The Ford Bronco is one of the most impressive off-road SUVs on the market, delivering remarkable performance and trail-ready capability that leaves just about every other vehicle in its dust. Even though the standard Bronco has a lot of impressive features, there are numerous trims available for you to choose from at your local Ford dealer designed to take your off-road experience even further. These trims can bring a wide range of features and options with them, so looking at the specs from one to another can transform what the Bronco brings to both the road and the trail in remarkable and surprising ways.
Among the different trims available, the Badlands is a personal favorite for the Bronco as it delivers the perfect blend of amazing standard and brilliant optional features. It’s a great showcase of Ford’s approach to designing vehicles by giving them impressive engineering and technology with plenty of opportunities to enhance their ride. Whether you are interested in taking a Bronco for a spin or you simply like to know all about the most exciting vehicles on the road, it’s worth your time to take a close look at the Badlands and everything it has to offer.
Plenty of Power for the Trail
Although not the largest SUV in Ford’s lineup, the Bronco is certainly not a small vehicle, and it’s important that it has plenty of power packed into it to make it fun to drive and ensure it has the muscle to navigate challenging trails. The Badlands comes with the standard Bronco engine, a 2.3L EcoBoost I-4 that delivers 300 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. This yields an excellent amount of power, but most exciting is the fact that it comes with a seven-speed manual transmission, with a ten-speed automatic available for drivers who prefer a less-demanding driving experience. A manual transmission wasn’t available for the Bronco’s first year of release, but Ford quickly heard the demand from their customers and delivered this fantastic option in reply.
What’s even more impressive, however, is that there’s an even greater engine available for the Badlands that delivers a tremendous amount of power. This is a 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine providing 330 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque. Its focus on torque perfectly illustrates how this engine is designed to dominate the trail. However, both engines deliver impressive power and make for a great driving experience, which should come as no surprise considering Ford’s reputation for vehicles that can handle anything a driver throws at them.
Advanced Off-Road Engineering
There’s a lot to be said for the Badlands—and the Bronco in general—as a daily-use vehicle for getting around town or running errands. Where this SUV truly shines, though, is when it leaves the city behind and gets a chance to play on the trail; the Badlands illustrates this perfectly, even when you look at its standard features. (We’ll get into the available features offered by the Sasquatch Package further down.) The Bronco Badlands comes with Advanced 4×4 with Automatic On-Demand Engagement, standard, delivering various levels of power to all wheels to provide the best traction and control possible.
Thanks to electronic-locking front and rear axles, the Badlands boosts traction even further when dealing with rough terrain and going off-road. Plus, a front stabilizer bar disconnect allows for increased articulation to help with uneven paths and when tackling large obstacles out on the trail. The Badlands also features the Bronco’s High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (HOSS) System 2.0 with Bilstein Position-Sensitive Dampers, which provides fantastic handling and comfort even in the most demanding situations while going off-road. When combined with the “Goes Over Any type of Terrain” (GOAT) Modes of the Bronco’s Terrain Management System, the Badlands truly excels thanks to seven different modes, including Normal, Slippery, Sand, Mud/Ruts, Rock, and more.
Fantastic Standard Exterior & Interior Features
We’ll look at the available options for the Bronco Badlands in a moment, but first, it’s worth pointing out how impressive its standard features are. The Badlands comes with a soft top or removable hard top, depending on the driver’s preference, and it has removable doors to allow for an open-air driving experience. With 17-inch wheels wrapped in 33-inch all-terrain tires, the Bronco Badlands has a large stance that’s as intimidating as it is effective for handling the trail.
Inside, the Badlands has six-way adjustable front seats, with vinyl seating that’s easy to keep clean no matter how messy the trail gets. Single-zone air conditioning is standard, along with an 8.0-inch infotainment display, an 8.0-inch LCD instrument panel display, and a seven-speaker sound system with a subwoofer. You’ll also find a leather-wrapped steering wheel, numerous USB ports for charging and connectivity, and advanced safety features like Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking—all standard in the Bronco. But drivers looking to improve upon that have several excellent options…
Impressive Packages and Upgrades
There are four packages available for the Badlands trim, with a host of upgrades across them, and we’ll look at the first three here. Beyond the included Standard Package, there’s a Mid Package with ambient footwell lighting, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control. This Mid Package also features a remote start system, advanced safety features like a Lane-Keeping System, and an enhanced SYNC 4 Infotainment system.
Going further, the available High Package includes everything in the Mid Package, along with a 12.0-inch infotainment display, a 360-degree camera system, and additional sound deadening for a quieter overall driving experience. This package also features a Forward Sensing System and additional LED lighting on the outside mirrors. Finally, a Lux Package elevates the Badlands even further with Adaptive Cruise Control, Evasive Steering Assist, and Connected Built-In Navigation. This package also includes a ten-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, a heated steering wheel, and a wireless charging pad for added convenience.
The Sasquatch Package
While those previous three packages help deliver a more rewarding time behind the wheel, the Sasquatch Package transforms the Badlands Bronco into the ultimate off-road vehicle. A standard Badlands model is already fantastic for hitting the trail, but the Sasquatch Package adds 35-inch tires along with Bilstein Position-Sensitive Dampers with a high-clearance ride height to ensure the Bronco can clear any obstacle. Combine that with additional options like Trail One-Pedal Drive, Trail Control (think cruise control for going off-road), and Trail Turn Assist, and you have an off-road SUV that surpasses anything else on the market while offering 11.5 inches of ground clearance and 33.5 inches of water fording. (It’s no wonder they call it the Sasquatch.)
Badlands Makes for a Good Time
Saying there’s nothing bad about the Badlands is an understatement; this is an exceptional piece of machinery that’s helped the Bronco redefine what drivers expect from an off-road SUV. While the standard Ford Bronco is a marvel for hitting the trail, the Badlands trim—with its excellent standard and optional features—takes things even further to create a vehicle beyond many others. The Badlands might get outshined a bit these days by other models like the Bronco Raptor, but that’s honestly a lot more vehicle that most people will ever need.
With remarkable performance, excellent off-road design, and a wide range of additional options that elevate what it delivers even further, the Badlands is the perfect middle-way between the standard Bronco and the highest-end options that deliver a lot more than most people require. This all comes together beautifully to create a vehicle designed to meet the highest standards for hitting the trail while also being incredibly rewarding for getting around town.
