New poster, long time lurker. Some help please!

[Andrew Bynum]

Get the GX.

A fully loaded Badlands SAS is about $67k and can go up to $77k.

A GX starts at about $64k and goes up to $81k.

My ‘21 Bronco cost $47k. If I was paying $67k or more, I’m expecting a much more refined vehicle like the GX.

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[PetePerkins]

24MY Black Diamond. Purchased a year ago this month brand new. I've logged 26k miles already. Not one mechanical issue and no leaks from my hardtop or soft top. I have the non SAS version but I've added a 2.5" lift and 35s with SAS wheels. The Black Diamond has no nasty carpet but a rubberized floor which is easy to hose and go. My prior vehicle was a JKUR, which I owned for 1.5 years and logged 150k miles. The Bronco is hands down a better vehicle imo.

 

[indio22]

After years of looking and reading, I am finally registered. I’ve owned a 74 ranger bronco, a 77 sport and a 93. Plus 3 wranglers and a Cj5 and a 7. Current vehicle is a F250 tremor, so I have the truck stuff handled.
I am looking at the bronco seriously again, after lusting for it when it was revealed. Difficulty getting one, ADM, and some quality issues pushed me away. Hard top in particular, and leaks which I noticed on everyone I looked at. Seems like the new hard top is better.
I am looking for a second vehicle, primary vehicle really. I will ill use it for daily around town, ski trips Bay Area to Truckee, which are very frequent, back and forth to the Central Valley weekly for duck hunting during the season, and lots of western flyfishing excursions and some big game hunting, although I have a can am defender for most of that stuff.
I had two TRD off road 4 runners prior, which I found to be ideal vehicles for my use, but I have two daughters and they now have 4Runners. Go figure. I don’t want a hybrid so the land cruiser is out, I don’t like the new 4runner, too focused on a younger demographic. GX550 looks great but they are impossible to get and big price jump. So here I am again Looking at Broncos.
Build will be a Badlands SAS fully loaded up. I want off-road capability and will use it. My only question is to go with the Hoss 3.0 or not.
So my inquiry is, how does the bronco do for these uses? What is it like as a daily driver, and what’s it like on longer road trips? Is the fuel capacity a concern because of reduced range? I don’t care so much about mpg, but stopping every 200-250 miles for fuel is a problem. Especially when in remote areas.
is the new style painted hardtop an improvement? No more cracking or leaking?
I‘m really struggling to find a vehicle that meets my needs anymore. Body on frame SUV, no hybrid,6 cylinder motor, real off road capability with high and low range 4x4, locker(s), decent fuel capacity for range, comfort (including not too noisy), room inside for me, my dog and my gear and maybe another passenger, long term reliability, like 100k or more miles.
Bronco hits a lot of these, but maybe fails on some also.
I have read tons, watched tons of reviews and now want to engage and talk with some real owners. Thanks for the time.

Since you mentioned having been concerned about cost, with Badlands Sas you might be looking at one of the most expensive Bronco versions. So I'd say make sure legit you need that. You previously owned CJs like I did. Were you off-roading in those and if so how were they equipped? You may very well have a legit use case for Badlands with Sas ... or you might not. Give it some thought before blowing extra 20/30k..

 

[bassist]

Non Sasquatch. Save money at purchase and for the life of the vehicle. Better mileage, and cheaper replacement tires. You will go everywhere the Sasquatch goes. Does the Sasquatch option look better? Yep but at a cost. Good luck and enjoy your Bronco.

Not universally true, but perhaps true for many.

If you want a bit of a lift and to be able to run bigger tires, getting it from the factory that way is the best choice.

 

[bassist]

Get the GX.

A fully loaded Badlands SAS is about $67k and can go up to $77k.

A GX starts at about $64k and goes up to $81k.

My ‘21 Bronco cost $47k. If I was paying $67k or more, I’m expecting a much more refined vehicle like the GX.

I paid nowhere near that for my Badlands Sasquatch w/2.7L, painted top, etc. It was mid 50s for a 2024 just a few months ago.

 

[EOSeabee]

My ‘22 SAS Badlands has taken me through some pretty rough terrain, Rocky Gap near Las Vegas, Carpenter Canyon in deep snow, also near Las Vegas, Moab, Top of the World and Fins and Things. A few others as well. All with the stock GY tires. Some of it on the stock bilstiens, some on Fox 2.5’s. Hardly any traction problems with the stock GY’s.
They are a little squishy when aired down though. Took a a chunk out of the sidewall my very first trip out, but that tire has help up as well.

