Driven: 2024 Ford Bronco Is An All-Terrain Champion

In the not-so distant past, the Jeep Wrangler was the go-to choice for off-road enthusiasts who wanted supreme capability and an open-top experience. Now, the 2024 Ford Bronco gives those buyers a second choice in this segment – and, arguably, a more widely appealing one with nine trim levels currently available. Of those trims, we tested the Everglades, a unique special

edition that doesn’t have a direct equivalent on the Jeep side.

The Everglades, named after the Florida wetlands, is designed to tackle deep water without flooding the engine. It can ford higher depths than any other Bronco (besides the Raptor) thanks to a built-in snorkel and other clever changes. It also gets a winch from the factory, meaning it can pull itself out of trouble and rescue those Jeeps that do get stuck on the trail. So long as the Everglades fits your configuration preferences – a four-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, four-door, and hard top – it might be the best value Bronco in the lineup. Here’s what we learned after a week with the Bronco Everglades.

Exterior: A Ford That Can Ford

The Bronco is one of three SUVs (including the Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Defender) that’s available as a two-door. Most people will purchase the four-door, though, and the Everglades trim we tested is only available in this configuration. Additionally, the Everglades is longer, wider, and taller than regular four-door models, as well as its Wrangler rival. This is thanks to the standard inclusion of the Sasquatch Package.

The base Bronco rides on 17-inch wheels wrapped in 32-inch all-terrain tires, while the Sasquatch Package upgrades to 35-inch Goodyear mud-terrain tires. That package yields up to 11.7 inches of ground clearance on the Everglades, and includes other off-road goodies:

• 17-inch Carbonized Gray alloy wheels
• Rock rails
• Molded-in-color hardtop and roof rack with crossbars
• 4.7 final drive ratio
• Front and rear locking differentials
• HOSS 2.0 (High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension)
• Bilstein dampers
• Underbody skid plates

13 exterior colors are available, but some are locked to certain trim levels and some trims are only available in a smaller selection of hues. Those colors can be paired with either a soft top or hard top, the latter of which comes standard on the two-door and certain trims, such as the Everglades. The Everglades gets some specific details including topography decals, a snorkel, and a safari bar with a Warn winch.

Interior: Hose It Down

Buyers looking for a premium interior should shop elsewhere; luxury and comfort are not the Bronco’s forte. The Bronco was made to go off-road – a place with plenty of dirt, sand, and other materials – which is why it comes with marine grade vinyl seats and rubberized floors that can be hosed down for easy cleaning. Some trim levels can be equipped with a mix of leather and vinyl, the Heritage Edition comes with plaid cloth, and the Heritage Limited Edition gets plaid leather, but none stray too far from the “hose-it-down” philosophy. Heated seats are available on some trims as part of a package, as is a heated steering wheel.

A 12-inch Sync4 touchscreen infotainment system comes standard with wireless phone mirroring, which can now be expanded to full screen. Music lovers won’t be impressed by the base seven-speaker audio system, but the available (on certain trims) B&O sound system by Bang & olufsen with 10 speakers and a subwoofer packs a far better punch.

Practicality: Camping Ready

There are two body style configurations for the Ford Bronco: a two-door and a four-door. The former lacks practicality with much less cargo space behind the rear seats. There is significantly more space in the four-door: up to 38.3 cubic feet behind the second row (with the soft top) and 83 cubes with the seats down. No matter which body style you pick, the Bronco has more storage space than the equivalent Wrangler. We love the Bronco’s available slide-out tailgate, which is perfect for camping and other outdoor activities.

Both Bronco body styles offer 43.1 inches of legroom up front, but the four-door is more spacious in the back seat with 36.3 inches of rear legroom compared to 35.7 in the two-door. Headroom varies only slightly between the two body styles and more significantly between roof configurations; the soft top offers significantly more headroom. Ford has Jeep outmatched for front legroom in both configurations, but the four-door Wrangler has a two-inch advantage over the four-door Bronco in this metric.

