What led you to the Black Diamond?

[thatspecialbeat]

Best wheels. No beeps and boops. Plenty capable without having to go 35". When I ordered it had the good bumper. Blue interior accents.
OG heritage edition.

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[Wilbur's son]

Best wheels. No beeps and boops. Plenty capable without having to go 35". When I ordered it had the good bumper. Blue interior accents.
OG heritage edition.

That's mine ('22) except I stayed with the std capable bumper. Wanted the fog lights. MGV, rear locker, rock rails, skid plates and 32's are all I needed. Stayed under 40k doing this.

 

[DillLightful]

I did BD with Sasquatch, which fills in a lot of what you miss between the two. I didn’t sweat the high package just to get the camera. What I saw that was missing was the stabilizer bar disconnect, which I don't see using honestly. I want to do cool things in my Bronco, but I don't predict getting that extreme with my kids in the car (they're small. 6, 4 and 6 months). And it will still be plenty capable without that one thing. Aside from that the cost difference was about $5k and I really actually wanted the tail-gate table. Which for some reason I couldn't build on the BL, but I could on the BD. I plan to use that table a lot. I'm a Girl Scout Troop Leader and you would be surprised how handy stuff like that is. . . Also changing diapers. Functionality is also why I didn't go lower than BD. I wanted to have the rubberized floor and MGV, these were must haves for me. The number of times I've struggled to get juice and melted goldfish crackers out of my Tahoe's cloth seats made this a requirement. I will properly enjoy MGV.

 

[jasonkosi]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, BD is the most underrated Bronco trim. For me, it gave me all the off road goodies I wanted: locker, steel bumpers, full body skid plates, rock rails, better tires. Plus, I like the grille, standard lighting, and the blue accents paired perfectly with my VB colour choice.

 

[ChrisB351]

I spent 6mo building various models and options. In the end I felt this was the best value for my budget. The next comparable BL woulda been 4k more but the extra features werent enough to justify the extra cost especially since a lot of things will be changed. And as other people said the orange interior accents didnt do it for me.

 

[sjjohnny]

For desert running, forest and back country roads (not into rock crawling) the BD hit the sweet spot for me. Wash out floors, MGV, advanced 4X4, rear locker, good tires, mid package and I like the retro look of the steelies and the non-signature headlights.

 

[hozer]

BD, Squatch, 2.7 Auto, low package.

Everything you could need to do more off-roading than 90% of Bronco owners will ever do and a full warranty with all the goodies for resale down the road to an off-broder or easily flippable takeoffs.

 

[Some Gamer]

MGV, rubberized flooring, no added bs that makes my car scream at me, black steelies, steel bash plates and rock rails.

 

[Wallyworld Ranger 269]

The simplicity ruggedness and durability. I went with the manual, so I it came with the standard package. Everything I need, nothing I don’t. Plenty capable on the local trails and fire roads. The Grabber ATs, MGV interior, steel bumpers, locker and skid plates were great selling points,. Thought about the Badlands, but couldn’t justify the extra $$$ for my intended use. No regrets.

Feel the same way. Did think about the BL and figured how many times am I gonna do rock crawling? Will I really use the disconnect? The Hoss suspension? Hell I even tossed out my original thoughts of a SAS. Vinyl & washout interior also a seller for me. I live in North NJ and will really spend 99.8% drive time on pavement. Just wanted to get something for snow & traversing minor highway flooding. If lucky I’ll get a beach pass for LBI or Delaware once and a while or vacation in OBX. Saved money will go to Diode Dynamics lights..& funny enuff BL take off rims & tires
(All above is contingent to getting a build date before I become too old to drive anymore

 

[tsquared5]

I did BD with Sasquatch, which fills in a lot of what you miss between the two. I didn’t sweat the high package just to get the camera. What I saw that was missing was the stabilizer bar disconnect, which I don't see using honestly. I want to do cool things in my Bronco, but I don't predict getting that extreme with my kids in the car (they're small. 6, 4 and 6 months). And it will still be plenty capable without that one thing. Aside from that the cost difference was about $5k and I really actually wanted the tail-gate table. Which for some reason I couldn't build on the BL, but I could on the BD. I plan to use that table a lot. I'm a Girl Scout Troop Leader and you would be surprised how handy stuff like that is. . . Also changing diapers. Functionality is also why I didn't go lower than BD. I wanted to have the rubberized floor and MGV, these were must haves for me. The number of times I've struggled to get juice and melted goldfish crackers out of my Tahoe's cloth seats made this a requirement. I will properly enjoy MGV.

Thanks. Trying to clean toddler puke out of carpet is brutal. I’m going with the green too!

 

[bloominguez]

2-dr, Black Diamond, manual here. BD had everything I wanted, nothing I didn't. Keep it simple. Sure, I'd have loved all the additional features of the Badlands, but for me that would just be buying stuff I'd rarely use, if ever, with more stuff to break. I was surely tempted, though, during the Off-Rodeo (which I attended before my Bronco was built, so I would have had time to change).

