Advice Needed on Bronco Purchase: Badlands 7MT or Stroppe 2.7L?

[zyglyrox]

I went from my 4dr base 2.7 sasquatch to a 2dr 7mt sasquatch, and don’t have a single regret. the 2.7 is a SWEET engine, has tons of torque and gets similar mpg as the manual. it’ll be a rocketship in the 2dr IMO.

however…. that manual is just hard to beat. i love shifting my gears, off-road its a literal goat, hoping over anything. i’ve never felt i needed MORE gear, between 4low & crawl you can almost just let the clutch out and idle over anything! its a real cheat code for the newbies. however like others have said I rarely use 6th as it stays in boost too heavy, even 5th sometimes will push 8-10psi at low RPM which can be bad. i have similar MPGs between both, the 2.3 returns slightly better given same speeds but im usually being a boyracer in the manual to hear boost noises

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[Leafy]

I went from my 4dr base 2.7 sasquatch to a 2dr 7mt sasquatch, and don’t have a single regret. the 2.7 is a SWEET engine, has tons of torque and gets similar mpg as the manual. it’ll be a rocketship in the 2dr IMO.

however…. that manual is just hard to beat. i love shifting my gears, off-road its a literal goat, hoping over anything. i’ve never felt i needed MORE gear, between 4low & crawl you can almost just let the clutch out and idle over anything! its a real cheat code for the newbies. however like others have said I rarely use 6th as it stays in boost too heavy, even 5th sometimes will push 8-10psi at low RPM which can be bad. i have similar MPGs between both, the 2.3 returns slightly better given same speeds but im usually being a boyracer in the manual to hear boost noises

Yeah I’m really not sure what ford was thinking with 6th gear. It only makes sense on the badlands non-sas gearing. I can’t imagine it on any of the lower numerical geared trims that have 33s.

 

[zyglyrox]

Yeah I’m really not sure what ford was thinking with 6th gear. It only makes sense on the badlands non-sas gearing. I can’t imagine it on any of the lower numerical geared trims that have 33s.

Yeah, 4.46 with 37s is probably a rough combo! I have thought about going down to 33s myself, as most off-roading here can be done with them and no real loss.

 

[Jamin K]

Hello. I am considering purchasing one of two models, both 2-door:

2025 Stroppe
2026 Badlands 7MT

I know the manual-vs-automatic debate can get heated, so here goes!

I haven’t driven the 2.3 MT. I have a 2.7 auto Sasquatch. So I can’t give you firsthand how I solved the tradeoff problem. But I’ll offer my observations after 6 pages of responses.

In your opening post it was clear you were not tied to a manual for this Bronco purchase. As you said, you’ve got plenty of other outlets for that kind of fun.

Apart from ease of maintenance (which is a given for autos vs manuals) nobody has said the auto is worse or more difficult to live with, on or off road. Quite the opposite. Manual is more work, yet rewarding because it’s not “cheating”, so the die-hard purists lean toward manual. I get that and have similar opinions about various things where there’s only one “true” way. It didn’t sound like that’s what you were after, though.

To me, it seems you really want that Stroppe edition, have mostly convinced yourself already, and are double checking here that there’s no major downside you’re not already aware of.

I don’t think there is a downside. I assume you’re okay drawing attention with that very cool, completely unsubtle paint job.

 

[Marc L]

Yeah I’m really not sure what ford was thinking with 6th gear. It only makes sense on the badlands non-sas gearing. I can’t imagine it on any of the lower numerical geared trims that have 33s.

Are you suggesting driving down the highway at 90mph in 5th gear?
Having recently crossed the entirety of South Dakota in my XTerra I had cruise set at 90mph almost the entire 420+ miles. I can't imagine the additional engine whine and fuel consumption of having either vehicle in 5th gear.

 

[Leafy]

Are you suggesting driving down the highway at 90mph in 5th gear?
Having recently crossed the entirety of South Dakota in my XTerra I had cruise set at 90mph almost the entire 420+ miles. I can't imagine the additional engine whine and fuel consumption of having either vehicle in 5th gear.

I can’t imagine driving a Bronco for an extended period at 90. Mileage already drops off a cliff over 60, from like 20 down to 14 by 75, you’ve got to be down to single digits by 90. And depending on your tire size you might actually get better mileage in 5th than 6th even at that speed if it keeps you out of boost and the richer fuel mixture. I’m pretty sure there’s parachutes with better aerodynamics than the bronco.

 

[zyglyrox]

Are you suggesting driving down the highway at 90mph in 5th gear?
Having recently crossed the entirety of South Dakota in my XTerra I had cruise set at 90mph almost the entire 420+ miles. I can't imagine the additional engine whine and fuel consumption of having either vehicle in 5th gear.

I simply don’t drive that fast in the Bronco as it doesn’t feel comfortable. I try to stay under 75 tbh lol. At 75 6th gear is usable but still gets into boost.