Powertrain: Two EcoBoost Options

Ford gives Bronco customers a choice of two turbocharged EcoBoost engines, not including the separately reviewed Bronco Raptor, which gets a third engine. A 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder acts as the base engine, paired to either a 10-speed automatic or a unique seven-speed manual with a crawler gear. Running on regular (87 octane) fuel, you can expect 275 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque, slightly less power than the Wrangler’s V6 but way more torque. Feeding this engine premium (91 or higher) fuel improves both metrics: 300 hp and 325 lb-ft. 0-60 times will range drastically depending on the engine, transmission, body style, and wheels. We tested a Bronco Everglades (four-door, four-cylinder, automatic, Sasquatch Package) and recorded a sluggish 8.19-second jog to 60 mph.

A 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 is available on certain trims, either standard or optional, producing 315 hp and 410 lb-ft on regular fuel or 330 hp and 415 lb-ft on premium. This engine can only be paired with the 10-speed automatic. It’s a potent upgrade over the four-cylinder, but it still doesn’t make the Bronco a quick vehicle. Expect the V6 to shave over half a second off the 0-60 time. Fuel economy also varies widely depending on the Bronco’s configuration. A four-cylinder, two-door Bronco can achieve up to 20/21/20 mpg city/highway/combined with either transmission. Upgrading to the V6 only drops the city fuel economy by a single mpg. Trims with the Sasquatch Package suffer greatly on efficiency; for example, our Everglades tester comes rated at 18/17/18 mpg. Some trims are rated even lower.

Driving Impressions: Master Of Any Terrain

When purchasing an off-road-focused vehicle like the Bronco, you are committing to compromises on the road. The removable roof, both the hard and soft top, creates significant wind noise, especially at highway speeds. There’s also road noise from the mud-terrain tires, but it’s not as bad as you’d expect. Compared to the Wrangler, the Bronco feels significantly more athletic on the road thanks to its rack and pinion steering; the Wrangler still uses a simpler recirculating ball system. It’s no sports car, but the Bronco actually goes where you point it and transmits the road feel back to the driver.

Every Bronco is highly capable off-road, but the Sasquatch Package cars are particularly unstoppable. Locking front and rear differentials help the Bronco tackle nearly all situations, and up to 11.7 inches of ground clearance helps it clear most obstacles. The Everglades trim we tested boasts the most ground clearance of any Bronco besides the Raptor (11.7 inches vs. 8.3 – 11.5 inches on regular models) with unique changes that help it ford deeper water. A built-in snorkel – along with raised vents on the axles, transfer case, and transmission – helps the Everglades wade through up to 36.4 inches of water. Even if it does get stuck, a 10,000-pound Warn winch can get it unstuck.

The four-cylinder EcoBoost engine is far from peppy, but the high torque rating helps it move the Bronco fairly easily, even with the massive Sasquatch Package tires. The 10-speed automatic transmission is well-calibrated and keeps the revolutions per minute low during normal driving, rarely forcing the engine to stray above 2,500 RPMs. We love the Bilstein shocks under most circumstances, though city cobblestones do cause the Bronco to bounce around a bit. In our opinion, the Bronco is more enjoyable to drive on-road, and equally capable off-road, in comparison to the Wrangler – though some hardcore enthusiasts will point to the independent front suspension as a detriment. If you want a superior daily driver that can get muddy on-demand, we prefer the Bronco to the Wrangler overall.

Pricing & Verdict: The Everglades Stands Out

Pricing a 2024 Bronco is highly dependent on the trim. This is a vehicle with a huge pricing spread, ranging from under $40,000 for a two-door Bronco Big Bend and over $90,000 for the Bronco Raptor. The Bronco Everglades we reviewed is a special edition that will be built in “limited numbers,” starting at $55,520 with a four-door hard-top configuration only. This trim may not carry over to the 2025 model year (nothing has been announced as of this writing), but the Everglades seems like a great value in the Bronco lineup because it includes a lot of standard off-road equipment – the Sasquatch Package, a snorkel, and a winch – while compromising on power, being only available with the four-cylinder engine.

Choosing a trim level is a highly personal decision based on how you plan to use your Bronco, but we think the Everglades offers a nice balance with outstanding capability for the price. Compared to the Jeep Wrangler, the Bronco is more competent on-road, though the former’s solid front axle is a highly desired feature for off-road enthusiasts. We expect Ford to give the Bronco its first facelift in the next year or two, so if you can wait, you may get an even better vehicle.