Wildtrak vs Badlands Sasquatch

Jaybronco

Wildtrak drives phenomenal at highway speeds and way pass highway speed, but wind noise are expected.

Yeah… I am ok with standard wind noise, I had a Wrangler hard top. :)

Minus creature comforts.... and upgrades.. I mean yea there will be people nick pick it to death, but at the end of the day, it will scratch the same itch...
A Basesquatch will do EVERYTHING offroad as any other model... so do you like spending 45k or 65k to take off road?

I know this is Badlands vs Wildtrak thread, but stay focused on what you really need... If it's all about WANTS then stay in the upper trim levels...

@Mikes2021Bronco, I do know two things for sure… I want a v6 and a 2-door!

PatrickE26

@Mikes2021Bronco, I do know two things for sure… I want a v6 and a 2-door!

I think that's the perfect start!!!

I have heard good things about the Radflo adjustable shocks for Bronco - which unlike Fox are actually readily available. Those, Camburg UCAs, and an Icon rear links and track bar would probably build a Badlands into something that would perform better than a stock Wildtrak. By the time you get a Bronco, the Fox’s might be out too (ETA is somewhere between “right now” and October). I am moving onto the next stage for mine and have a track bar on the way. Rear upper links might come after that. Even without that, it is an absolute joy to drive with the modifications I’ve added so far. As long as you get some adjustable shocks, you can set them for racing or firm them up for trails and rock crawling. Neither trim comes with adjustable shocks - now that I’ve experienced the versatility, it’ll be my first mod on any future off-road vehicles.

I’m undoubtedly biased in favor of the Badlands but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with either trim though. You may wish you had a sway bar disco on some trails. OTOH if you’ll primarily race through offroad terrain then starting with a WT will get you some extra beef

Jaybronco

Wildtrak drives phenomenal at highway speeds and way pass highway speed, but wind noise are expected.

Badlands Sasquatch handles amazing on the highway well above highway speeds as well!!

EGBronc

Badlands Sasquatch handles amazing on the highway well above highway speeds as well!!

WHAT???? SORRY I CANT HEAR YOU. OR MY OWN THOUGHTS.

Sulley

WHAT???? SORRY I CANT HEAR YOU. OR MY OWN THOUGHTS.

I have been well over 90 on the highway without knowing it….Funny that a Jeeper told me not to buy a Bronco if I like to drive fast!!! Yeah, well it’s not a problem at all!!! My BIL’s Jeep at 60…😳 I had a hard time keeping in between the lines in backroads…🤔

Oh and I love the sway bar disconnect on the trails…

Sulley

Yeah but it’s also worth mentioning 99.9% of people will never push their Bronco hard enough to even break a tie rod.

Yeah but it’s also worth mentioning 99.9% of people will never push their Bronco hard enough to even need at sway bar disconnect 😎 😎 😂 😂 😂 😂

My wife has a 4 door non squatch Badlands. We have used the electronic stabilizer bar when we have off roaded in it. Badlands has the hard top which makes a huge difference over her previous soft top Black Diamond. Noise was at times deafening in the Back Diamond For road noice, the hardtop is superior. I have a 2 door Wildtrak with the High package. Massive improvement in noise and comfort over the Badlands. Other than the electronic stabilizer bar the Badlands has a rock crawl mode which the Wildtrack doesn't. Not sure of the difference as we will take the Wildtrak to Moab soon and see if we can tell a difference. Overall, pretty much a wash. Would recommend the hardtop and high package on either model. Makes a very noticeable difference over a soft top and mid package vehicle with the extra sound deadening in the high package the difference). Purely opinion, the Wildtrak seats are more comfortable. With the High package, road noice even at higher speed is improved.

MoJoe

At first, I was on to the Wildtrack but decided to order the Badlands because I wanted the all black leather seats of the Badlands vs. the two-tone interior found in the Wildtrack. I ordered without the Sasquatch because I heard that can delay the order and also read through forums here that I could customize to something better than the Sasquatch (i.e. wheels, tires, etc.) if so desired.

