Getting ready to place MY22 order: BD vs BL issues/questions

[tourproto]

OK lemme get this straight. I have tried to analyze the differences between the BL and the BD in a 4 door config and maybe it is just me but I am a little irritated at the process and the issue revolves around getting the Mid-package with a manual transmission.

So to get a Mid-Package with a Manual Transmission in a 4-door I have to pay for the following extra in a BL (because I won't swap to an auto in a BD)

Electronic-Locking Front Axle (don't want anyway)
Front Stabilizer Bar Disconnect (don't want anyway)
LED Headlamps with LED Signature Lighting (instead of basic LED headlamps in a BD)
HOSS Suspension System with Bilstein PSDs (instead of basic HOSS Suspension in a BD)

And I lose Hill Descent Control

And I lose the black steelie wheels from the BD which I think are really cool

The BD with Advanced 4x4 and no other options is $41.480
The BL with zero options is $46,730

So in order to be able to get the Mid-Package ($1495) I have to get a BL and spend another $5K for 4 things I don't want, and give up the Hill Descent Control and the black steelie wheels? This sucks.

I just want a friggin Mid-package on a 4 door manual BD and instead of spending $1495 I have to spend almost $6500???

Am I understanding this correctly? This experience is less than joyful. Why make the Mid-package only available with an auto and not a manual?

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[RagnarKon]

I am in a similar boat.

The reason why is simply because there aren't enough manual transmission users left. The more options Ford offers, the higher manufacturing costs are. If Ford could build every Bronco exactly the same, they would, as that would minimize their costs. The game Ford is trying to play is having enough options so people buy the Bronco, but not so many that development & manufacturing costs become too high. It's a balancing act that's impossible to get right.

Generally speaking there are two types of manual transmission users:

1. Those that are cost-conscious, in which case they won't be buying the mid package anyway.
2. Those that are enthusiast. Those type of people will probably be buying the Badlands trim.

So that's why Ford has the options setup the way they are. Obviously there are people (like you and me) that are somewhere in the middle, but there aren't enough of us for Ford to offer that as a buildable option. They are betting on the fact that people in the middle will likely bump up to the Badlands trim. So we get screwed.

To be fair to Ford, every other car manufacturer does the exact same thing. This isn't a Ford-only problem. But it is very frustrating as a manual transmission user.

---

For me personally... I wanted a Black Diamond with front and rear lockers. Didn't care about sway-bar disconnect. No problem... I can just get the Sasquatch package on Black Diamond. Except the Sasquatch package for the manual transmission effectively forces you to pay for an automatic transmission... which is insane. So instead I'm forced to buy a 4-door Badlands and get a bunch of stuff I don't want.

 

[Broncos 4 evah]

You understand perfectly. You are pissed at Ford, but if you pull the Badlands trigger it means Ford understood YOU perfectly.

 

[2100]

OK lemme get this straight. I have tried to analyze the differences between the BL and the BD in a 4 door config and maybe it is just me but I am a little irritated at the process and the issue revolves around getting the Mid-package with a manual transmission.

So to get a Mid-Package with a Manual Transmission in a 4-door I have to pay for the following extra in a BL (because I won't swap to an auto in a BD)

Electronic-Locking Front Axle (don't want anyway)
Front Stabilizer Bar Disconnect (don't want anyway)
LED Headlamps with LED Signature Lighting (instead of basic LED headlamps in a BD)
HOSS Suspension System with Bilstein PSDs (instead of basic HOSS Suspension in a BD)

And I lose Hill Descent Control

And I lose the black steelie wheels from the BD which I think are really cool

The BD with Advanced 4x4 and no other options is $41.480
The BL with zero options is $46,730

So in order to be able to get the Mid-Package ($1495) I have to get a BL and spend another $5K for 4 things I don't want, and give up the Hill Descent Control and the black steelie wheels? This sucks.

I just want a friggin Mid-package on a 4 door manual BD and instead of spending $1495 I have to spend almost $6500???

Am I understanding this correctly? This experience is less than joyful. Why make the Mid-package only available with an auto and not a manual?

