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2021 Ford Bronco V-6 Is Quicker than Jeep Wrangler, Four-Cylinder Matchup Goes the Other Way

After taking both available powertrains, including the optional seven-speed manual, to the test track, we know a lot more about how the new Bronco stacks up against the Wrangler.

Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37035509/2021-ford-bronco-vs-jeep-wrangler-performance/

  • We tested a 2021 Ford Bronco First Edition with the twin-turbo V-6 and Sasquatch package, and it was quicker than either V-6 or 2.0T Jeep WranglerRubicons we have tested.
  • We also tested a Black Diamond Bronco with a 2.3-liter inline-four and the optional seven-speed manual, which wasn't as quick as the 2.0T Wrangler.
  • With so many variants, the performance comparisons between the two off-road icons are complicated.

Ford's new Bronco is finally here to take on the Jeep Wrangler for off-road supremacy, and like its rival, it's available in two- and four-door configurations with four- and six-cylinder engine options—and the choice of a manual transmission. We have yet to compare the two off-roaders in a head-to-head test, but after taking two different two-door Broncos to the test track, we can tell you how they compare performance-wise.


ord-bronco-first-edition-web-urbano-016-1626886667.jpg



We've tested two Broncos so far: one was a two-door hardtop 2021 Bronco First Edition with the 330-hp twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter V-6 engine and the Sasquatch off-road package, the other a two-door Black Diamond model with the 300-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four and seven-speed manual transmission. The First Edition rode on 17-inch wheels and 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT all-terrain tires, and the Black Diamond wore 17-inch wheels with less aggressive 32-inch General Grabber AT/X all-terrain rubber.

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In our testing, the two-door Bronco Sasquatch reached 60 mph in 6.3 seconds on its way to a 15.0-second quarter mile at 91 mph. But it could be even quicker. The Bronco allows the V-6 to build very little boost with brake torquing, which mutes its off-the-line pounce. And the Sasquatch's shorter axle ratio means that by the time the Bronco hits 60 mph it's in fourth gear. We achieved our best time when we employed second-gear starts to eliminate one of those time-sapping shifts. Starting in first was a couple tenths slower. The four-cylinder Black Diamond model with the manual gearbox needed 7.0 seconds to reach 60 mph, and we achieved the best launch with a clutch dump at around 5000 rpm.

While Jeep initially charged more for the 2.0-liter turbo engine, it now costs less than the Wrangler's naturally aspirated V-6, which makes comparisons with the Bronco's four- and six-cylinder hierarchy more straightforward. Still, it's complicated.

Comparing V-6 to V-6, the Bronco is far quicker than a Wrangler Rubicon with Jeep's 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6, which takes 7.4 seconds to get to 60 mph. But less off-road-focused Wrangler V-6s have gone as quick as 6.7 seconds. The four-cylinder race goes the other way, with a 270-hp four-door Wrangler Sahara 2.0T scooting to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and a two-door Rubicon 2.0T in 6.5 seconds. Of course, this isn't a perfect comparison, because the Wrangler doesn't offer a manual with the four-cylinder. (Before you get upset that we're mixing two-door and four-door Wranglers, know that we haven't tested a two-door V-6 automatic and remember that the two-door Bronco is much larger than the two-door Wrangler.)

Despite weighing hundreds of pounds more than the Wrangler, the Bronco V-6 is also quicker in 5-to-60 mph acceleration as well as our top-gear 30-to-50 mph and 50-to-70 mph passing tests (the manual-transmission Bronco was much slower in the top-gear tests, which favor automatic transmissions and their automatic downshifts). The Bronco was also quickest through the quarter mile at 15.0 seconds at 91 mph, though the Wrangler Sahara 2.0T was only 0.1 second behind it at 90 mph.


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Even though the V-6 Bronco narrowly beats either Wrangler variant, the Jeep punches back in a few ways. First, we've coaxed a two-door V-6 manual Wrangler to 60 mph in a Bronco-beating 6.0 seconds. Plus, there are other options, such as the plug-in-hybrid 4xe, which, at 5.5 seconds to 60 mph, beats either of our tested Broncos. Then there's the Wrangler's new V-8, an option that Ford claims that the Bronco will never be offered with. The 470-hp Rubicon 392 promises to drop that 60-mph time down to the mid-4s.


