2022 Ford Bronco Badlands Sasquatch Long-Term Road Test: An Introduction

Introduction

We welcomed A. with wide open arms 2022 Ford Bronco Badlands Sasquatch for the 40,000 mile test. To say that we were delighted with his appearance is an understatement. After The Bronco beat the Jeep Wrangler in the comparison test, we were confident it would be a worthy addition to our long-term fleet. Indeed, the minute Ford decided to bring the Bronco back for 2021, we were filled with nostalgia and knew we were going to get this thing fat. It’s just a cool off-road beast that we can take to the sand dunes of Michigan and get us through the long, cold, snowy winter.

In spec’ing our Bronco, we went with what we thought was an obvious choice. We chose the four-door model for its added utility. We also decided to go with the seven-speed manual because, well, we like to shift those gears ourselves (save the manuals!). This seven-speed manual transmission comes with a downshift if you want to do some serious off-roading and need an ultra-short gear for off-roading. We also opted for the Badlands trim, which sits one step lower than the Wildtrak at the top of the hierarchy; it adds position-sensitive Bilstein dampers and front anti-roll bar deactivation. That gave our Bronco a base price of $48,185, versus $39,475 for the absolute cheapest way to get a manual four-door (Big Bend trim). If we’d stuck with that Badlands base, we’d have ended up with an 8.0-inch touchscreen, 33-inch tires and 17-inch gray aluminum wheels. We opted to add the High Package for an additional $2,790, which notably gave us heated front seats, a 12.0-inch touchscreen, a 360-degree camera, and a rearview mirror. Additionally, we highlighted the Sasquatch package for $4,090. The Sasquatch package added 35-inch tires, electronic locking front and rear differentials, and 17-inch gloss black beadlock aluminum wheels. To round things out, we opted for a gray hardtop ($695), a towing package ($595), a modular front bumper with tow hooks ($575), a trunk protector ($120), and all-weather floor mats ($160).

After completing the owner’s manual’s break-in procedure, which vaguely states to avoid aggressive or high-speed driving, hard braking, and towing for the first 1,000 miles, we got down to it with our initial instrument testing. The base engine, a 300-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder, powers our Bronco. It accelerated to 60 miles per hour in 7.4 seconds—Bronco Raptor did it almost two seconds faster at 5.6. It’s also almost a second slower than the others Four-cylinder automatic Bronco, which benefits from starting with a braking torque. It’s certainly not for lack of effort, though, as our manual Bronco’s runs began with the clutch redline. Our longtime racer pulled 0.70 g on the skid pad and stopped from 70 mph in 204 feet. This Bronco weighed in at 5,073 pounds, making it one of the lightest four-doors we tested (the 5,764-pound Raptor was the heaviest).

At the moment, our Bronco’s biggest downfalls are both wind and cabin noise while driving on the highway. With our High package and the hardtop option, we got Marine vinyl seats, and with those seats and the Badlands trim, the soundproofing doesn’t come on automatically. We could have added it for free, but we didn’t, and now we regret it.

Other than that, we look forward to all kinds of fun with this Bronco for 40,000 miles. Be sure to check out where we’re going and what we’re doing with this awesome SUV.

Months in the Navy: 3 months Current Mileage: 6699 miles
Average fuel economy: 16 mpg
Fuel tank size: 16.9 gal Observed fuel range: 270 miles
Service: 0 dollars Normal wear and tear: 0 dollars Repair: 0 dollars
Damage and destruction: 0 dollars