 

[DrillRX]

After years of looking and reading, I am finally registered. I’ve owned a 74 ranger bronco, a 77 sport and a 93. Plus 3 wranglers and a Cj5 and a 7. Current vehicle is a F250 tremor, so I have the truck stuff handled.
I am looking at the bronco seriously again, after lusting for it when it was revealed. Difficulty getting one, ADM, and some quality issues pushed me away. Hard top in particular, and leaks which I noticed on everyone I looked at. Seems like the new hard top is better.
I am looking for a second vehicle, primary vehicle really. I will ill use it for daily around town, ski trips Bay Area to Truckee, which are very frequent, back and forth to the Central Valley weekly for duck hunting during the season, and lots of western flyfishing excursions and some big game hunting, although I have a can am defender for most of that stuff.
I had two TRD off road 4 runners prior, which I found to be ideal vehicles for my use, but I have two daughters and they now have 4Runners. Go figure. I don’t want a hybrid so the land cruiser is out, I don’t like the new 4runner, too focused on a younger demographic. GX550 looks great but they are impossible to get and big price jump. So here I am again Looking at Broncos.
Build will be a Badlands SAS fully loaded up. I want off-road capability and will use it. My only question is to go with the Hoss 3.0 or not.
So my inquiry is, how does the bronco do for these uses? What is it like as a daily driver, and what’s it like on longer road trips? Is the fuel capacity a concern because of reduced range? I don’t care so much about mpg, but stopping every 200-250 miles for fuel is a problem. Especially when in remote areas.
is the new style painted hardtop an improvement? No more cracking or leaking?
I‘m really struggling to find a vehicle that meets my needs anymore. Body on frame SUV, no hybrid,6 cylinder motor, real off road capability with high and low range 4x4, locker(s), decent fuel capacity for range, comfort (including not too noisy), room inside for me, my dog and my gear and maybe another passenger, long term reliability, like 100k or more miles.
Bronco hits a lot of these, but maybe fails on some also.
I have read tons, watched tons of reviews and now want to engage and talk with some real owners. Thanks for the time.

New to Bronco, and only have 3,000 miles on my 2024 Big Bend SAS 2Dr 7MT 4cyl, but half those miles are off-road.

I can tell you for certain, unless you plan on drag racing the thing, the 4cyl is PLENTY O POWER, for just about everything. The rear seat, although you can only fit 2 people and have to climb in around the front seat, has more leg room than the 4 door. The cargo area is minimal, but easily solved with a rooftop cargo box of some sort (I’ve went with the Flated carrier, as it’s easy to remove and folds up nicely in its own backpack). Highway driving the short wheelbase is a non issue at ANY speed or any incline at highway speed even loaded(Donnor pass included).

Another note about the 2 door is, wheeling it will feel much like your SXS. The turn radius is VERY short so you won’t need to pay for the “turn assist” that’s an option on the 4 door. The MT version also has a crawl gear to rival just about any vehicle I can think of except maybe the Unimog. In 4 low and crawl gear the MT has roughly 94/1 ratio which at full throttle will get you about 3-4 mph (it’d climb a vertical wall at idle if you can get the traction). The 2 door also has a much better break over angle than the 4 door, so a lift, while helpful, will be largely unnecessary unless your doing some extreme rock crawling.

Save some cost, and order the one you want. Get the Big bend SAS and add the options you want and leave out the ones you don’t.

only drawback I can think of is the hardtop on the 2 door is larger and heavier than the one on the 4 door if you plan on removing and storing it a lot.

 

[Sparkie]

I was just at the Nevada Off-Roadeo. I drove a Badlands SAS.
...
Trip up to LV I got a little over 14 mpg. I got 18 mpg on the return trip. That's according to my fuel slips and calculator.

^^^ This. ^^^
Yup.
Using the odometer and gas pump receipts is the only true way to measure MPG.
I just did a road trip across the state using GOAT set to "Eco" mode for the whole trip. According to the gas pump reading and odometer, I got a new personal record of 22.3 mpg (all highway miles).
As I write this post, I wonder what ECO mode actually does different from NORMAL mode...

 

[CalvinT]

^^^ This. ^^^
Yup.
Using the odometer and gas pump receipts is the only true way to measure MPG.
I just did a road trip across the state using GOAT set to "Eco" mode for the whole trip. According to the gas pump reading and odometer, I got a new personal record of 22.3 mpg (all highway miles).
As I write this post, I wonder what ECO mode actually does different from NORMAL mode...

If you have a manual, it just reduces throttle response. If you have an automatic it does that and modifies shift points for optimum mileage instead of responsiveness or performance.

