2.7L, or 2.3L. Help me make the right decision.

[Brongo]

2.7 you never want to say I should have gotten the bigger engine.

Right. I don't see you ever being in a situation where you're saying "Man, I wish I had a smaller engine."

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[Deleted member 9326]

2.3 stick for me all day, until I trade-up for the BEV model in a couple of years.
- I hate autos
- I want to chill and enjoy the Bronco, not drag race with stress-heads on the freeway
- I dislike driving over-powered top-heavy cars on the curves (yay, understeer)
- The 2.3 will feel like a rocket compared to my 22R pickup
- Feels risky buying a new ICE car at this moment in time so going low (base 2.3 manual)

 

[Tony Sorrento]

I'm not spending $50,000+ on a Bronco and not maxing it out ... to save a few thousand? No chance ... 2.7 was always in the cards for me ... and I squatched it for the same reason. After doing all that on the Outerbanks, I was within a few hundred of a Wildtrak so I went Wildtrak .... I.Can't.WAIT!

 

[VoltageDrop]

My F 150 crew has the 5.0 . I wish my Bronco would as well. Why does that matter you ask? Because a few weeks ago I ordered “seven” Motorcraft FL 500 oil filters from Walmart. Instead, they sent me “seven cases “( 12 filters per case) of the oil filters and charged me for only seven filters. I contacted them to correct the error and they said “ don’t worry about it”. The way I figure it, I can change the oil twice a year in my F 150 and I wont need to purchase an oil filter for the next 48 years. BTW, I’m getting the 2.7. ( see how I eventually tied my post into the topic).

Here's another option if you want to use up those filters!

 

[Cliff]

All 2.3L goodness, but i think one-pedal or trail control (or both) are only available with the 2.7L... can anyone confirm?

 

[Wanted33]

All 2.3L goodness, but i think one-pedal or trail control (or both) are only available with the 2.7L... can anyone confirm?

Cliff, It looks like the Trail Control, and the Trail Turn Assist available with the 10 speed. The Trail One Pedal requires the 10 speed, and the 2.7L.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/attachments/21_bronco_lineup_hr-pdf.10748/

 

[Cliff]

Cliff, It looks like the Trail Control, and the Trail Turn Assist available with the 10 speed. The Trail One Pedal requires the 10 speed, and the 2.7L.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/attachments/21_bronco_lineup_hr-pdf.10748/

Thanks! After posting this I went directly to me dealer and changed my order to a 2.7L.

 

[Cliff]

Main reasons I changed to the bigger 2.7 is WEIGHT.

1. The BL is 489lbs heaver than the base.
2. The 4 door adds 240lbs.
3. A winch is another 100lbs.
4. Overlanding = baggage (about 750lbs)

Also Engine Load:

1. I live in Alabama so A/C will be on ALL the time.
2. A trailer can add 1000's of lbs to pull around
3. NONE of the Y.T. videos show a 2.3/Auto doing difficult trails.

CONS:

1. The 2.7L adds 152lbs to the bronco

But consider this...
When you give your best friend (a jeep owner) a ride and you put the peddle down, what are they going to say?

2.3L (single turbo) = "Wow - that 2.3 has enough power - Cool!"​

2.7L (dual turbo) = "Holy Sh!#"​

 

[AZshot]

I look forward to the stick more than having a couple dozen more horsepower. And the Crawler Gear will be fine for "one pedal". You lift off the gas, you slow down to 1 MPH and then touch the brake if you want to. 2.3 for me.

 

[hemiblas]

If you are getting the stick...the 2.3 is the only choice and it is a good one. For auto....2.7 all the way!!!

 

[flatlander40]

I’m 2.3, but it’s part of my whole package that works for me and my budget.

 

[dcmdon]

This is the way I look at it. And a lot of these points contradict themselves.

1) The 2.3L makes more power and torque than most V8s did 20 years ago. It will be fine.
2) With a tune, the 2.3L seems to really wake up. TFL's ranger went from about 7 sec 0-60 to less than 6 seconds.
3)***This is HUGE*** - the fuel economy a vehicle gets is more dependent on the vehicle than the engine. (unless you are comparing something like a gas vs diesel or hybrid) The largest impact on fuel economy has to do with how much power the engine has to make to move the vehicle. Not how much power the engine CAN make. Driven the same, the difference in fuel economy is going to be minimal because both engines have to make the same power to drive a given route.

Look at it this way. If the truck is driven 12k per year.
A V6 that gets 17 mpg will use 705 gallons of fuel.
An I4 that gets 20 mpg will use 600 gallons of fuel.

If you pay $2.50 per gallon, that is a difference of $262 per year. Nothing really. 72 cents per day

I think the bottom line is that an I4 is going to more than get the job done.
If you are someone who likes a "quick" car, get the V6 since other than the extra $1800 (a 3.5% premium) there isn't much down side.

 

[dcmdon]

One other thing. When I had my VW tuned, it was a reflash by APR. This is a company run by engineers. Its totally turn key, with factory levels of refinement and drivability.

When I had my Subaru STi tuned, it was much more of an "enthusiast" type situation. Tweaking and fiddling and refining.

There seems to be both kinds of situations available. 5 Star seems to make the most power but Gear Head seems to make a turn key solution that retains things like knock sensing. Probably most turn key.

Either way, if I just wanted a bit more power, I'd probably go the Gear Head route and never think about tuning again.

 

[Cliff]

***This is HUGE*** - the fuel economy...
A V6 that gets 17 mpg will use 705 gallons of fuel.
An I4 that gets 20 mpg will use 600 gallons of fuel.
If you pay $2.50 per gallon, that is a difference of $262 per year. Nothing really. 72 cents per day

The Ford F150 XL 2.7 gets 19mpg city / 24mpg highway
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43464

The 2021 Ranger 2.3 XLT gets 20 city / 24 highway (https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/43542.shtml)

So really its somewhere between 0 and 1 mpg difference... not so huge

This is the way I look at it. And a lot of these points contradict themselves.

1) The 2.3L makes more power and torque than most V8s did 20 years ago. It will be fine.
2) With a tune, the 2.3L seems to really wake up. TFL's ranger went from about 7 sec 0-60 to less than 6 seconds.

I don't plan to put a V8 in the 2021 Bronco - I was comparing it to the 2.7L and if your willing to do an after market tune... the 2.7 can be tuned too.

The largest impact on fuel economy has to do with how much power the engine has to make to move the vehicle. Not how much power the engine CAN make. Driven the same, the difference in fuel economy is going to be minimal because both engines have to make the same power to drive a given route.

I think that justifies the 2.7L - If you add and extra 1500lbs of people and camping gear... the 2.3 will need to work harder to pull it down the trail than a 2.7. This (work harder) effort will tranlate two ways...

1. Fuel economy
2. Engine ware-n-tare

I think the bottom line is that an I4 is going to more than get the job done.

Totally agree!!! Until you start loading it down

If you are someone who likes a "quick" car, get the V6

Speed is not as big of a deal as capability. I want to add gear, a trailer, a wife, maybe a few friends... all that adds up to a lot of weight. If I expect to go up a hill with the A/C on... I just feel a 2.3 will be working TOO hard.

 

[Cliff]

After all the research... I think there are only two reasons to get the 2.3L

1. Price
2. Manual Transmission

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