Ford Bronco Vs. Jeep Wrangler: How The Off-Road Specs Compare – Jalopnik

The Jeep Wrangler’s status precedes it as a car that may deal with itself off the crushed path. It’s made for open terrain and is among the many finest off-roaders of all time. But the 2025 Ford Bronco is not too shabby both in the case of off-roading. In reality, it has a number of methods up its sleeve in that space, with the Sasquatch bundle that features a number of good options.

We in contrast these two automobiles, taking a look at floor clearance, strategy and departure angles, breakover angle, water fording ranking, horsepower, torque, tires, towing capacities, and the provision of locking differentials. Going by the numbers, it’s definitely a contest. The Wrangler beats the Bronco in the case of strategy, departure, and breakover angles, and is near the Bronco on floor clearance.

The Bronco, however, has a number of inches on the Wrangler in the case of water fording. But it is not so cut-and-dried within the different classes. The Wrangler edges the Bronco out on out there horsepower, however falls brief when evaluating torque and locking differential availability. Tires on each automobiles are fairly comparable, as is payload capability. Towing capability is a little bit of a toss-up, as the very best capability comes from a really particular configuration of the Wrangler, whereas the Bronco’s larger capacities can be found “off-the-shelf,” so to talk.

Determining which car is best for off-roading actually comes right down to your wants and the place you intend to go off-road. If you are crossing lots of streams and flooded areas, we would say go along with the Bronco. If you encounter lots of steep inclines, you are in all probability higher off with the Wrangler due to its larger strategy and departure angles. But be sure to get the suitable choices, no matter which car you purchase.

Off-road trails present loads of obstacles, like logs, rocks, roots, and raised floor that may like to tear a gap in your fuel tank or another a part of your undercarriage. That’s why you want a car with excessive floor clearance. Approach angle can be necessary. The higher the strategy angle, the steeper the incline your car can take with out scraping the entrance bumper. And then there’s the departure angle, which determines how steep of an incline your car can depart with out scraping the rear bumper. Finally, there’s the breakover angle, or the utmost angle between the tires and the undercarriage. A excessive breakover angle can maintain you from getting caught on a ridge.

The Wrangler Sport, the bottom trim of the Wrangler, edges out the Bronco Base in floor clearance. The Bronco Base comes customary with about 8.3 to eight.4 inches of floor clearance, in comparison with 9.7 inches on the Wrangler Sport. Adding the Sasquatch Package to the Bronco Base gives you 11.6 inches, whereas you may need to improve to a unique trim on the Wrangler totally, the Rubicon, to get comparable floor clearance, at 12.9 inches. But the Bronco Raptor barely takes the cake at 13.1 inches.

Looking on the different angles, the Bronco Base’s strategy angle of 35.5 levels falls wanting the Wrangler Sport’s 41.4 levels. The two-door Wrangler has a better departure angle, too, at 35.9 levels in comparison with the Bronco Base’s 29.7 levels. The breakover angle benefit goes to the Jeep Wrangler, as effectively. The Wrangler Sport’s breakover angle is about 25 levels in comparison with the Bronco Base’s 21.1 levels. We’d say the numbers are clearly within the Wrangler’s favor in the case of angles, whereas floor clearance is a little bit of a toss-up.

Are your off-roading plans so formidable that you simply plan on laughing at streams and small creeks as they cross your path? Or, extra severely, do you foresee the necessity to drive into flooded areas in emergency conditions? Then you’ll want to take into consideration your car’s water fording capabilities. Both the Bronco and the Wrangler supply spectacular efficiency on this regard once you go for some upgrades and guarantee that your car is correctly fitted out.

The Bronco outmatches the Wrangler a bit in the case of venturing into deep waters. The Bronco Base has an ordinary water fording ranking of 31.5 inches, or 33.5 inches when you go for the Sasquatch Package on any mannequin. The Wrangler water fording ranking begins at 30 inches however goes as much as 31.5 inches when you improve to the Rubicon trim with its customary LT285/70R17 tires, or to 34 inches with the Rubicon 392 and its LT315/70R17 tires. But the Bronco Raptor has a water fording ranking of 37 inches.

We ought to level out that simply because the water fording ranking in your car is 37 inches does not imply you need to exit on the lookout for streams which are 37 inches deep — that water fording ranking is for stage floor. Ground on the paths isn’t stage and floor below a stream or flooded floor is nearly by no means stage. You’ll encounter ruts and holes you’ll be able to’t even see. And snorkels should not magic. They do assist shield the airbox to a sure extent, however they do not make your engine and transmission waterproof. So, give your self a buffer of a number of inches under the water fording ranking when deciding whether or not a physique of water is just too deep to go.

