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

[Meandeane]

Drove a Ranger with the 2.3 and an Edge ST with the 2.7 (335hp/380ft-lb vs the Bronco's 310/400) and I was convinced I made the right decision with the 2.7. Excellent acceleration and power where the 2.3 just felt a little light at times....plus with the 10spd it should be geared a little better than the Edge.

Sponsored

 

[Norm A.]

i currently have a volvo with the T5 engine (turbo 2.0 i4) and on the volvo forums people had the same topic of the T5 vs the T6 (turbo and supercharged 2.0 i4). what it came down to was the 240hp of the T5 had plenty of power for every day needs and the T6 was just wasted because you never use it.

in Ontario, 50kph over the limit and your car gets impounded. so having all this extra power to me doesn't do you any good.

And I thought 55 mph speed limit towing a trailer in California sucked lol ?

 

[JakeLucas]

Best thing you can do is go test drive a crew cab ranger. That is what is giving me piece of mind with the 2.3

I have driven the 2.3 in the Ranger, Explorer and Mustang. Has more than enough get up and go to get out of its own way.

My dad’s Corsair has the 2.0 and it’s peppy enough. Seems like the 2.3 would be fine. I still want the 2.7 though.

His ‘88 Bronco V-8 that I drove all over for about a decade seemed like a beast. I‘m sure the 2.3 actually out-performs it.

 

[TripleB]

400LB of T

 

[linbackr99]

Sound thinking Rick. I haven't loaded the Ranger yet, but have read quite a few towing threads on the Ranger forum. Some have towed very close to the limit, and have nothing but praise for the engine, and truck.

My son has a 19 Ranger crew 4x4 - the 2.3 is an excellent plant with nice power IMO . . . I have also used it a hand full of times to tow my boat (20.5 sea doo Utopia - @4000 pounds with fuel) and it actually towed every bit as well, if not better, than my 17 Raptor. If I did not want the Wildtrak I'd have zero issue saving a few $$ and opting for the 2.3.

 

[Mustang_75_99]

Not sure if this will help, but currently my wife drives a 2.3L (I drive it often as well). She never complains about the power or lack there of. It does well on gas (considering the Explorer is pretty heavy), has decent power (passes readily) and is quiet down the road. Driving in sport mode improves the drive experience considerably. I would say the only complaint I have is what I noticed when visiting CO this summer, it was a little difficult to find a happy spot in the throttle. It was either not enough or too much going up steep grades. Which might cause concern when off-roading, but I am expecting that the various drive modes will help with that issue. If the choices of the Bronco was between the 3.5 (NA) and the 2.3 Eco I would get the Eco without hesitation and it would be an adequate choice.

However I know several of guys with the 2.7 in their F150s and they LOVE them! I too have been pleasantly surprised when riding in their trucks (I have a tuned 3.5 Eco). So I am going that route, because I want more than adequate....it is America after all!

 

[mrjerry469]

I'm ordering a 4 door BD most of my 0ff road driving will be in sand on da beach I would prefer the 2.7 but price and possible delay has me going with the 2.3. Will the 2.3 be adequate ?

 

[da_jokker]

I'm ordering a 4 door BD most of my 0ff road driving will be in sand on da beach I would prefer the 2.7 but price and possible delay has me going with the 2.3. Will the 2.3 be adequate ?

Will it work... Sure. Would I buy a 4 door version of the heaviest Bronco trim and put a 4 banger in it... Hell no.

But yes.. as many have pointed out... The 2.3 puts out more power than the old V8s and there is always a tune option.

 

[BroncoT]

With the darker MIC top, I’m going to drop down from the Mod to save $1200. Throw in another $695 on the purchase price and I can get the 2.7L. I definitely think the 2.3L will be fine, but with a fairly basic BL the engine is the only thing I can’t easily upgrade. For $50k, I don’t want to punch it that first time and feel regret.

 

[lenitech]

I test drove a 2021 4x4 Ranger Supercrew today with the 2.3 and holy cow that thing scoots! I did compare the "normal" mode to the "sport" mode and I think that I would have to leave it in sport all of the time to be satisfied. I think with the manual transmission the 2.3 will be awesome. I daily drive a 2002 F150 with the 5.4L V8 and this 2.3 totally blows away my truck. I'm not even sure I want to test the 2.7L. That 2.3 is fun as far as I am concerned.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

2.3 for me.

We will not be towing or drag racing with it so excess power is not a concern. It has more HP than my V8 F-150 and is dangerously close on torque... I don't see it being underpowered especially with the deep gearing Ford is throwing at it. No shoehorned DOHC V6 to work around in the future either.

 

[Sascrotch]

2.3 will be a fantastic engine, but if you've got the money and don't care about MT, it's hard to pass up the 2.7.

I've gone back and forth between MT 2.3 and the 2.7 about 1000 times but I think I'm settled on 2.7 now because yolo

 

[BossMann]

2.3 all the way if you have a 713 or 714 reservation, but if later I don’t give a shit.

 

[Garemlin]

Most people say the 2.3 will be more than capable. Even better with a tune. I owned a 2.7 F-150 and have driven a 2.3 Ranger. The 2.3 is fine and will please many. I'm just going with the 2.7 because of my experience in ownership. It's a beast that is so much fun to drive.

As I've said in other threads if given the choice of only getting one single option in the Bronco, I'd pick the 2.7 upgrade.

 

[Drex]

If you are settling for an automatic*, this old post may be of interest.

An extra 100 lb-ft down low (although not as much or as low as a properly cammed V8) and coming up 500 RPM sooner (tried to pick the lowest range where the torque converter isn't obviously skewing the numbers) on a heavy vehicle is the way to go. You will feel that in every day driving (off road, not such a big deal, you have low gearing that will most certainly have the computer limit the torque of either engine to about the same numbers as each other.) On a manual (my transmission of choice) the 2.3 will feel fine down low with a decent surge as it spools up. The 2.7 will have a fairly loose converter and will flash up there right now. Will feel strong everywhere. It may cost a substantial amount of fuel economy around town though. Highway should be similar for both.

Hope this graph can help people decide which engine choice to make based on more than just peak horsepower and torque numbers. The data is pulled from a well known EB tuner shop and I used the data from their baseline runs before tuning and modifications. The 2.3L was in a Ranger and the 2.7 was in an F150. The numbers should be similar to those that we should find in the Bronco.

*you heard me, 'settling'.

Sponsored