I would love to have a 30-40 mile electric motor for my Bronco since the majority of my trips are below that threshold and then right back to the garage to recharge. My partner has a Tesla, and it really is convenient.
BUT, I like rowing my gears, so yeah.
I've definitely never experienced that on my '22 Badlands 7MT, like you and others have said, and I've missed some downshifts before. Maybe they changed something about the mechanics?
The OEM was my choice; mainly for the following reasons:
1) OEM Support and no Warranty Complaints from the Dealer/Service. When you take it in, and it's throwing errors, that's where it becomes a mess.
2) Fairly easy plug & play, especially based on the work that's already been done by many...
I had the hard top on my '22 replaced at 2K miles for the same cracking as you mentioned, and after 20K more miles, I've been lucky not to experience it again. Bad luck of the draw, or was I just lucky? Not sure, but I can tell you that I'd definitely do the painted top if I were buying a '25+
On one hand, I'm really sad to see the 2-door continue to be marginalized in the lineup, but on the other.....maybe that just makes mine more rare?
The color options for the Badlands, however, are becoming more boring and monotone. Bleh!