My driving impressions for the 2.3 vs 2.7L engines

[5280Bronco]

Isn't driving Driving a 2.3l in the explorer a better comparison? The Bronco will be even heavier than the explorer so subtracting some performance from that should be the expectation.

I test drove a 2.3l explorer and couldn't get it back to the lot fast enough. It was LOUD on the hills and constantly felt like it was working. I wouldn't trust the reliability. I don't see the point of buying one when the cost to upgrade to a proper sized engine is so reasonable. Why sacrifice on the most important part of the vehicle?

Agreed, both of the ranger and the explorer are both lighter than the bronco is going to be. I also wanted to feel the chassis a bit as well, which is why i cost to test drive the ranger.

For us who are thinking about the manual and would want one, it's not quite as cut and dry IMO.

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[5280Bronco]

Yeah, i think it would be great to do some of road testing as well because that scenario would expose different strengths, etc of the powertrains. At least wanted to give my on road thoughts.

 

[Foordbrawnco]

Great write up, I can easily tell you know what you’re talking about. I personally like a motor with some character, and also the type that would not purchase a bronco if it were not for them offering a manual. I too will be looking at getting the Ford issued tune and power upgrade when available. I come from owning a ‘13 gt manual, a ‘12 gt500, and most recently a ‘13 raptor. I like to row the gears and go fast. I hope the bronco won’t disappoint too much. I am going into this 100% knowing it won’t come close to my past Shelby, but hope it has a its own personality like you described.

 

[Mustang_75_99]

Good write up.

I have the 2.3 in our Explorer, I live in Illinois so it is pretty flat around here and the Explorer does great! I have no complaints....good on gas, decent power and quiet down the road.

However, I was in Colorado this past summer and I would agree that up steeper grades and when in traffic, at times the lagginess of the turbos can be a pain. Either you don’t have enough power or you ease into it and the power comes on strong (We don’t have the same automatic though). It is hard to find a sweet spot.

Even with that being said I wouldn’t hesitate getting the same power train in the Bronco IF the 2.7 wasn’t available.

Although I haven’t drive a F150 with a 2.7(I have ridden in several) every. single. person. that has one loves it.

So go “big” or go home!

 

[noahr]

It is... just a weird feeling.

It feels weird yes but it does it for a reason, holding the gear keeps you in the power band so if you need to punch it you can hence sport, it is programmed like a track car almost (if they had auto transmissions) if you have a turbo engine and you want to drive it "sporty" holding the gear and having it in the power band will give you that instant jump and power you need.

 

[5280Bronco]

It feels weird yes but it does it for a reason, holding the gear keeps you in the power band so if you need to punch it you can hence sport, it is programmed like a track car almost (if they had auto transmissions) if you have a turbo engine and you want to drive it "sporty" holding the gear and having it in the power band will give you that instant jump and power you need.

Yeah, that definitely makes sense. My issue is that it's a 10 speed auto, and it held me at 5500rpm+ which felt excessive. I would like sport to allow me to get to 5500/6000rpm when accelerating, but not hold it for 3 or 4 seconds at a rev range that high for that long after i cut throttle. If it upshifted one or two gears it would still be in the powerband, and allow you to still accelerate if needed. I'm definitely a manual guy, so maybe my expectations are too specific, so i do appreciate the perspective. I also just may need to get used to how to drive it to get the response i want. Thanks for the input!

 

[Wanted33]

Sports mode with the 10 spd is something one has to get used too. The wife's Mustang does the same holding of gears in the same situation. The compooter tells the tranny to keep the engine in optimum power curve 'cause this guys getting ready to lay the coals to it right after this brief deceleration (my thoughts anyway). One thing I can say is the 5.0L has a sound that give you a tingle in your special place when it's in the "go like hell" mode. I can understand how the feeling of this can be quite different with the 2.3, or 2.7. It's a bit odd to me that Ford would have the same programming of the 10 spd for the 4, and 6 bangers in a truck. But, what do I know?

Very good analysis 5280Bronco. It gives me better insight as to which engine will suit my needs.

 

[TJ Freestone]

I know there are other threads out there, but I wanted to get our thoughts out there to everyone. My wife and I drove both on Tuesday (Ranger and 2.7L F150)and I have included our thoughts below. We currently own 3 manual transmission cars and two automatics, so we drive them both! These thoughts are with us buying the 4 door, just an fyi.

2.3L:
Transmission that I would personally recommend with the 2.3L would be the manual, hands down. Ability to manually select the gears to ensure the motor is where it wants to be is imperative (3k and above). We both felt the auto felt slightly disconnected from the motor and it was like an awkward dance some of the time while driving. Its not a deal breaker for the 2.3L/auto combo, its just something that I would need to drive more to get used to. Even discounting the piped in sound, the 2.3L sounds great, love its growl. Its power delivery reminds me of our V70R 5 cylinder. From a start, its a bit slow, but once the turbo hits, its a really fun motor. Great rush to the top of the rev range.

One of the times we felt it was underpowered was on a decent hill, in traffic with someone who slowed and turned right in front of us. My wife then kicked it pretty good and I had this instant feeling I had to help it accelerate back up to speed on the hill. Not severe, just some, but I'm worried about 500lbs more mass being slowed and then needing to get back up to speed like that scenario. Its in no way BAD, just not as fast as I was anticipating. This wouldn’t be a problem for someone who doesn’t drive their car hard or aggressively, but we get on it a decent amount when we drive.