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The Bronco Sasquatch corners and brakes slightly better than the Wrangler Rubicon, too. It required 197 feet to stop from 70 mph compared to the two-door Rubicon's 204 feet and the four-door's 212 feet. The Black Diamond Bronco needed 217 feet to come to a stop from 70 mph. We expected the Black Diamond and its less aggressive all-terrain tires to stop shorter than the extreme off-road Sasquatch, but the two Broncos were tested on different days at different tracks with different road surfaces, which could certainly explain some of the discrepancy. The Sasquatch and both Wranglers mentioned here were tested on the same stretch of track.

We achieved 0.71 g of lateral grip in the Bronco Sasquatch, 0.01 g better than the two-door Wrangler Rubicon and 0.03 g more than the four-door model. The two-door four-cylinder Bronco didn't better the Sasquatch, despite having less aggressive tires, but the Jeep Wrangler Sahara with similarly sized tires cornered at 0.74 g in our test.

Ford is strong out of the gate with the new Bronco, with the V-6 beating comparable Wrangler V-6 or 2.0T, and it's a close matchup in braking and handling at the test track. Look for a full comparison test examining the new off-road rivalry between the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler soon.
Is anyone going to decide on a vehicle based in a tenth of a second?
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mpeugeot

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The point isn't that this is slow. Both the Jeep and the Bronco are adequately fast, especially for off-road vehicles. The issue is the Ford hype machine, isn't matching performance.

Jeep engines were constantly called a dog on here and Ford's turbos were going to blow then out of the water. There is zero evidence of that to date. One of the Bronco's largest selling points for me (better performing engine) is a wash (or worse a loss if you add in MPGs). I would MUCH prefer a NA engine over a boost if the performance is equal, because simplicity is a big deal in an off-road vehicle as well as for longevity.

Just makes you wonder what else was pure marketing vice performance.
 

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The point isn't that this is slow. Both the Jeep and the Bronco are adequately fast, especially for off-road vehicles. The issue is the Ford hype machine, isn't matching performance.

Jeep engines were constantly called a dog on here and Ford's turbos were going to blow then out of the water. There is zero evidence of that to date. One of the Bronco's largest selling points for me (better performing engine) is a wash (or worse a loss if you add in MPGs). I would MUCH prefer a NA engine over a boost if the performance is equal, because simplicity is a big deal in an off-road vehicle as well as for longevity.

Just makes you wonder what else was pure marketing vice performance.
The 3.6 Pentastar is a great engine, and proved reliable for me. Early ones had head issues, some have rocker issues….but i recall ecoboosts having their issues. 6 of one, half dozen of the other.
I have a 2.7 ordered, but i almost want to switch to a 2.3 with less moving parts since i do plan on taking mine off grid since the performance isn’t that much better.
Plus, in an off road rig…over axle and under power. Big tires, 400+ lb tq, and Dana 44’s…
 

omega145

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So the 4 door Wrangler with the turbo is almost as fast as the 2.7 TT 2 door? That's kind of disappointing although not sure why you even need a 0-60 time of 6 seconds in a Wrangler or a Bronco.
 

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Some things can't be spoken for in 0-60 such as the 90 Lb-Ft of torque the 2.7L has over the 2.3L. I would argue it's more important how the vehicle feels when it's not being revved to the redline. The 2.7l has 400 Lb-Ft of torque that will be very useful for not having to get in the throttle heavy. That torque should also shine off-road especially in sand and hill climbs but also pulling light trailers.

HP is relative to speed and that's what keeps the 3.6L pentastar in the race. The Pentastar is down 140 Lb-Ft of torque though which will absolutely be noticeable. The pentastar V6 is a good engine but it really needs RPM to show its potential. I was able to drive a 2.7L 2 door bronco at my local dealer with sasquatch. The demo unit I drove on a short trip felt very lively and the torque made moving the vehicle effortless not really needing to go heavy on the throttle.

The 392 wrangler is amazing but Jeep positioned that in a way that starts nowhere near a 2.7L bronco in pricing. A v8 is most appealing to me as it goes best with the experience found in a bronco or a wrangler. Jeep made it a halo product unfortunately but I guess at least they did it.
 