This was the exact scenario I was looking at when I updated my order for 22. I decided the mid package wasn't that important to me and just got my BD with a few additional items I wanted. Placed my updated order on 10/23/21, got scheduled for the 1/3/22 build week. Not sure I get that build week if I went the BL route.

 

[SpeedTwin]

So I have driven a manual badlands... you do have Hill descent control, and you can use the gearing for speed control.

 

[tourproto]

So I have driven a manual badlands... you do have Hill descent control, and you can use the gearing for speed control.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not .
In the Ford documentation on model differences Hill Descent Control is not an option on BL.

as a lifelong manual tranny driver I am fully aware that you can use the gearbox to control downhill speed. Just not happy to lose a feature on top of paying $5k more. And I am assuming that the feature is meaningful

 

[2100]

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not .
In the Ford documentation on model differences Hill Descent Control is not an option on BL.

as a lifelong manual tranny driver I am fully aware that you can use the gearbox to control downhill speed. Just not happy to lose a feature on top of paying $5k more. And I am assuming that the feature is meaningful

22 Build guide disagrees

 

[SpeedTwin]

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not .
In the Ford documentation on model differences Hill Descent Control is not an option on BL.

as a lifelong manual tranny driver I am fully aware that you can use the gearbox to control downhill speed. Just not happy to lose a feature on top of paying $5k more. And I am assuming that the feature is meaningful

No sarcasm intended. In the middle of the goat mode dial is the descent control button on the manual equipped bronco.

 

[tourproto]

For me personally... I wanted a Black Diamond with front and rear lockers. Didn't care about sway-bar disconnect. No problem... I can just get the Sasquatch package on Black Diamond. Except the Sasquatch package for the manual transmission effectively forces you to pay for an automatic transmission... which is insane. So instead I'm forced to buy a 4-door Badlands and get a bunch of stuff I don't want.

I thought that you could get a manual with Sasquatch in the BD for 2022 as long as you only wanted the 2.3L engine.

 

[tourproto]

22 Build guide disagrees

Thanks for that. I was still basing my info off of the 2021 build guide

 

[GTPrincessa]

I went with the manual BD. Like you, I love the steelies and "utilitarian" look of the BD. For the price, the BD is the only trim that shares some of the same options as the BL, ie: rock rails, full bash plates, steel front & rear bumpers..........and it will be more than adequate for the type of off-roading we will be doing.
I also would have liked the mid pkg, but wasn't worth giving up the manual trans, or the steelies.
Honestly, I've been BD from day one and she is now in my driveway.......no regrets.

 

[long_road]

I went through the same debate. Ultimately picked Black Diamond as well.

Honestly, the only thing in mid package that I even halfway care about is heated seats. And you can add those yourself aftermarket for way less than $1,500.

Also, I'm an "enthusiast", but all that extra stuff in Badlands is completely unnecessary for my needs. No sense in spending more to get a bunch of stuff on your rig that you're going to have to fix and do maintenance on down the road... and never even need to use it. Once I saw the video of the bro that drove a stock Outer Banks all the way up to top of the world in Moab, I knew I'd be just fine with the Black Diamond.

 

[redone17]

I was hoping for this to change for MY22 myself. Hopefully they throw us a bone in MY23…but, doubtful.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...-mid-not-available-on-mt-black-diamond.26717/

My question is - who’s going to be the first to order a BD with automatic and swap in a manual transmission? We used to do it on our VWs all of the time. It should be much easier than trying to add MID level tech.

 

[RagnarKon]

I thought that you could get a manual with Sasquatch in the BD for 2022 as long as you only wanted the 2.3L engine.

You can.

But the Sasquatch package includes the cost of the automatic transmission. So if you are an automatic transmission user… no big deal. If you are a manual transmission user, you effectively get to pay extra for an automatic transmission without actually getting the automatic transmission.

And since you have to pay for the automatic transmission, the cost of BD w/ Sas & MT is roughly the same price as a Badlands. So there is effectively no reason to buy Black Diamond at that point.

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