 

[Marc L]

I can’t imagine driving a Bronco for an extended period at 90. Mileage already drops off a cliff over 60, from like 20 down to 14 by 75, you’ve got to be down to single digits by 90. And depending on your tire size you might actually get better mileage in 5th than 6th even at that speed if it keeps you out of boost and the richer fuel mixture. I’m pretty sure there’s parachutes with better aerodynamics than the bronco.

This is my XTerra and its mpg at 90mph is better than city driving mpg and I track it via gas receipts vs. the lying computers. Only one vehicle had accurate mileage figures the rest generally highly overestimated efficiency.
I haven't done the same mileage study with my wife's Bronco.

 

[Marc L]

I simply don’t drive that fast in the Bronco as it doesn’t feel comfortable. I try to stay under 75 tbh lol. At 75 6th gear is usable but still gets into boost.

We've done roadtrips with the Bronco hardtop and it is fine at 90mph. Not particularly loud or unstable. Now with the softtop open it is crazy loud and buffeted at 80mph.

 

[zyglyrox]

We've done roadtrips with the Bronco hardtop and it is fine at 90mph. Not particularly loud or unstable. Now with the softtop open it is crazy loud and buffeted at 80mph.

Yeah I’m not saying it’s not okay to drive at 90, I just don’t feel great doing it. I accidentally hit the speed governor in our 2.7 10speed Bronco once before; while it felt completely happy to sit there at 106, I was not. White knuckling the wheel lol. Much different than the sports car I’ve owned. My GTI would’ve sat at 110mph all day long no issues.

 

[Retired_Bronco_Life]

I'm no expert on this but I do believe I read something about what your experiencing during my research. If it's what I think it is and granted I don't know the exact tire size of each vehicle you reference, but I do know the standard gear ratio's for each model.

Without getting super technical, I think the sluggish feeling you felt could be related to tire size and gear ratio. The rule of thumb is the larger the tire the higher the gear ratio must be in order to turn big tires in a manner that doesn't feel lack luster or sluggish.

Raptors come with 37 inch tires and a 4.70 Gear Ratio to move them. Other Bronco gear ratios are 4.46:1 and 3.73 I believe. Big Bends and Outer Banks usually come with a 3.73 gear ratio unless upgraded. I decided early on that I wanted a gear ratio of 4.70 in case I had 35 or 37 inch tires, I would have the low end torque to move the wheels in an aggressive manner. When I decided to go with the large dinosaur on wheels aka the Raptor, it checked all of my tire size and gear ratio requirements. Stroppe's are the second bad-asses behind the raptor and are built for Baha speed, they sit higher than any other bronco except the raptor and the only trim to come with HOSS 3.0 by default and their suspension is tuned different than any other bronco.

 

[Marc L]

Raptors come with 37 inch tires and a 4.70 Gear Ratio to move them. Other Bronco gear ratios are 4.46:1 and 3.73 I believe. Big Bends and Outer Banks usually come with a 3.73 gear ratio unless upgraded. I decided early on that I wanted a gear ratio of 4.70 in case I had 35 or 37 inch tires, I would have the low end torque to move the wheels in an aggressive manner.

I was curious and the 2.3 manual has:

• Crawler: 6.588:1
• 1st: 4.714:1
• 2nd: 2.997:1
• 3rd: 2.149:1
• 4th: 1.769:1
• 5th: 1.521:1
• 6th: 1.275:1
• 7th: 1.000:1
• Reverse: 5.625:1

We just have the standard tires as she is predominantly a pavement princess and aren't interested in upgrading as we see no benefits. Personally I think the oversized tires look out-of-place on the Bronco's body.

 

[Leafy]

I was curious and the 2.3 manual has:

• Crawler: 6.588:1
• 1st: 4.714:1
• 2nd: 2.997:1
• 3rd: 2.149:1
• 4th: 1.769:1
• 5th: 1.521:1
• 6th: 1.275:1
• 7th: 1.000:1
• Reverse: 5.625:1

We just have the standard tires as she is predominantly a pavement princess and aren't interested in upgrading as we see no benefits. Personally I think the oversized tires look out-of-place on the Bronco's body.

did you get that ratio list from AI? There shouldn’t be both a crawler gear and a 7th gear. The gears are C+1 to 6, it’s a 7 speed when you count crawl as a gear.

 

[Valhalla]

I read to page 3 and decided to weigh in. OFFROAD, do you plan on going to larger than a 35" tire? I have seen a lot of complaints/comments on the lack of bottom end once heavier meat is applied.

I was the biggest liter they had back in 2017 when nothing was known. 14 years of rowing tractor trailers down the highway and byway by God you guys can have it! (unless it is a small V8 hooked to a 3 speed with a Granny low!)

Anyway, first coffee of the day, If you are a go big or go home, you may need the 2.7 extra torque. If you keep it under 35's (or skinny 38's Brian!) you probably want all 7 manual. They are noisy and clunky but the folks round here love um!

 

[Marc L]

did you get that ratio list from AI? There shouldn’t be both a crawler gear and a 7th gear. The gears are C+1 to 6, it’s a 7 speed when you count crawl as a gear.

Yes I cheated and use AI. I can't find a non-enthusiast site which lists it so who knows that the values are.

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