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HP is relative to speed and that's what keeps the 3.6L pentastar in the race. The Pentastar is down 140 Lb-Ft of torque though which will absolutely be noticeable. The pentastar V6 is a good engine but it really needs RPM to show its potential.

Not as bad as you think. They also used the 2018 which was the standard 3.6. The current 3.6 is an e torque. It really helps pull before the engine revs up. The lower weight of the wrangler also helps a lot too as well as making sure it is geared properly.
 

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I see a lot of people talking like Jeep owners in here (I own two)... "It's not supposed to be fast".

One of the things that appealed to me about the Bronco is that it IS actually supposed to be fast. I think the brutally anemic 4 cylinder TJ years made jeepers accept the "I'm ok with this" slow Jeep thing. It is true that you can still have fun in a slow Jeep, but back in the day, a lot of people used to like making their CJ's faster (because you could) and they'd beat the crap out of their jeeps and themselves. Bronco is DESIGNED for faster off roading. It is supposed to destroy Jeep at that while still being near capable at the slower stuff like rock crawling. This is exactly what I always wanted: a daily driver that can do a lot of different flavors of off roading, and do it well -in open air and with a decent wheelbase! I think I'm good with 6.3... But to be honest, I really would like it to be considerably faster than the vehicle that has a reputation of having drivers expecting... almost seemingly preferring it to be slow. I can handle the pain of speedy off roading, but in a Bronco, I won't have to -so make it fast!
 

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The braking distance on the 2-door is what bothers me...

At a guess the brake proportioning system needs to be tweaked on them.
 

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Why do people keep looking at pavement performance? These are dedicated off road trucks not sports cars. I don’t get the fixation on 0-60 and cornering on a truck with 35s on it.
So true wee are buying Off Road vehicles 35’s on a stock bronco lol. Off road
 

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I see a lot of people talking like Jeep owners in here (I own two)... "It's not supposed to be fast".

One of the things that appealed to me about the Bronco is that it IS actually supposed to be fast.
...
Nope, never was, a few people were adamant that it would be quick, no matter what logic about weight, soft suspension (power is used to compress the rear instead of going into forward motion), big heavy tires, and middle of the road engines, of which they were made aware, but most everyone knew it would land exactly where it did on the straight line performance spectrum.
 

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Nope, never was, a few people were adamant that it would be quick, no matter what logic about weight, soft suspension (power is used to compress the rear instead of going into forward motion), big heavy tires, and middle of the road engines, of which they were made aware, but most everyone knew it would land exactly where it did on the straight line performance spectrum.
I don't expect it to be a Mustang or anything, but they do advertise it going fast off road and did use racers to promote them at King of the Hammers. One of the things they tried to show off was how quick it was. And one of those racers was talking about how he helped design the truck. I'm not saying it's slow. Like I said 6.3 is actually pretty quick considering, but I'm ok with people desiring speed out of it and expecting it to be faster than a Wrangler. Bronco is great in that it has the rugged, more modular blueprint like the Wrangler, but is set up for higher speed off-roading. Just seeing how close the numbers were, and considering I have 2x 3.6 equipped Wranglers already (be-it JK's) I guess I was just hoping for more of a difference. The difference could show up in different ways I suppose when I get it -everyone who test drove it seemed to feel something that wow-ed them. I just hope to feel the same way and since I am keeping one of my Wranglers, I would like the Bronco to be a bit more of a different animal from it for variety's sake.
 

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How much horsepower difference and weight difference is there (I haven't looked, could care less)? Then there you go. If it weighed 1500 lbs less, or had 100 horsepower more, it would "blow away" the Jeeps. Since it doesn't, it's a wash. You expect some kind of physics miracles? You didn't read the specs for the past 18 months?
 

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ah, you conflate quick and fast, two different things. Once moving and spooled up, the 2.7 will give a satisfying push in the back and easily carry (off-road scale) high speeds commensurate with the suspension, it is likely speed limited to the tire rating as far as outright velocity (and I suspect with the gearing, you are looking at getting close to the critical speed of the driveshaft(s) at the top of the crappy bar tach). From a dead stop there is considerable mass to get moving while a lot of energy is used to set the suspension before forward progress is made and a short stroke turbo engine is the wrong tool for off the line performance.

it will be a lot quicker from 5-65 than from 0-60 is the short version.
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