Former Jeeper here. Owned several YJs, JKs, a JL, and Gladiator. I can without a doubt say, and I am a Jeep faithful, that my Wildtrak drives so much better on the highway at highway speeds than any of my Jeeps ever did. I can actually relax to an extent when I drive whereas driving my Jeeps always took a bit of an effort on my part at highway speeds.

Why would the Wildtrak be any better at noise than the other trims? My guess would be either the tires / road noise, and the luck of the draw with hard tops.

I am at less than 1k miles on my new 2023 Badlands/Squatch. I can attest that while cruising the highway at 75mph, I can stomp on it and be at 90+mph in the blink of an eye. It rides and tracks like a luxury car in my humble opinion.

22 Badlands/Sas/Lux/MIC/4Dr,One year 19/K miles including WV, CO, and UT. (Lots of UT.) Some modest New England off-roading.

PatrickE26, will you be driving trails with serious obstacles, or do you want to drive desert landscape "Baja" fast, which means, for the most part, improved but unpaved roads on BLM land? Don't get seduced by those videos--they're carefully edited, even the amateur ones. For dirt-road driving, go Wildtrak. For obstacles, trails and very rough roads, Badlands with Sasquatch. It's counter-intuitive, but the Wildtrak gets the Hoss 3.0 with the heavier tie rods and steering box, which would make more sense for rockcrawling with a Badlands. I gather the decision was based on weight: the Badlands was topping out GrossVehicleWeight.

I hadn't done serious offroading since high school--a summer job in the Sonora Desert east of Tucson in 1965. (Yeah, I'm that old.) But I've driven for a living all my life, from taxis to semis. After Off-Roadeo (NH) I took my BL/Sas on a #4 (out of 10) trail in Massachusetts nicknamed "the Jeep Eater" and ran it handily My Badlands can also handle maintained dirt roads (Utah) comfortably at 60 (except for the Goodyear Territories getting flats!). And I drove 26 miles at a flat-out 100 mph (stock truck's maximum), Vernon UT->Stockton UT on Utah Rte 36: smooth, easy, perfect road control.
You won't be unhappy either way. Trust us!

Get to Bronco meet-ups, ask questions, and maybe ride shotgun and get a bit of behind-the-wheel exposure.

@BostonBadlands … thanks for you view. Very helpful!

Yeah those steel bumpers and rock rails are heavy. Probably why my Fox lift only bought me 2”. Like BB said, it still has plenty of pickup. If you turn on Sport mode with Forscan, the Badlands still takes off like a bat outta hell. Am sure it’ll do even more with the Ford calibration.

Weight data is here. Badlands weights a couple hundred pounds more. It’s like having an extra fat guy in the car with you.

https://bronconationprod.blob.core..../01/GVWR-Details-with-Wildtrack-2048x1583.jpg

I think the wildtrak comes with leather seats and carpet flooring...never understood why anyone would want this for a vehicle like this...for a DD mall crawler I guess..HOSS 3.0 is nice I guess but someone already mentioned it's much easier (and cheaper) to upgrade this then adding the sway bar. Badlands doesnt have sport mode but you can technically alter baja mode and it can be the samd thing. Vinyl floors was a big one for me. I don't plan to do high speed off roading, and mostly will be doing low speed uneven terrain and the badlands is more ideal for that which is why I chose it. I use my disconnect all the time. I don't have any handling issues goin over 75mph. After i got rid of them horrendous goodyear "goodyear" tires for BFGs, it rides much much better.

ResidualGenius

Yeah but it’s also worth mentioning 99.9% of people will never push their Bronco hard enough to even need at sway bar disconnect 😎 😎 😂 😂 😂 😂

Yah your right 99.9% of people will never push their Bronco hard. But don’t think a person has to push it very hard to enjoy some of it’s benefits.

Sulley

Why would the Wildtrak be any better at noise than the other trims? My guess would be either the tires / road noise, and the luck of the draw with hard tops.

Carpet, possibly.

tstarks

Carpet, possibly.

I’ve got carpet in my Badlands. I’m not planning on drowning my truck or throwing dead fish on the floor . It seems plenty quiet to me with a hard top once you get rid of those loud Territory MT’s.