My Bronco's computer is pretty accurate, but only after I calibrated it. Here's the thread. You have to go into engineering test mode and adjust the AFE (Actural Fuel Economy) bias.

I adjusted mine back in October 2024. When I drove to LV for Off Roadeo I was paying close attention to the "miles to empty" display. When I filled up it said I had 16 miles to empty. I took 20.051 gallons. According to the manual, my Bronco holds 20.8 gallons. So I'd say it was pretty close.

It's post #29 on this thread.

As a check to make sure you're doing your math right, you should get a number around 850. The Bronco ships with the number set at 1000. I think all Fords do.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/when-does-the-mpg-value-get-calculated.102940/page-2

I'll repeat it here.

First you will need to hand calculate your fuel economy over several fill-ups. You need an accurate odometer reading along with how many gallons you fill up with to calculate your fuel economy.

Once you have your set of data, average them. Take that Actual Fuel Economy average and divide by the Display Fuel Economy.* Move the decimal point 3 places and that will be your new AFE bias. The factory default is 1000.

*Note: For those who don't calculate their fuel economy in Freedom Units (gallons), then reverse the calculation (Display Fuel Economy divided by Actual Fuel Economy).

To enter engineering test mode, sit in the driver's seat and wait for all the displays to go blank/off.

Press and hold 'OK' on the steering wheel for 5 seconds. While still holding the 'OK' button, step on the brake and start the engine.

Continue to hold the 'OK' button until the center display (speedometer informational panel) displays Engineering Test Mode. Release the 'OK' button.

Scroll through the menu via the up/down arrows until you find the AFE Bias screen. Make the adjustment and save.

Turn off the engine and wait a few seconds and then restart. The new AFE bias will be used to display the actual fuel economy along with your miles to empty.

 

[MayhemMike]

Lockers f/r are the reason for sas.

My non Sasquatch BL has front and rear lockers. Right there on the hero switches.
QUOTE="dangerfoot, post: 2506403, member: 41905"]
But that means no factory lockers. Sounds like OP might want them
[/QUOTE]

 

[wildtrak whitey]

The HOSS 3.0 seems to be perfect for driving poorly maintained roads are higher speeds with the ability to do some crawling when needed. And it's great for day to day.

 

[bassist]

^^^ This. ^^^
Yup.
Using the odometer and gas pump receipts is the only true way to measure MPG.
I just did a road trip across the state using GOAT set to "Eco" mode for the whole trip. According to the gas pump reading and odometer, I got a new personal record of 22.3 mpg (all highway miles).
As I write this post, I wonder what ECO mode actually does different from NORMAL mode...

That’s only correct if the pump shuts off reliably at the exact same full capacity.

That’s a big assumption.

 

[SoCal]

sorry, but the GX550 looks like a school bus that the rich soccer moms flex on the other moms on saturdays with....Not even in the same realm as the top off go anywhere ruggedness of a Bronco.
Highly doubt GX owners would take their GX's on the trails that you would see Broncos and Jeeps on...but if you prefer soft leather and technology and quiet comfort, knock yourself out with the GX.
or you could get a very low mile Bronco Raptor or brand new fully loaded BL Sasquatch for less than GX's are going for.

IMO, they are two different worlds.

We recently picked up our BB Sas a couple weeks ago out in Pheonix area and took it straight to Sedona for a few few days before bringing her back home to SoCal....Handled the trails amazingly.

Got about 360 mile range on full tank and averaged about 16mpg doing about 80mph on way back home.....way more comfortable that our previous JLUR.


To me it is a no brainer, get the Bronco and you will never regret it....

 

[SoCal]

Get the GX.

A fully loaded Badlands SAS is about $67k and can go up to $77k.

A GX starts at about $64k and goes up to $81k.

My ‘21 Bronco cost $47k. If I was paying $67k or more, I’m expecting a much more refined vehicle like the GX.

A nicely loaded BL Sas with lux package is about $71K on the build site

a nicely loaded trail version of the GX (Overtrail) on the build site was $91K

pretty clear by the background animation in the photos what these two vehichles are marketing towards....



Get the Bronco

 

[SeptuagenarianSasquatch]

A nicely loaded BL Sas with lux package is about $71K on the build site

a nicely loaded trail version of the GX (Overtrail) on the build site was $91K

pretty clear by the background animation in the photos what these two vehichles are marketing towards....



Get the Bronco

The Lexus is a pavement queen--one step above "princess." Just the thing to back the cigarette boat down the yacht club ramp.

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