rperez817 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Motor Trend comparison test. 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands vs. Jeep Compass Trailhawk Comparison Test: Small Rugged SUVs Face Off! (motortrend.com) "Let's cut to the chase: The name "Trailhawk" is no longer the standard by which compact SUV off-road packages will be measured. That honor now belongs to "Badlands." The Bronco Sport so thoroughly outperformed the Compass off-road, there's no saying it any other way. Other Jeep Trailhawks should take notice." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcartwright99 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I have never been impressed by the Compass. It seemed like they just focused on getting a more carlike Jeep in that size/price range. The results were expected. Two things that stood out to me about the Bronco Sport. First, please give it a leather wrapped steering wheel! Is that too much to ask? Every review comments how cheap the steering wheel is. Raise the price of the 2022 model by 2 bucks to cover the costs. The other being, mentioning the rear differential overheating. Is this a problem or just a perceived problem? They didn't mention it overheating, yet reference it would if you used it for too long. Would love to know if this is real or perceived. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Compass seems to be undone mostly by its poor tire choice. For the "Trailhawk" model, seems inexplicable that it came with all season tires. Also I know some people gripe about the MSRP of Bronco Sport but as I pointed out before in two other threads, people are comparing apples to oranges when they look at the starting MSRP only without context. Bronco Sport has standard AWD and a lot more off-road capable right out of the gate. So you have to compare it with AWD version of the other small C-CUVs. Look at the value of Bronco Sport Bedlands compare to a similarly spec'd Compass Trailhawk... Bronco Sport is cheaper, faster, better equipped, drives better on road and far more cacable when the pavement ends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 10 minutes ago, bzcat said: Look at the value of Bronco Sport Bedlands compare to a similarly spec'd Compass Trailhawk... Bronco Sport is cheaper, faster, better equipped, drives better on road and far more cacable when the pavement ends. Until you factor in $4500 rebates on the Compass. But that's the thing here - Bronco Sport is so good and so unique that I don't think buyers will care that it's a few thousand more. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 19 minutes ago, akirby said: Bronco Sport is so good and so unique that I don't think buyers will care that it's a few thousand more. Once the newness wears off though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 (edited) 27 minutes ago, akirby said: Until you factor in $4500 rebates on the Compass. But that's the thing here - Bronco Sport is so good and so unique that I don't think buyers will care that it's a few thousand more. Well, rebates come and go and varies by region so the only true comparison is MSRP to MSRP. You negotiate your best deal ? Think about other small C-CUV on the market... - Jeep Compass... we know how it stacks up against Bronco Sport - Kia Seltos seems like a nice car but it doesn't even pretend to have an ounce of off-road capability. - Buick Encore GX and Chevy Trailblazer twins MSRP is similar with AWD but I'm sure they can't keep up with Bronco Sport with their 1.3 liter turbo engine vs. Ford's 1.5 and 2.0 turbo. - Subaru XV comes with AWD standard and is several thousand dollars cheaper than Bronco Sport but it feels like an economy car compare to Bronco Sport. Also the CVT is so lazy slow it takes forever to the car up to freeway speed. - Nissan Rogue Sport with AWD is a bit cheaper than Bronco Sport but it is also a slow CVT-afflicted dork-mobile. - VW's new Taos is promising entry but until a magazine has a first drive impression, we won't know how it stacks up against Bronco Sport. - Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is apparently a vehicle that people can buy in the US. You have to be pretty ignorant (or have horrific credit scores) to want one. The bottom line is that Ford has decided to skim the cream of the small C-CUV segment with Bronco Sport and left the cheaper FWD only market to the others. Is this a sustainable long term strategy? I don't know. Edited February 8, 2021 by bzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 16 minutes ago, bzcat said: The bottom line is that Ford has decided to skim the cream of the small C-CUV segment with Bronco Sport and left the cheaper FWD only market to the others. Is this a sustainable long term strategy? I don't know. Escape has a few small bits to get sorted before their dual-entry strategy really takes off but that's coming soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 21 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: Once the newness wears off though... I don't think the newness will wear off that much. I think the styling and image and functionality is so different that people who love it REALLY love it and will buy it without big rebates. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 My impression is those $4K rebates on Jeep CUVs were more or less permanent markdowns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 28 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: Once the newness wears off though... I think it'll be a couple of years before that happens, and by then, BS can also have some of its own rebates. Maybe not equaling the ones on the Jeep, but a couple thousand or something. 5 minutes ago, PREMiERdrum said: Escape has a few small bits to get sorted before their dual-entry strategy really takes off but that's coming soon. Hmm. Interesting.....wonder what that means. