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2021 Ford Bronco Drag Races Jeep Wrangler Duo, Forced Induction Wins

The 2.3-liter EcoBoost is the standard engine for the 2021 model year Ford Bronco, and it’s pretty darn impressive for a four-cylinder turbo. As long as you give it premium fuel, the force-fed plant belts out an SAE-certified 300 horsepower and 325 pound-feet (441 Nm) compared to 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm) for the Ranger workhorse.
2021 Ford Bronco vs Jeep Wrangler V6 + 2.0L Turbo | DRAG + ROLL RACE (REMATCH) 44 photos
Photo: ACCELER8 on YouTube
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Although few people will drag race the four-pot rig on the strip, the peeps at ACCELER8 have tested the Bronco against a couple of Wranglers over the quarter-mile. All three contenders feature high-octane gasoline, automatic trannies, and the four-door body style for a leveled playing field.

The Bronco is an Outer Banks trim level, which is pretty well equipped from the factory with the 10R60 automatic transmission, tube-step running boards, BLIS with Cross-Traffic Alert, LED headlights with LED signature lighting, as well as 32-inch rubber wrapped around 18-inch aluminum wheels.

Tipping the scales at 4,580 pounds (2,077 kilograms) according to Ford, the Bronco is facing a 285-horsepower Pentastar and a 270-horsepower Hurricane in the Wrangler duo. The six-cylinder engine cranks out 260 pound-feet (353 Nm) of torque because it’s naturally aspirated while the four-cylinder turbo levels up to 295 pound-feet (400 Nm) in fully stock tune.

On paper, therefore, the Bronco should have this one in the bag. The Blue Oval-badged utility vehicle doesn’t break a sweat while beating the V6-engined Wrangler, both from a standstill and from a roll. Without premium fuel, however, the four-pot EcoBoost would lose to the free-breathing Pentastar. Despite having less displacement, the Hurricane is all business on the blacktop, winning against the EcoBoost in normal mode and tying it in sport mode with boost build-up. From a roll, the Wrangler immediately pulls ahead of the Bronco and keeps increasing the gap by the end of the race.

On that note, which of these off-road SUVs would you like to take home?

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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