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Black Diamond Daily Driver

NayNay

Badlands
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Badlands
Clubs
 
I'm an off road novice. That being said, I'd like a Bronco to be my foot in the door to more outdoor adventures. That being said again, the main purpose of my Bronco will be a daily driver - ~20 miles each day. Right now, I'm pretty set on the BD. To those of you who have more experience in off road vehicles, would this be a bad choice as a daily driver considering I'm going around town and on the highway? I was considering the OBX as a good choice, but I really want to have the manual. The rubber floors and vinyl seats are also big for me. I like the steel bumpers and bash plates, but they're probably, generally unnecessary. Aux switches are good as well. Since it'd be a daily, I do want to have the mid package; otherwise, I'd just throw some options on the base. I don't want to upgrade to BB just so I can pay for the mid package, as the BB doesn't offer anything more as standard than the base that I really care about. That leads me to the BD, seems to get everything I want but more than I need, and it may be not great around town? (Some guidance from you more experienced off roaders than I would be helpful). Additionally, I'm not interested in the sport even though the situation I described is basically what it's for. I'd like to hear from some of you who plan on having the Bronco as a daily as well. Also, why am I crazy/not crazy for deciding on the BD? Anyone else trying to cope with this as well?

EDIT: the other struggle is a real dichotomy. Most of my off road stuff wouldn't be rock crawling, which I understand is what the BD is for. Rock crawling aside, it still seems very capable of the off road stuff I would be doing. It still makes the most sense to me, but maybe it shouldn't...
My opinion, I'll have another set of tires to do my daily and go thru winter. I feel the type of tire can make a difference in how that ride feels. But i also want to be able to have my top off and let it rain, hell, let it downpour, I don't want to worry about the beach and sand on my floor. So what if I get mud on my seats..... Hose my new bitch out!! I won't be rock crawling either. I will absolutely have a blast in this Bronco!! As a side note I hate cold, so I'll probably add heated seats.
 

Megawatt

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Undecided
A big consideration for many that ask if the BD can be a daily driver is how they deal with MPG. If your the kind of person that closely monitors the gas gage and search for the lowest price per gallon of gas then daily driving duty might be an issue for you. Don’t expect to get the advertised mpg numbers on the new Bronco.

The drive should be quiet and smooth with IFS and hard top on AT tires. So I doubt the question is if the bronco BD can be a daily driver, it would have to do more with the owner.

I drive 75 miles round trip to and from work everyday. My Jeep has 35” tires on 2.5” lift and I have zero issues with it getting only 16 mpg. I also have a 2018 Honda Civic and road king and each of them get 35+ mpg. But I drive the Jeep the most because it is the funnest vehicle I have ever owned And average about 13,000 miles a year.
 

RPhillips1972

Black Diamond
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Same boat. I’m interested in BD and it will be my daily driver.
I am also leaning towards BD as a daily DD. I don't need the 35 MT tires from the SQ package, but I want an aggressive look and ride height, may be forced to do after market lift. My jeep is on 33's with four inch lift...want same look

20200813_065842.jpg
 

Megawatt

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........I was considering the OBX as a good choice, but I really want to have the manual. The rubber floors and vinyl seats are also big for me. I like the steel bumpers and bash plates, but they're probably, generally unnecessary. ....
You could save thousands on just getting a basic model. It will be more capable Off road than your looking to do. It’s very simple to remove the carpet or just put rubber mats down on top of the carpet. The basic will still have armor on the gas tank and other places, you might never even dent any bash plates if you had them.

This is a picture of an open differential Jeep on a trail I did. If this looks like something you would never even consider then you don’t “need“ a black diamond edition. These machines are way more capable than most people think.
Ford Bronco Black Diamond Daily Driver B7E49824-2B93-43C6-B28D-D16BBD06F30B
 

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Cheshire

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I'm an off road novice. That being said, I'd like a Bronco to be my foot in the door to more outdoor adventures. That being said again, the main purpose of my Bronco will be a daily driver - ~20 miles each day. Right now, I'm pretty set on the BD. To those of you who have more experience in off road vehicles, would this be a bad choice as a daily driver considering I'm going around town and on the highway? I was considering the OBX as a good choice, but I really want to have the manual. The rubber floors and vinyl seats are also big for me. I like the steel bumpers and bash plates, but they're probably, generally unnecessary. Aux switches are good as well. Since it'd be a daily, I do want to have the mid package; otherwise, I'd just throw some options on the base. I don't want to upgrade to BB just so I can pay for the mid package, as the BB doesn't offer anything more as standard than the base that I really care about. That leads me to the BD, seems to get everything I want but more than I need, and it may be not great around town? (Some guidance from you more experienced off roaders than I would be helpful). Additionally, I'm not interested in the sport even though the situation I described is basically what it's for. I'd like to hear from some of you who plan on having the Bronco as a daily as well. Also, why am I crazy/not crazy for deciding on the BD? Anyone else trying to cope with this as well?

