Last summer, we got our first look at the revived Ford Bronco. At launch, the upcoming “big” Bronco will get both a 2.3-liter “EcoBoost” turbocharged I-4 and a twin-turbocharged “EcoBoost” V-6. As Ford is wont to do, the initial power and torque figures were estimates pending final calibration. Now that things have been calibrated, though, there’s a happy surprise: more power.
Let’s start with the 2.3-liter engine, which Ford pegged at 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque in the initial estimates. The new official Ford specs, first spotted by an eagle-eyed fan at Bronco6g.com, see the I-4 pumping out 300 hp and 325 lb-ft—30 more hp and 15 more lb-ft than before.
The catch is that the highest output levels are only achieved with premium fuel. The silver lining is that even on regular gas, the figures are better than originally estimated: 275 hp and 315 lb-ft.
The V-6 was originally estimated at 310 hp and 400 lb-ft, so how’d it fare with the revised specs? Another healthy bump: it’s now set to make 330 hp and 415 lb-ft—a 20 hp and 15 lb-ft bump—on premium fuel. On regular fuel, the six-cylinder makes 315 hp and 410 lb-ft. The differences are a little less dramatic, although the delta between the V-6 and the I-4 is still roughly the same.
Could Ford have low-balled us initially so as to have a nice story to share later when the final specs were revealed? It’s possible. It also doesn’t really matter, as more power is always a happy surprise, and the already powerful Bronco just got a little more so. We’ll see if our happiness is tempered any by the Bronco’s forthcoming EPA fuel economy ratings, which ought to arrive any day now.