The want for sufficient horsepower in your off-road car is clear once you’re tackling a steep incline. But torque is at the very least as necessary as horsepower when off-roading. Torque retains the wheels turning once you’re making an attempt to traverse these steep inclines, in addition to get by means of mud and different robust terrain at low speeds. Differentials matter, too. An open differential will enable your wheels to spin at totally different speeds. That could be nice on the highway, not a lot on open terrain, the place all the facility may get diverted to a wheel that is come up off the bottom. A locking differential ensures that equal energy goes to each wheels on an axle, so the wheel that’s nonetheless gripping the bottom will spin.

The Bronco comes customary with a 2.3 L EcoBoost I4 that may crank out 275 hp and 315 lb-ft of torque, in comparison with the 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque produced by the usual 3.6 L V6 discovered within the Wrangler Sport. But the Wrangler affords extra engine choices, together with the 6.4 L V-8, which cranks out 470 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. As we famous in our assessment of the 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor, probably the most highly effective engine supplied for the car is the three.0L EcoBoost V6, which produces 418 hp and 440 lb-ft of torque.

An digital locking differential is optionally available, however not customary, for each axles on the Bronco Base. It’s customary on higher-tier trims, beginning with Heritage Edition. Surprisingly, locking differential choices should not out there on the Wrangler Sport, although the Tru-Lok digital locking differentials are on each axles of the Wrangler Rubicon fashions. We’re going to provide this class to the Bronco, contemplating the torque benefit and locking differential choice on the bottom mannequin.

We haven’t got to elucidate why we have included tires on this comparability — you understand how necessary tires are once you go off-road. The proper tires make all of the distinction once you’re making an attempt to get by means of a muddy patch within the highway with out getting caught. It could be good if the car you selected for off-roading already had the suitable tires. If not, you are in for an costly aftermarket improve.

Jeep places Nexen tires on the Wrangler, and equips the Sport with the Nexen Roadian HTX2. These tires are made for freeway terrain, and buyer evaluations we have seen have not precisely been stuffed with reward for his or her capacity to deal with mud and gravel. You can go for the Nexen Roadian ATX, even on the Sport. These are all-terrain tires, they usually maintain up effectively off-road, based on Off-Road Expo. However, you may discover BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires on the higher-tier Wrangler trims, and these are extensively praised for his or her off-roading capabilities.

Bridgestone all-season tires come customary on the Ford Bronco Base, and they aren’t designed for critical off-roading. However, you’ll be able to go along with mud-terrain tires, designed particularly for off-roading. And identical to the higher-tier Wranglers, the Bronco Raptor comes customary with the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires. Overall, we will name this class a draw. If you are getting both of those automobiles, make certain to decide on the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires if you are going to go off-road lots.

Some of us prefer to go far off-road to camp, carrying loads of gear with them. It’s good to know you have got the payload capability to do it. Recovery can be necessary, since most off-roaders are going to need to be pulled out of a rut sooner or later. And towing capability has lots to do with whether or not you’ll be able to pull your buddy’s truck out of a ditch.

Towing capability begins at simply 2,000 kilos on the two-door Wrangler Sport. It goes as much as 3,500 lbs on higher-tier trims. However, if you will get your Wrangler configured with the two.0 L I-4 engine and the 4.10 axle ratio, that towing capability goes all the way in which as much as 5,000 lbs. Payload capability ranges from a bit over 1,000 kilos to round 1,300 kilos, relying in your configuration.

The Bronco’s towing capability is 3,500 lbs on each trim and configuration, apart from the 4-door Raptor, which can get you 4,500 lbs. Its payload capability is fairly akin to the Wrangler. We’re going to provide this one to the Bronco, though it is doable to get a better most towing capability with the Wrangler. The common buyer in all probability would not know learn how to discover out the precise construct they would wish to get a Wrangler with that 5,000-pound towing capability. But you possibly can simply stroll right into a Ford dealership and drive off with a brand new Bronco Raptor with its 4,500-pound capability, no particular construct required.

So, which is the higher off-road car, the Jeep Wrangler or the Ford Bronco? Going purely by the numbers, we’ve to say the Bronco has a slight edge. Some of you might be dying to inform us how flawed we’re, so tear us aside within the feedback.