2024 Ford Bronco

The 2024 Ford Bronco is an off-road vehicle of the first order. With its nine trims, two body styles, and three engine options, you can choose the right combination of comfort, capability, and technology to meet your needs. There are also what seems to be an unlimited number of ways to customize the Bronco and make it your own. You can even remove the top, remove the doors, and fully enjoy an open-air experience. The Bronco’s closest rival is the Jeep Wrangler.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of midsize SUVs, including the Ford Bronco.

Other than eliminating the Bronco’s base trim level, there are only minor changes, such as available paint colors.

If you can live with something smaller, and more affordability is your goal, we can recommend the impressive Bronco Sport starting at $31,230. Currently, Bronco’s only serious rival is the Jeep Wrangler. You can get into a 2-door Wrangler for $31,895.

Ford only offers the Outer Banks, Everglades, and Raptor with four doors. You can spec out the rest of the grades with two or four doors. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for what adding the extra two doors costs. It depends on the trim but can add between $540 to $1,420 to the bottom line.

If we were shopping for a Bronco, we’d pick the Outer Banks trim. If we were feeling especially flush, we’d add the $3,000 High/Lux Package, which includes adaptive cruise control, an upgraded audio system, and more.

Before buying the Ford Bronco, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay.

Outstanding Resale Value

The Ford Bronco holds its value even better than the famously resilient Jeep Wrangler. In fact, the Bronco boasts better resale value figures than just about every other vehicle on the market.

The most popular engine in the Bronco is the base 275-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder. (This is about the same as the Jeep Wrangler’s 4-cylinder.) We think it makes more than enough power and torque for typical on- and off-road duty. The performance improves if you’re willing to pay a little extra for premium gas.

You can get the base engine with a 7-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission. Naturally, 4-wheel drive comes standard. Although we like the 7-speed manual for rock crawling, for most situations, we prefer the convenience and versatility of the 10-speed automatic.

While it’s an amazing off-roader, one of the Bronco’s key strengths is how much more civilized it is around town compared to its clearest (only?) direct competitor, the Jeep Wrangler. While they both feature rugged, body-on-frame construction, the Bronco is decidedly more pleasant and easier to drive on the streets than the more truck-like Wrangler.

Still, where the pavement ends is where the Ford Bronco shines. Thanks to standard 4-wheel drive, the aforementioned body-on-frame architecture, as well as favorable approach, departure, and breakover angles, every Bronco is an excellent off-roader.

Moreover, a major contributor to making the Bronco ready for anything is its Terrain Management System with G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) modes. Select the right mode for the terrain you’re driving on, and the Bronco will optimize things like shift points, steering, and throttle mapping to deliver the best and most capable experience.

As an engine option, Ford offers a 315-horsepower twin-turbo V6. (This is notably more than the Wrangler’s 285 horsepower from its normally aspirated V6.) Ford only mates the V6 engines with the 10-speed automatic transmission. If you are willing to part with the 90 large the Bronco Raptor fetches, Ford rewards you with an even more powerful 418-horsepower twin-turbo V6.

Fuel Economy

The turbocharged 4-cylinder engine is cheaper than the more powerful twin-turbocharged V6, but it’s just barely more efficient. Both deliver 20 mpg in combined driving. For the turbo-4 that works out to 20 city and 21 highway. This mileage doesn’t vary from the manual to the automatic transmissions. For the V6, it’s 19 city and 21 highway. The Jeep Wrangler does better by 1 mpg with its 4-cylinder and V6 offerings.

As you move through some of the Bronco’s trim levels, the mileage drops. For example, the combined mileage for the Badlands trim with the turbo-4 is 17 mpg, while the Black Diamond is 18 mpg.

You can get more Ford Bronco fuel economy information on the EPA’s website.

The Ford Bronco has an interior design perfectly matching its personality. It is practical and rugged. Moreover, it’s not afraid to get dirty when the top and the doors are off, thanks to the rubberized floor and available drain plugs. Some of the materials in the lower trims may seem a bit cheap compared to more upscale SUVs, but this cabin is designed with durability in mind.

Two-door Broncos seat a total of four people, while 4-door Broncos accommodate the usual five. The Bronco has spacious front seats, but the two rear seats are a bit cramped (35.7 inches) in the 2-door models. If you’ll have rear-seat passengers regularly, the 5-passenger 4-door models are more family-friendly. The 4-door Bronco’s rear legroom is 36.3 inches. This is a bit tighter than the 4-door Jeep Wrangler (38.3 inches). The cargo space is decent, and it’s available with an integrated MOLLE panel system behind the front seats to carry your gear securely. The 4-door Bronco offers 35.6 cubic feet behind the second-row seat to the Wrangler’s 31.7 cubic feet. Folding the rear seat in the 4-door models: Bronco 77.6 cubic feet and Wrangler 72.4 cubic feet.

The exterior design of the Ford Bronco is both stylish and practical. It has a boxy shape and distinct front end reminiscent of the original Bronco of the 1960s. You can get the Bronco with a 2-door or 4-door body, both of which come with removable doors and a removable roof.

Terrain Management System with G.O.A.T. Modes
The Bronco comes with G.O.A.T. modes, making this SUV ready for any terrain. Available drive modes like Sand/Snow and Rock Crawl make the Bronco easy for off-road novices and experts alike to enjoy the Bronco to its full capability.

Sasquatch Package
The Sasquatch Package brings factory upgrades that make the Bronco an even better off-roader. This package includes 35-inch off-road tires, a HOSS 2.0 suspension system with Bilstein dampers, electronic-locking front and rear axles, a 4.7 final drive ratio, and muscular fender flares.

Two body styles
Two-door SUVs are uncommon, but the Ford Bronco is available with your choice of a 2-door or 4-door body. The shorter wheelbase of the 2-door model is good for technical off-roading, and the more practical 4-door body has a roomier interior.

Nine trims
With a ton of variety in its model range, there’s a Ford Bronco for everyone. The lower-end trims are affordable off-roaders, the new Heritage Editions have some retro flair, and the aggressive Raptor model is good for high-performance off-roading.

SYNC 4
This rugged off-roader still comes with modern technology. The SYNC 4 infotainment system is user-friendly and feature-rich, with perks like wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and more.

HOSS suspension systems
The Bronco has four different HOSS suspension systems available. All of them are great for off-roading, but the more advanced systems add features like a Ford Performance steering rack, live valve technology, and semi-active dampers.

For all grades but the trim-topping Bronco Raptor, buyers have the pick of a turbocharged 4-cylinder or the optional twin-turbo V6. The turbo-4 mates with either the standard 7-speed manual transmission or the optional 10-speed automatic transmission. Only the 10-speed automatic is paired with the twin-turbo V6. Our heart tells us the V6 is the way to go, but the turbo-4 is remarkably spirited and doesn’t cost an extra $2,000. Fuel economy isn’t a factor because the combined mileage doesn’t vary much. A third engine (a bigger twin-turbo V6) provides the go for the Bronco Raptor.

3-Year/36,000-Mile Warranty

The Ford Bronco is backed by a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. This is the same length of coverage offered by the Jeep Wrangler.

Safety Rating

The Ford Bronco received the highest 5-Star rating overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It also scored the top rating of Good in all six Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash tests. Every Bronco model comes with forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection, high-beam assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, and rear cross-traffic alert.