Yahoo Autos The Bronco Badlands Isn’t Made For Road Trips, But Will Always Reach The End
The Ford Bronco is a big car built for big adventures, and the Badlands edition takes that up a notch with extra features to keep you out on the trails. It’s not billed by Ford as a luxurious road tripper, but that doesn’t mean it can’t soak up the miles when you decide to head to the mountains or visit the best diners New Jersey has to offer.
Full disclosure: Ford lent me a Bronco Badlands for a few days to drive out of Manhattan and into the hills of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was meant to be a leisurely weekend hiking and kayaking, until the weather had other plans.
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What Makes The Ford Bronco Badlands Different?
Bucking Bronco.
Revived in 2020, the Bronco is Ford’s latest attempt at a rugged, go-anywhere truck to take on the likes of the Jeep Wrangler. With a base price around $47,000, the Badlands Bronco sits roughly in the middle of Ford’s range, thanks to a few performance and interior upgrades. In my review unit, the upgrades were a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 engine producing 330 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, and an optional 10-speed automatic transmission. There were also heated black vinyl seats and a few extra niceties inside the cabin like dual-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control, which brought the on-the-road price up to $60,010 including destination.
For all that, you also get a boat load of off-road equipment, like electronic front and rear locking differentials, front stabilizer bar disconnect and Ford’s advanced 4X4 system. Importantly, my test unit also came with a folding canvas roof, which I thought would make this a great candidate for best drive-in movie car… right up until the moment the heavens opened and most of eastern Pennsylvania flooded. I guess I’ll test this theory next time I get behind the wheel of a Bronco.
Rugged and ready to go.
How Does The Bronco Drive?
But if you aren’t taking this car to the drive-in, what are you doing with it? Well, obviously, driving it. This car is billed as a fully-prepped off-roader, and that’s clearly what it was designed for with its massive tactile buttons inside and its rugged styling out. But, if we’re honest, most Broncos will probably spend a fraction of their lives actually on dirt roads and rocky trails. Instead, prospective owners will mostly navigate this car’s 199” by 86” girth around city streets and across America’s enormous network of highways. So that’s what I did.
There’s a V6 in there somewhere.
Because of its size, pulling out the Manhattan garage I parked in was daunting. This car is easily the biggest thing I’ve driven (WHAT? –ED), so it initially felt like I had to creep down New York’s narrow streets. But once I settled in, and realized that America’s roads are (on the whole) built for big cars like this, things got easier. For starters, the steering is light and works well at lower speeds – that’s probably a pleasing side-effect of its off-road focus – controlled, precise movements are key off-road. But in New York, this meant it could easily navigate the traffic, avoid pulled up taxis and merge into the correct lane for escaping the city with ease. Heck, it was even practically enjoyable navigating the hellscape that is the Lincoln Tunnel, which I usually avoid at all costs.
Once out of town and able to go more than 10 mph, the truck came alive. When you mash the gas, there’s a pleasing rumble from the V6 that reverberates through the cabin. At the same time, there’s a slight lurching sensation as that 330 hp motor works to move this near-5,000-pound truck up to highway speeds. What’s more, unlike its chief rival the Jeep Wrangler, there’s far less play in the steering of the Bronco and it doesn’t feel like hard work keeping this thing in a straight line. Then, when the road gets a bit more twisty, it handles tighter corners well. There isn’t too much roll when you tackle a corner, and my often travel-sick driving partner wasn’t triggered in the Bronco. Always a positive.
On the hills of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Bronco Badlands had plenty of power and even though we loaded the back with adventuring gear, it never seemed to struggle on an incline. It was the same story when joining a highway, a dab on the gas and you were flying at the same speed as everyone else around you. While playing with the power, the car’s 10-speed automatic does a good job at cycling through the gears. I was never left waiting for a change to come, and when the shifts did happen they were buttery smooth.
Lots of rugged touchpoints in there.
What’s It Like Inside?
Inside the Bronco, the rugged aesthetic is plain to see. Every touchpoint is huge so that you’ll be able to manage it with gloves – things like the center console controls, auxiliary switches and window controls. Rather unexpectedly, the window switches and mirror controls are in the center of the car, which did take some searching to locate when I first hopped in.
To remind you of this car’s off-road origins, there are heavy duty handles strapped to either side of the dash, and a third in the center next to two large cup holders. Presumably these would come in handy if you’re tackling a steep incline, but they are also just a nice feature that comes with a fun contrasting orange color that matches the stitching on the seats.
That utilitarian styling doesn’t mean the interior is sparse, there’s a 12-inch screen on the center console that handles more complex controls like navigation, wirelessly pairing your phone and all manner of vehicle settings. A second eight-inch display makes up the instrument cluster behind the wheel, which is super bright and nicely visible at all times.