2.7L:
I'll refrain from any transmission recommendation for obvious reasons. V6 has power/torque all through the rev range, and didn’t have any kind of “peaky” power delivery feeling. More refined for sure, but it also had less character than the 2.3L for me, and I like to have that in a motor. I’m hoping that the Bronco’s lower amount of sound deadening will let this motor talk to the driver a bit. I can at least hope. Its quick, and it will have no issues moving the Bronco around. It did feel much different though, as it felt like the power was in the low/mid range for sure, and didn’t charge to the top with its power like the 2.3L. Just a different perceived power curve, so they have different personalities.

Seemed it was a bit less willing to kick down for passing, etc than the 2.3L but that could all be based on where the transmissions were at with their “learning” people talk about. Once it does, it hits you in the mouth. People won’t be disappointed with this motor and it will move the Bronco no problem, its just a different animal than the 2.3L, and delivers power in a different way, so its also about matching driving styles/wants with the motors.

Transmission:
Both had the issue we see in our Fusion with a delay between pushing the pedal down and when it reacts to throttle input, especially at low speeds when coasting at 10 mph or so and turning left across traffic, etc. Hope the “learning” can fix that a bit.

We also drove both of the trucks in “normal” and “sport” mode to see the differences. Normal is a bit more “muted” and doesn’t let you wind the motor out much, but its smooth and would be great for most non-aggressive drivers. Sport is different in good and bad ways as far as we could tell. You can wind the motor out more, get more speed, etc which is great. One thing I HATED that I hope is related to the learning part of the equation is that when I was going up the on ramp in both trucks and was giving it probably 70% or so throttle, I would let off to probably 30% when I hit the speed I wanted, and the transmission would hold the gear I was in...and hold…and hold. I had to almost let my foot off the gas entirely for it to up shift and cruise along. I was audibly telling the transmission to up shift as it’s a really unnerving behavior out of a transmission. Maybe someone with experience can chime in on that.

Final thoughts:
I think both motors will be up to the task for the Bronco, and it really depends on everyone’s personal expectation of “performance” from their Bronco. Here at altitude in Denver, and the way I like to drive, my wife and I will need to either get the 2.3L/stick combo which would require the ford performance tune for me, or the 2.7L auto. Its gonna come down to pricing and what we would need to cut out to get the bigger motor and still fit the budget.

No matter what motor you get, its going to be a great rig, a lot of fun and something we can all use to explore the world in ways we already do now (if you already wheel, etc.), or something that will allow us to explore our world more (my case). Can’t wait to see everyone on the road in their Broncos with huge smiles on their faces. Just thought I would share our thoughts. Good luck with all of your choices and make it your own!

Thanks for all your insights.
I live in NoCo and can't wait to get on the trails with Jeeps. How will Bronco really stand up to what has been called Jeep country. What will it be called now? Will the Denver Broncos play in this? Who will be the first to have a Denver Broncos, Bronco?
Can't wait to see you all out there on our Colorado trails!

 

[noahr]

Yeah, that definitely makes sense. My issue is that it's a 10 speed auto, and it held me at 5500rpm+ which felt excessive. I would like sport to allow me to get to 5500/6000rpm when accelerating, but not hold it for 3 or 4 seconds at a rev range that high for that long after i cut throttle. If it upshifted one or two gears it would still be in the powerband, and allow you to still accelerate if needed. I'm definitely a manual guy, so maybe my expectations are too specific, so i do appreciate the perspective. I also just may need to get used to how to drive it to get the response i want. Thanks for the input!

Yeah it is by no means perfect but it is designed to give that track car feel since when you are in a turn you slow down and downshift then hold ur power through and power out so you have higher revs so that u can blast out of the turn with the best possible power it is a learning transmission tho so i guess it just needs to get to know you though. I personally changed my mind and I am getting the 2.3 manual since one of my coworkers had a f150 with the 2.7 and it threw a rod when he was offroading, evidently because it is a smaller engine it is somewhat overpowered for it's size and be more susceptible to overstress from that 400 lb ft of torque. And before you ask it was a gen 2 with the fixed oil issue and port injection he had a 2018 f150

 

[steevenk]

My 2014 Subaru XT Auto does the same thing in super sport mode. Keeps revs high even after pulling off the gas.

 

[Delasangre]

I drove a Ranger yesterday and while I was an idiot and couldn't figure out how to get into sport, I was very impressed with the engines power. I feel like it will be plenty for the Bronco and with the Ford Performance tune it'll be even sweeter. The truck basically seemed to jump off the line when I gave it throttle, nothing over the top, just no turbo lag or automatic trans lag. Power felt more than adequate when giving 75% throttle for passing at 30, 60 and on an on-ramp.

What I do know with 100% certainty is I could not live with an auto. I had an F150 with the 2.7 and the 6 speed auto and hated the trans, it did work but god damn driving it was so dull. My last two cars have been VW/Audi with the dual clutch, this is literally a manual with automatic shifting so there is no torque converter. This means that when you are in manual and in a gear it is solidly in that gear is isn't going to slip or be in any way un-predictable. I very much enjoy these DSG transmissions. However I just wish every day I had a manual. I find myself car shopping for the same car just trading it for the manual one. So I will sacrifice some power for the manual, I will probably get the tune when it comes out too. But at the end of the day I have a BWM superbike in the stable that will do 140-150MPH if you breath on the throttle, so I am not buying a Bronco to race around, its a commuter and a daily in the winter.

 

[5280Bronco]

Iwould be interested as well. Flash/atacama combo... love it! Mines TG/gobi, so very plain and one of the more common, but has the M66 so i really don't care. Just had a front LSD installed and really love it. I'll never get rid of it, but it demands an open wallet like a supermodel. You know how CELs pop on like candy in them, so they were overly complicated for their time.

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