The 2023 Ford Bronco is available in a few engine options and each one of them is likable in its own way. The base 2.3L 4-cylinder EcoBoost is a very spritely unit and has lots of meat in it even from lower revs. It has been rated for 275hp on regular gas while premium gas churns out nearly 300 ponies out of it. Acceleration figures are irrelevant here, but it does manage to pull off a 0-60 run in almost 6.1 seconds, with the quick 10-speed automatic of course while the cool 7-speed manual is a bit of a workout and would take at least half a second more to hit the same speed marker.
If that doesn’t sound good enough, you could always opt for the available 2.7L EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 that puts out almost 330hp and 415lb.-ft. of torque. It sounds a whole lot nicer and feels more effortless than the 4-pot when tackling tricky situations. However, the highway performance of both the engines feels almost similar owing to the 10-speed automatic, and we would go on to say that the 4-cylinder might even feel a bit more refined in this situation. All said, if you want to go all out on performance, there is always the Raptor with its 3.0L EcoBoost V6 rated for 418hp, but sadly we still won’t be seeing a Coyote V8 coming in as the new F-150 Raptor, as it is reserved for the DR edition on this SUV.
Model
|
2023 Ford Bronco
|
2023 Jeep Wrangler
|
2023 land Rover Defender 110
|
MSRP
|
$32,300
|
$34,560
|
$53,500
|
Engine
|
2.3L EcoBoost Inline-4
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3.6L V6
|
2.0L Turbocharged Inline-4
|
Drivetrain
|
AWD
|
RWD/AWD
|
AWD
|
Transmission
|
10-Speed automatic
|
6-Speed automatic
|
8-Speed automatic
|
Power (hp)
|
275 hp @ 5700 rpm
|
285 hp @ 6400 rpm
|
296 hp @ 5500 rpm
|
Torque (lb.-ft)
|
325 lb.-ft. @ 3400 rpm
|
260 lb.-ft. @ 4800 rpm
|
295 lb.-ft. @1500 rpm
|
0-60 MPH (seconds)
|
6.1 seconds
|
7.3 seconds
|
7.7 seconds
|
Quarter-mile (seconds)
|
14.8 seconds
|
15.5 seconds
|
NA
|
Top Speed (MPH)
|
130 MPH
|
112 MPH
|
117 MPH
|
If you are looking at outright pace here, the 2023 Ford Bronco, even with its comparatively underpowered 2.3L motor does come on top of the competition thanks to the quick and snappy 10-speed automatic transmission. Though the Land Rover Defender has the second most powerful engine here, the near 5,000-pound curb weight including the driver, just eats into performance, essentially making the base 110 the slowest SUV here with a recorded 0-60 time of 7.7 seconds. The Jeep Wrangler does have the biggest motor here, but the dated tech, lack of forced induction, and slow transmission only help it post a 7.3-second run despite weighing in the least.
2023 Ford Bronco Ride and Handling
Riding on 30-inch tires at the bare minimum spec, the 2023 Ford Bronco, you would think, is not the sort of vehicle that you would be wanting to drive around on the tarmac, on a daily basis. However, to our surprise, the 2023 Bronco with the standard all-season tires behaves better than expected on the roads. The electrically assisted power steering is dead from start, but the effortlessness is real and does hide the mass of the vehicle. Body motions are on the higher side, but it does not feel unsettling at high speeds, and doing 60 all day wouldn’t be a problem.
The SUV does turn in nice and the roll amount feels perfectly in control at a normal pace. Apart from the size and maybe the compromised rear visibility, the 2023 Ford Bronco is one SUV we wouldn’t mind lugging along to the office daily, at least in the standard suspension and wheel/tire combination. Though it won’t match price comparative road going mid-sizers in poise, we can definitely confirm the fact that it drivers better than a Jeep Wrangler. So if you are looking for a hard-core off-roader that doubles up as a daily, the 2023 Ford Bronco would be a better option.
2023 Ford Bronco Braking Performance
With around 4,500 pounds to carry around even in the base trim, some decent brakes are a necessity for the 2023 Ford Bronco. Having driven it around for some time now, we got to say that the brakes on the 2023 Bronco are just average. With the brake rotors measuring in at just 12.2-inches and 12.1-inches at both ends, the Bronco does take its own sweet time to come to a halt. Teat figures show that it actually takes over 140 feet to come to a halt from 60mph, which is rather lavish and probably messing with the limits of what the law actually allows. There is nothing to complain about the pedal feel here, but the biting force from this unit does feel super mediocre.
Model
|
2023 Ford Bronco
|
2023 Jeep Wrangler
|
2023 land Rover Defender 110
|
Brake Rotors (front) (in.)
|
12.2
|
12.9
|
13.7
|
Brake Rotors (front) (in.)
|
12.1
|
12.9
|
12.8
|
Curb Weight (lbs)
|
4497 lbs
|
4167 lbs
|
4815 lbs
|
60-0 (.-ft)
|
~142 feet
|
~157 feet
|
~129 feet
|
The Land Rover Defender, with the biggest hardware in the class, manages to stop the best, posting a low 129-feet halt from the point of application of the brakes. This does come in quite surprising as the Defender weighs at least 400 pounds more than the second heaviest vehicle in this comparison. The 2023 Ford Bronco comes a distant second with a best-recorded distance of 144 feet while the Jeep Wrangler, though sporting decent hardware, takes a lavish 157 feet, something which has been rated as the worst performance on a consumer vehicle in recent times.