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 5 minutes ago, akirby said: My impression is those $4K rebates on Jeep CUVs were more or less permanent markdowns. Those rebates/cash allowances vary from time to time, and from region to region as bzcat mentioned. Plus there are stipulations in the fine print that prevent everyone from qualifying. For example in the Southwest region, $750 of the rebate amount is only for customers that finance with Chrysler Capital at higher APR. It would be nice if all automakers set MSRP more reasonably to begin with so that the need for customer rebates is minimized or eliminated. This rebate game isn't limited to Jeep Compass or Ford Bronco Sport, but to many other mass market car and light truck models across most automakers. Among the non-luxury brands, Honda and Subaru almost never offer customer rebates because they actually do set MSRP at more reasonable levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 The reason the rebate game exists is because buyers like to negotiate their own price and the feeling that they got one over a dealer who is trying to screw them over. That culture combined with Ford's premium pricing to control sales and builds makes for a scene where yearly sales seem less than expected while those end of year model run out discounts appear excessive. It's all a magician's trick. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 34 minutes ago, akirby said: I don't think the newness will wear off that much. I think the styling and image and functionality is so different that people who love it REALLY love it and will buy it without big rebates. Right, but once its on the market 4-5 years from now, the gotta have it crowd will shrink and incentives will come into play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 30 minutes ago, rmc523 said: Hmm. Interesting.....wonder what that means. Hopefully the sorting of the minor issues that the Escape has in the marketplace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 6 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: Right, but once its on the market 4-5 years from now, the gotta have it crowd will shrink and incentives will come into play... Maybe $1000 but not much more. Expedition is only $1k and Explorer is only $1750 right now and they have a lot more direct competition. If you're not playing the fleet/entry level price game like Escape you don't need big incentives even after a few years. This is why having Escape in the portfolio really helps - they can hold pricing higher. Also I don't think it's as much newness as Ford hit a home run on the styling, image and functionality. And most buyers who like it, LOVE it and you don't need rebates to sell those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 1 hour ago, PREMiERdrum said: Escape has a few small bits to get sorted before their dual-entry strategy really takes off but that's coming soon. you talking plug ins...LMAO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 14 minutes ago, Deanh said: you talking plug ins...LMAO. Not this cycle. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 1 hour ago, bzcat said: ...The bottom line is that Ford has decided to skim the cream of the small C-CUV segment with Bronco Sport and left the cheaper FWD only market to the others. Is this a sustainable long term strategy? I don't know. The "FWD only market" is aptly covered by Escape S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-dubz Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 1 hour ago, PREMiERdrum said: Escape has a few small bits to get sorted before their dual-entry strategy really takes off but that's coming soon. This along with your statement about the sport being a transitional vehicle and being filled by something else down the road have me curious about ford’s future in the compact segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 9 minutes ago, T-dubz said: This along with your statement about the sport being a transitional vehicle and being filled by something else down the road have me curious about ford’s future in the compact segment. What it boils down to is the BS is last of its kind that hasn't launched with a Hybrid option. Its due for an MCE in say 2025-26 The C platform will most likely be replaced by some sort of BEV product in the late 2020s Connect the dots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 This just goes to show, every time Ford focuses on a product or a segment it nails it. Unfortunately, it's not every segment they wish to do that with, probably limited passion and R&D, but just imagine how many other vehicles could be top class if they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, ANTAUS said: This just goes to show, every time Ford focuses on a product or a segment it nails it. Unfortunately, it's not every segment they wish to do that with, probably limited passion and R&D, but just imagine how many other vehicles could be top class if they did. "Commit to and own segments" has been the directive for a while now and as a whole their portfolio is as competitive as it's ever been. The market is too fragmented and the margins too thin for half-effort "placeholder" products. Escape is getting sorted in short order and there's a bit of fog around the planned Fusion / Edge / Nautilus, but otherwise the lineup is really, really well executed. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 23 hours ago, jcartwright99 said: I have never been impressed by the Compass. It seemed like they just focused on getting a more carlike Jeep in that size/price range. The results were expected. They only sell for 2 reasons. Cheap leases and the Jeep name. My sister got one for that reason despite me being able to get her A-plan in a similarly equipped Escape. They beat that price very easily with no argument at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 21 hours ago, silvrsvt said: Once the newness wears off though... Ride the wave and cross that bridge when you get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 19 hours ago, PREMiERdrum said: Not this cycle. ? the Escape plug in is very conspicuous due to its absence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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