EDIT: the other struggle is a real dichotomy. Most of my off road stuff wouldn't be rock crawling, which I understand is what the BD is for. Rock crawling aside, it still seems very capable of the off road stuff I would be doing. It still makes the most sense to me, but maybe it shouldn't...
I thought I was decided on the Black Diamond, but how I'm seriously considering the Big Bend w/Optional rear differential locker that is standard on the BD. Adding this option (also available on OBX) is probably $500. That will give you more off-road capability than you'll likely need. Rear locker is NOT available on base sans Squatch. Big Bend gives you 17" aluminum wheels vs steel on the BD. BB AT tires are 32.1" vs 31.6" on the BD, so you get an extra 1/4 more clearance on BB. This wheel/tire combo is a HUGE improvement over the 16" wheel, 30" tire Base combo.

Like you, I don't really care about BD steel bumpers, rock rails, etc as they just add weight while looking cool. Vinyl seats are great to clean, but make you sweat like a biatch in the heat. Below are my potential 4-door builds. Rear locker is a must for me, which I could get on Base only with Squatch. BB with rear diffs is about $2500 cheaper assuming I pay for Cyber Orange. If I opted for Cactus Grey as I would on the BB, I save $3100 going BB relative to BD. This has me leaning towards BB now. I don't like the idea of driving 35s on the highway, but the Base/Squatch option still calls me because of the cool factor and it's essentially the same cost as BB w/lockers.

BaseBig BendB Diamond
MSRP
$33,200​
$35,880​
$38,545​
Dest
$1,495​
$1,495​
$1,495​
2.7L Auto
$1,900​
$3,500​
$3,500​
hardtop
$700​
$700​
$700​
rear diff lock
$500​
Cyber Orange
$595​
$37,295​
$42,075​
$44,835​
Invoice-$1k
$1,498​
$1,897​
$2,349​
$35,797​
$40,178​
$42,486​
Sasquatch
$5,000​
$40,797​
 

Black Diamond

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As someone who daily's a 2012 F250 4x4 long bed lifted on 37s, the Bronco Black Diamond will be much smoother.
 

HobbyPro

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I was reading the 2" lift will be an option. If that is the case it wont be an install price at ordering. It will be a bigger savings over the front locker and 35's with wheels in the saq package

I will just wait and see for the pricing and option feature
I really hope you're right on that one. The squatch would be nice but I will settle for a 2" factory lift if it saves some money and I can keep my manual transmission
 

HobbyPro

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That's a rumor based on the orange launch vehicle, followed by an avalanche of wishful thinking.
But seriously I want those doors on the orange 2 door for my 4 door
 

TOWMA8R

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I really hope you're right on that one. The squatch would be nice but I will settle for a 2" factory lift if it saves some money and I can keep my manual transmission

Yes Sir, I hope so. With the rear locker, 2" lift and some 33's...... what a good daily driving trail rig
 

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JesseS

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I plan on using it in a 50/50 mix, it will be off road a lot, and I don't need front lockers or huge tires, hell, I did the Rubicon from Ice house to Buck's Lake in a bone stock Jeep CJ without lockers. Effective 4 wheeling is 75% the driver, and picking the correct line. I don't plan on crawling over huge boulders, but will be taking a lot of rugged trails, and the BD will handle them fine. My only concession will be 33" AT's and a 2" lift. It should still ride fine on the harttop with AT's.
 

SevenT

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Clubs
 
Black Diamond (BD) Daily Driver (DD) clan,
I plan on DD my new BD. Started off in the Big Bend camp, but switched after Build and Price. See my build below
Ford Bronco Black Diamond Daily Driver 2021 Ford Bronco Black Diamond
 

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Parker

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I have that same concern about heat with the vinyl. I'm in IN though, so I only get 100+ degrees a couple days out of the year. Makes me a little less concerned about that, but still could be tough. I've had black leather before in my old BMW, and it wasn't too bad, so I'm hoping for about the same.
Natural sheep skin takes care of hot and cold issues, and the new tanning methods let you run it through the washing machine.
 

MotownSpartan

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Badlands
Clubs
 
BD for a DD and ORing, when opportune arises. Had a Cj-5 that saw lots of action back in college, so am pretty stocked for this vehicle. Jeep got rained on several times w/o top so drain plugs and MGV are a requirement for this purchase. Coming off an Escape XLT 4wd.. this is going to be AMAZING!
 

85_Ranger4x4

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For my novice offroader (my wife) we settled on the Black Diamond because:

- Automatic 4wd. She is used to the automatic AWD in her Edge in winter and I don't think that is something easily transitioned. When you are almost instinctively used to your vehicle doing something and it doesn't... there could be issues. Especially going from primarily FWD to primarily RWD at the same time. I don't want an oops in the winter because she thought the car was going to do something it can't do, I know she struggles in my F-150 (manual 4wd) This is a biggie to me.

- Elocker, easy get out of jail free card if she gets in over her head.

- 32" ATs. Not a huge tire to replace, decent sidewall for airing down. IIRC they are General Grabber AT3's which I have on my Ranger (I like them) Also on the narrow side for better winter traction. Being smaller will help mpg and highway manors while offroading trips more affordable (we are like two states from anywhere) and long drives more enjoyable.

- Vinyl floor. Little kids (and my wife) spill stuff, easier cleanup so that is a plus

- Modular bumper, not sure if it is a perk or not. Personally I would rather have the "capable" one with fogs but that is no dice for a BD. Also gets a steel back bumper which is nice though.

- Also went hardtop with sound deadening stuff to try to keep it i civil too.
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