Would have bought the mid package, but @Ford told me, paraphrasing, "F&$# you, you need to pay ~$10,000 for that [to step up to Badlands, allowing Mid + Manual]." I said, "No thank you" and spent *less* money than I otherwise would have. (I still remember how naive we were years ago, when we thought that was an error in the B&P!!)

I like the MGV and wash-out interior. I like the steel wheels. And I actually like the "classic" headlight look better than the so-called signature lighting. So it was an easy choice.

One important (to me, at least) thing I didn't see (maybe I missed it) is that the BD is the lowest trim level that allows you to order the Advanced transfer case (adds "4A" mode), which gives you clutch-based front axle engagement, so you can run 4A in Sport mode or in Slippery mode, without worrying about damaging the drivetrain. I can tell my daughters, "Just press the 4A button (or rotate the dial to Slippery), don't worry about 4H or 4L." 4A isn't super important here in the south, but I will probably sell to family up north in the future. And 4A is still nice to have during heavy rains, due to the interesting road designs down here that are *not* properly crowned to let water flow off of the road, even on interstate highways.

Edit: I think the 4A gets overlooked because it's part of the Sasquatch package (people are getting it by default when they get Sas). Even online, in press releases, Sas features are: front lockers, bigger tires, etc. Little mention of the transfer case. Not sure how many people think about it if they don't go with Sas, but I think more should.

Oh, that reminds me, BD also gives you more GOAT modes out of the box (without using Forscan), and for me it gives me the modes I want (Sport and not Baja, in the Badlands, for instance).

 

[Headsong]

MGV and not willing to pay the High premium.

 

[Ironiguana]

If you have a BD, what let you to buy that trim vs. the others? I'm leaning towards it vs. BL and wanted to hear from BD owners. There seem to be a lot more BLs owners on here. Thanks in advance.

I went back and forth between the BD and Badlands. The decision was between a BD with SAS, 2.7, mid package and a Badlands with SAS, 2.7 and high package (for the 360 camera). $5000 difference. Didn't feel the camera, signature lights and the stabar disconnect was worth that bump in price. I also put some of that $5000 savings into other things I really liked like the Oracle tail lights, Diabolical drawer, and Pura Vida attic.

 

[Grant3168]

Initially what led me to the BD trim was the MGV seats and rubber flooring. I was initially looking at a base squatch. I then put my order in for a 2D BD sas 2.7 mid but after 2 years of no updates I took off sas and made it a 4D. That was quickly built and delivered. I thought the price point was perfect, sure I could spend the extra cash for a BL, but the increase in technology and features made me worry about more potential to break, specifically the sway bar disconnect, I was worried that would be a major fail point. Sure I don’t have a front locker but at the end of the day I had to be realistic, do I actually need a front locker? After wheeling my bronco with only a rear locker, I can safely say I don’t NEED it. Sure would be nice to have, but less chance of things breaking parts. Plus it’s got the metal skids, modular steel front bumper, rock slides, it’s perfect for me. The mid package is also just enough tech for me. Some nice features but not too “blingy” at the same time. Side note, the 4 door bronco was a great choice. Tons of room for my gear and my two dogs. I definitely would have struggled more with a 2 door.

 

[tsquared5]

2-dr, Black Diamond, manual here. BD had everything I wanted, nothing I didn't. Keep it simple. Sure, I'd have loved all the additional features of the Badlands, but for me that would just be buying stuff I'd rarely use, if ever, with more stuff to break. I was surely tempted, though, during the Off-Rodeo (which I attended before my Bronco was built, so I would have had time to change).

Would have bought the mid package, but @Ford told me, paraphrasing, "F&$# you, you need to pay ~$10,000 for that [to step up to Badlands, allowing Mid + Manual]." I said, "No thank you" and spent *less* money than I otherwise would have. (I still remember how naive we were years ago, when we thought that was an error in the B&P!!)

I like the MGV and wash-out interior. I like the steel wheels. And I actually like the "classic" headlight look better than the so-called signature lighting. So it was an easy choice.

One important (to me, at least) thing I didn't see (maybe I missed it) is that the BD is the lowest trim level that allows you to order the Advanced transfer case (adds "4A" mode), which gives you clutch-based front axle engagement, so you can run 4A in Sport mode or in Slippery mode, without worrying about damaging the drivetrain. I can tell my daughters, "Just press the 4A button (or rotate the dial to Slippery), don't worry about 4H or 4L." 4A isn't super important here in the south, but I will probably sell to family up north in the future. And 4A is still nice to have during heavy rains, due to the interesting road designs down here that are *not* properly crowned to let water flow off of the road, even on interstate highways.

Oh, that reminds me, BD also gives you more GOAT modes out of the box (without using Forscan), and for me it gives me the modes I want (Sport and not Baja, in the Badlands, for instance).

Thanks. Does adding the Advanced 4X4 add the front locker? I can’t tell how you would add it without going SAS. Or if it’s even possible.

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