trans skid, true rock rails with raptor removable boards and maybe flush tail lights.

ETA: On demand rear locking diff in any drive mode.

Yeah, feels like Wildtrak and Badlands have a bit of crossover, it probably should be one trim. An OBX lux if you just want the mall crawler, with carpet and leather, etc, maybe with a blackout option, to replicate the Wildtrak look.
But if you want off-road at all, it should basically be BL with all the best HOSS/suspension stuff.
A BadTrak.

Or is it Wildlands?

 

[Toccoa]

Glad that didn't happen to the Bronco ... uh ...

 

[timhood]

Glad that didn't happen to the Bronco ... uh ...

Considering the Gen1 Bronco was shorter than a VW Beetle of it's day, I'd say in this case, it was a good thing that Gen6 grew up to adult size.

"The original 1966 Ford Bronco was a tiny thing by modern standards. At 152.1 inches long, it’s about a foot and a half shorter than a Toyota Yaris. For example, the last-gen Ford Focus hatchback had a length of 171.6 inches. The first-gen model was also incredibly narrow by today's standards, measuring 68.8 inches in width. It would be narrow even by the standards of the Ford Focus hatch, which had a width of 71.8 inches."

Nobody was going to buy a Gen6 Bronco that is smaller than a Ford Focus!

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

Considering the Gen1 Bronco was shorter than a VW Beetle of it's day, I'd say in this case, it was a good thing that Gen6 grew up to adult size.

"The original 1966 Ford Bronco was a tiny thing by modern standards. At 152.1 inches long, it’s about a foot and a half shorter than a Toyota Yaris. For example, the last-gen Ford Focus hatchback had a length of 171.6 inches. The first-gen model was also incredibly narrow by today's standards, measuring 68.8 inches in width. It would be narrow even by the standards of the Ford Focus hatch, which had a width of 71.8 inches."

Nobody was going to buy a Gen6 Bronco that is smaller than a Ford Focus!

Rest of the world might disagree ....

Totally agree though! The Scout, CJ and EB were a completely different era and I dare say for a completely different customer.

 

[Laddyaddy19]

I love the OG as much as the next person but honestly the Bronco Sport has more in common with the 1966. Ground clearance, size, and horsepower are nearly identical. Ya’ll are buying the wrong model!

 

[timhood]

I love the OG as much as the next person but honestly the Bronco Sport has more in common with the 1966. Ground clearance, size, and horsepower are nearly identical. Ya’ll are buying the wrong model!

Even the Sport dwarfs the Gen1 Bronco. The Sport is not much shorter than the two-door Gen6 and about 21" longer than Gen1, and it's almost six inches wider than the Gen1. But, they are within an inch or two in height!

 

[Aonarch]

Glad that didn't happen to the Bronco ... uh ...

Ehh the 6th generation is shorter and narrower than the 5th generation.

 

[mjcutri]

The "Modern Bronco" was Gen 2-5

(My first car was a '94 XLT with the 5.8L)

 

[dgorsett]

Yeah, feels like Wildtrak and Badlands have a bit of crossover, it probably should be one trim. An OBX lux if you just want the mall crawler, with carpet and leather, etc, maybe with a blackout option, to replicate the Wildtrak look.
But if you want off-road at all, it should basically be BL with all the best HOSS/suspension stuff.
A BadTrak.

Or is it Wildlands?

Really. I'd say have the BD for the utility crowd. The OBX lux for the suburban cruiser and the BL for the heavy off road.

 

[strawhatguy]

Really. I'd say have the BD for the utility crowd. The OBX lux for the suburban cruiser and the BL for the heavy off road.

That's true, I got a BD for that reason. I didn't do SAS, but with a BD SAS about the only thing missing that I wanted was the 360 camera system. I added my own, though, and it is a future project to upgrade the suspension, etc.

So maybe it's just Big Bend, OBX, BD, and a Raptor, the rest being options.

 

[DriveAllNight]

If this is true, Ford will kill the WildTrak, there would be no point to it.

I think my opinion is in the minority, but I'll take the interior of the WildTrak with the blue stitching over the horrible orange of the Badlands, plus the nicer grille. I really like the interior of the WildTrak a lot.

For me, it's easier to add on the disconnect to the WildTrak and have a Badlands that looks better, then add the Fox shocks to the Badlands and still have to swap out the orange stuffs and grille . But it's all just preference, I get that. I went back and forth with these 2 options for years, and that's what I came up with, everyone has their opinions...

 

[dgorsett]

That's true, I got a BD for that reason. I didn't do SAS, but with a BD SAS about the only thing missing that I wanted was the 360 camera system. I added my own, though, and it is a future project to upgrade the suspension, etc.

So maybe it's just Big Bend, OBX, BD, and a Raptor, the rest being options.

I got a BB for the cloth and carpet and built it into a BD. Since coth/carpet is no longer available no need for the BB.

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