OBX vs BL conflicted

[NVCowboy]

Outer Squatch is an often overlooked vehicle that's more attractive than WT in my book, and would be my money build. Now that I've dropped my opinion on something that will never happen I'm off to the Basequatch threads where I belong.

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[mpeugeot]

I'm conflicted between the OBX and the BL. I really like the wash out interior aspect and ultimately the cooler look (imo) of the stance of the badlands, but on the OBX side I probably like the roast interior better and much as it seems that it might be sacrilege around here, I actually like the color matched pieces (mirrors, door handles, and yes even fender flares) (oh yeah and the fact that it's cheaper, but I suppose you only live once).

1. If I decide to ultimately go BL what's the likelihood of being able to swap out the MIC parts (mirrors, handles, fender flares)?
2. If it's even possible how ungodly expensive would it likely be?
3. Would swapping the fender flares even wind up being legal assuming that the 33's would probably wind up sticking out from the flares that were meant to go with the OBX 32's?

Thanks to all for any assistance,
Sean

I was conflicted, until I started asking myself what I honestly needed/wanted and then compared it with the price point.

The parts are not MIC only the top and it only comes in Carbonized Gray. The colored parts on the OBX are painted.

I went with the OBX for the following reasons. First, comfort is a priority for me, especially on the highway. That means the lux package was my only option that included the adaptive cruise control. Additionally, there is no way to get the 2.7 with anything other than the automatic currently. The advanced 4x4 and locking rear differential were must have items for me. The 4.27 gears with the 32" A/T tires were the best road/off-road compromise and I will get a second set of wheels for off-roading.

Second, the sway bar disconnect (SBD) and front locker, while desirable, were not must have options, as I won't be getting that extreme off-road. That said, the BL will have more articulation with the SBD, it's about 22% more apples to apples. As for swapping the fender flares, that's easy, and I do believe that with the right offset wheel, you will be easily able to get 33's under the OBX. I didn't want MGV getting hot in the Texas sun, so the roast cloth interior made the most sense to me. So that limited me on what models I could really choose from.

Finally, I ran the numbers between quite a few configurations, and the OBX made the most sense, with my final price coming in at $47,953 (about $800 under sticker) with the options listed below.

 

[mpeugeot]

I think you should look at it more as a use case decision. If you don't Rock Crawl, or want to do "extreme" four wheel driving, I would get the OBX. Opposite to maybe the majority here, I don't see the huge value in the Badlands, except for a small minority. I think for most its a bragging rights thing, than a need thing. Now there is nothing wrong with that, I have things for bragging rights also.

You can make them all look cool, as I think they all look cool. Put some more aggressive 32" tires on the OBX, and it looks rugged enough. If it will see more town, fire roads or beach, I would go OBX.

As I said above, that's exactly the conclusion that I came to, especially after researching the actual differences. The only difference between a squatched OBX and BL is the interior (both have drain plugs BTW) and the SBD. On the road the OBX in any configuration will be quieter than the BL.

As for the mall crawler comments made by some of the other posters, it's almost a valid criticism until you remember that the 2 door OBX retains 90% of the articulation that is achievable in a 4 door WT or BL. Which is not mall crawler territory by any stretch. The front locker is a cool feature, but only remains locked at low speed (where arguably it's most needed). The one thing that chaps me about the OBX is the lack of the Baja mode and consequently a front camera working at all speeds.

 

[Bituman]

The one thing that chaps me about the OBX is the lack of the Baja mode and consequently a front camera working at all speeds.

Yeah, that’s the thing that pushed me from OBX with SAS to a WT. There is very little difference between the two trims when optioned the same. Even now I still consider going back to OBX. I have no clue if I will need Baja mode, or any of the other high end 4WD options. But I figure I may want those in the future so it’s easier to just get them from the factory now as opposed to adding them later. I have even given some thought to a base and adding some of the options myself as sort of a hobby. Being a 22MY order, I have way too much time to stress over this stuff!

 

[Old Guy]

As I said above, that's exactly the conclusion that I came to, especially after researching the actual differences. The only difference between a squatched OBX and BL is the interior (both have drain plugs BTW) and the SBD. On the road the OBX in any configuration will be quieter than the BL.

As for the mall crawler comments made by some of the other posters, it's almost a valid criticism until you remember that the 2 door OBX retains 90% of the articulation that is achievable in a 4 door WT or BL. Which is not mall crawler territory by any stretch. The front locker is a cool feature, but only remains locked at low speed (where arguably it's most needed). The one thing that chaps me about the OBX is the lack of the Baja mode and consequently a front camera working at all speeds.

Ignore the mall crawling comments. Its just chest pounding and in some cases humor from the forum crew. Some folks think these were purpose built to rock crawl. They were purpose built to sell to the Jeep Wrangler crowd. Ford knows that SBD sells vehicles to a certain crowd, whether they need it or not.

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