- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2024
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 195
- Reaction score
- 589
- Location
- Calgary, AB.
- Vehicle(s)
- ‘24 Bronco Badlands
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello everyone! I purchased my ‘24 Badlands last September, so mostly here for a one year update. Not a crazy build this rig, mostly it was just a means of access for the backcountry - fly fishing, camping, hiking and a little offroading!
After a year, I’ve really come to enjoy driving this rig, the 2.7 v6 has me grinning every time I smash the gas pedal, the top off is something I’ve never experienced - dinner for our anniversary or a day of wheeling - always a blast! It’s just so much fun driving this Bronco, no vehicle I’ve owned previously even comes close! ( everything from a Chevelle, to half ton trucks, to an FJ and taco… )
Going to try an Awesome, Good, Bad and Ugly format or I’ll just ramble…
Year One / 53,000km
INTERIOR ( mid package w/leather seats )
Awesome - seating position / sight lines, comfortable on long drives, like Cadillac built a tank going down the highway, regardless of weather/road conditions
Good - large, highly pixelated display, OnX is crystal clear in hybrid mode
Bad - interior lighting is spotty, I don’t need lighting at my feet?!
Ugly - gauge cluster is brutal
EXTERIOR ( black )
Awesome - front modular number is solid and customizable
Good - for a lunch box, it’s all kinds of square, solid and sexy!
Bad - front sight lines, I get why the jeep tapers front fenders and the mirrors come off with the doors, makes sense when wheeling
Ugly - paint is thin, lacks lustre and doesn’t clean well. Colour choices are basic, bland
MECHANICAL ( 2.7 auto )
Awesome - the 2.7L Twin Turbo V6 is a torque monster! Smiles per gallon is off the charts! You really have to drive it to feel how awesome this engine performs!
Good - 4A all wheel drive is great, makes short work of winter commutes
Bad - transmission has always been a bit clunky and awkward, not bad, just unrefined?
Ugly - shocks. Seriously guys. They run smooth, but… Ford has replaced one happily under warranty, but yeah, not cool
OFF ROAD ( badlands )
Awesome - mud/ruts and rock crawl mode do an amazing job of keeping the turbo and the transmission spooled and synced for immediate throttle response, no lag, just a crispy gas pedal!
Good - flawless lockers and sway bar disconnect, never an issue in any environment, always work!
Bad - rear trailing arms are much to low at the mounting point ahead of the rear axle, they get beat on
Ugly - no complaints. I need 35’s instead of 33’s for improved clearance, but nothing on moderate trails has stopped me.
OTHER
Awesome - factory auxiliary switches with the pre run wiring are truly awesome! It makes it easy for the less mechanically inclined like myself, after market fog lights were a breeze
Good - factory skid plates are rock solid, between my rookie driving and only 33” tires, these plates have taken a proper beating and stood up to it 100%
Bad - moving between screens and buttons is a little awkward at times, a more more streamlined display menu would be welcome
Ugly - n/a
KO2’s ( 285/70r17 )
Awesome. I’ve had approximately six sets of these tires on different half ton trucks, a Taco and an FJ. Yes, they wear unevenly and will break loose on the rear of a half ton truck in rain and ice. But. At 15 psi these tires are absolutely awesome - dirt, gravel, rock, snow - grabs onto everything and keeps your rig moving forward! And tough. No really - jagged rock, tree roots, damaged steel culverts, barbed wire and a buried cultivator shovel - nothing cuts or chunks these tires! I haven’t had any issues on anything on road except black ice, that’s something only studs will fix, regardless of tire. The KO2’s have been an awesome all terrain tire, on road and off, temperatures from +33 down to -42 they’ve always been reliable and performed well!
I have done nothing but beat on this Bronco for a year and it has been awesome! One failed rear shock quickly replaced under warranty, nothing else but oil changes and tire rotations.
I get asked questions at gas stations and on the trail and I always tell people the same thing - it’s just so much fun to drive! Commuting, wheeling, everywhere! Go test drive one! Go!
After a year, I’ve really come to enjoy driving this rig, the 2.7 v6 has me grinning every time I smash the gas pedal, the top off is something I’ve never experienced - dinner for our anniversary or a day of wheeling - always a blast! It’s just so much fun driving this Bronco, no vehicle I’ve owned previously even comes close! ( everything from a Chevelle, to half ton trucks, to an FJ and taco… )
Going to try an Awesome, Good, Bad and Ugly format or I’ll just ramble…
Year One / 53,000km
INTERIOR ( mid package w/leather seats )
Awesome - seating position / sight lines, comfortable on long drives, like Cadillac built a tank going down the highway, regardless of weather/road conditions
Good - large, highly pixelated display, OnX is crystal clear in hybrid mode
Bad - interior lighting is spotty, I don’t need lighting at my feet?!
Ugly - gauge cluster is brutal
EXTERIOR ( black )
Awesome - front modular number is solid and customizable
Good - for a lunch box, it’s all kinds of square, solid and sexy!
Bad - front sight lines, I get why the jeep tapers front fenders and the mirrors come off with the doors, makes sense when wheeling
Ugly - paint is thin, lacks lustre and doesn’t clean well. Colour choices are basic, bland
MECHANICAL ( 2.7 auto )
Awesome - the 2.7L Twin Turbo V6 is a torque monster! Smiles per gallon is off the charts! You really have to drive it to feel how awesome this engine performs!
Good - 4A all wheel drive is great, makes short work of winter commutes
Bad - transmission has always been a bit clunky and awkward, not bad, just unrefined?
Ugly - shocks. Seriously guys. They run smooth, but… Ford has replaced one happily under warranty, but yeah, not cool
OFF ROAD ( badlands )
Awesome - mud/ruts and rock crawl mode do an amazing job of keeping the turbo and the transmission spooled and synced for immediate throttle response, no lag, just a crispy gas pedal!
Good - flawless lockers and sway bar disconnect, never an issue in any environment, always work!
Bad - rear trailing arms are much to low at the mounting point ahead of the rear axle, they get beat on
Ugly - no complaints. I need 35’s instead of 33’s for improved clearance, but nothing on moderate trails has stopped me.
OTHER
Awesome - factory auxiliary switches with the pre run wiring are truly awesome! It makes it easy for the less mechanically inclined like myself, after market fog lights were a breeze
Good - factory skid plates are rock solid, between my rookie driving and only 33” tires, these plates have taken a proper beating and stood up to it 100%
Bad - moving between screens and buttons is a little awkward at times, a more more streamlined display menu would be welcome
Ugly - n/a
KO2’s ( 285/70r17 )
Awesome. I’ve had approximately six sets of these tires on different half ton trucks, a Taco and an FJ. Yes, they wear unevenly and will break loose on the rear of a half ton truck in rain and ice. But. At 15 psi these tires are absolutely awesome - dirt, gravel, rock, snow - grabs onto everything and keeps your rig moving forward! And tough. No really - jagged rock, tree roots, damaged steel culverts, barbed wire and a buried cultivator shovel - nothing cuts or chunks these tires! I haven’t had any issues on anything on road except black ice, that’s something only studs will fix, regardless of tire. The KO2’s have been an awesome all terrain tire, on road and off, temperatures from +33 down to -42 they’ve always been reliable and performed well!
I have done nothing but beat on this Bronco for a year and it has been awesome! One failed rear shock quickly replaced under warranty, nothing else but oil changes and tire rotations.
I get asked questions at gas stations and on the trail and I always tell people the same thing - it’s just so much fun to drive! Commuting, wheeling, everywhere! Go test drive one! Go!
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