Nothing Special
New member
Can't be all things to all people. I personally like the fact they are building a smaller, more soft road SUV. Admit it or not, I think it will be more capable than most need.
Bronco Sport
- Thread starter Stormhammer
- Start date
Todd780
OverCamper
m(a)ce
Adventurer
seems like they’re pretty sturdy 
https://www.thedrive.com/news/4098...nasty-off-road-crash-thanks-to-a-recovery-job
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
https://www.thedrive.com/news/4098...nasty-off-road-crash-thanks-to-a-recovery-job
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
dustboy
Explorer
Did a good amount of trail miles today in the lil’ Bronco. First was Sourgrass outside Dorrington CA. The gatekeeper obstacle is about 200 yards from the trailhead and I chickened out. Was pretty sure we could have gotten over the knee-high step up but was not 100% sure it would have happened without a good whack to the undercarriage. Underbody skid plates are thick enough but there’s a fair amount of the belly that is not protected.
The rest of the day was graded and ungraded logging roads and some mild babyhead Jeep trails which the Bronco just ate up. Not one occasion where there was any noticeable wheel spin or rock strikes to the undercarriage.
The rest of the day was graded and ungraded logging roads and some mild babyhead Jeep trails which the Bronco just ate up. Not one occasion where there was any noticeable wheel spin or rock strikes to the undercarriage.
I got one myself a couple months ago, I’ve actually become quite smitten with it. Mine is just a base so I’m missing some of the badlands goodies but after being really honest with myself it’s really only going to see the occasional rough road to our farm at my dads or a campsite, the rest of the time it’s a daily driver, weekend kayak, road trip dad wagon.
I have plenty of off road fantasies but reality is where I live there’s not a ton of that, and a vehicle like the full-size bronco which I was also debating, would be inherently worse at the dad daily driving duties and gas mileage it would mostly get used for anyway.
So far I’ve ordered;
- Ford factory floor liners - honestly a must at this point, I don’t see the point of carpet mats anymore in general
-KMC Alpine Wheels on Falken Wildpeak ATs - no increase in noise, minimal impact on mpg
-Ford cross bars for roof rack - I think these are rebranded Yakima
-Hood deflector - rock chips have already been a problem I’m the first 4k miles and a broken windshield thanks to a cement truck dropping boulders made this a hopefully worthwhile move
I have plenty of off road fantasies but reality is where I live there’s not a ton of that, and a vehicle like the full-size bronco which I was also debating, would be inherently worse at the dad daily driving duties and gas mileage it would mostly get used for anyway.
So far I’ve ordered;
- Ford factory floor liners - honestly a must at this point, I don’t see the point of carpet mats anymore in general
-KMC Alpine Wheels on Falken Wildpeak ATs - no increase in noise, minimal impact on mpg
-Ford cross bars for roof rack - I think these are rebranded Yakima
-Hood deflector - rock chips have already been a problem I’m the first 4k miles and a broken windshield thanks to a cement truck dropping boulders made this a hopefully worthwhile move
utherjorge
Observer
That looks really great.
UltraHDGames
Adventurer
Hadn't really given them much thought until now, kind of like the look of them. Could make for a great family/daily future small suv for us
beef tits
Well-known member
F350joe
Well-known member
good point but your username the name of my Blues Traveler cover band.
emulous74
Well-known member
I think it's real competitor to the badlands version (fully optioned) would be the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness, and for the same amount of money you get more power, more room, more ground clearance, more towing capacity, better safety (IMO), and better resale value.
The Bronco Sport looks a hell of a lot better to me than the Outback, that's the only reason I can see taking one over the Outback Wilderness.
The Bronco Sport looks a hell of a lot better to me than the Outback, that's the only reason I can see taking one over the Outback Wilderness.
Nothing Special
New member
I saw one last week in Jerome AZ with stock size Wilderness AT's and it looked great. I am a fan of the soft road genre all together. In my past life I had a fairly capable Toyota Tacoma but 90% of it's life was on pavement. It made a horrible commuter, got horrible gas milage and beat you up worse than a night in a Tijuana massage parlor. I'll take one of these new "toy" off-roaders any day.
MarcusBrody
Active member
I think the Bronco Sport is just a smaller vehicle. It's ~172 in long, while the Outback is 191. If you don't need the extra length, a smaller vehicle is much more convenient for a lot of things, esp. if you live in a city. The extra length is largely in the overhangs as well, so despite the Outback Wilderness being jacked up a bit and having higher ground clearance, the approach/departure angles on the Bronco Sport are a lot better. And despite being a much larger vehicle, you don't get basically any extra cargo space with the Subaru, with both vehicles featuring 32.5 cubic feet behind the second row of seats and the Bronco Sport's boxy cargo area likely being a bit more useable for adventure gear (though to be fair, I think the 2.0l versions of the Bronco Sport have a small amount less). With all seats folded, the Outback does have a 10 cu ft advantage, but again, the Bronco Sport has a boxier cargo area, which I generally prefer as I pack my gear in stacking tubs. The Outback has 2.5 in more rear legroom.
So, I think the Bronco Sport does have some advantages over the Outback in just being a smaller vehicle with notably better approach/departure angles while giving up very little in cargo space (esp. if you aren't folding the rear seats).