When it comes to vehicular tug of war, the output figures aren’t everything. Tires are just as important as torque and gearing, which is why the following face-off is dominated by the four-door Ford Bronco.
The British luxobarge is fitted with so-and-so Goodyears while the four-door Badlands is rocking much beefier BFGoodrich all-terrain rubber. Also fitted with the Sasquatch off-road package, the Bronco is considerably more capable in this kind of situation even though the Landy is more expensive.
Also worthy of note, the Defender flexes 406 pound-feet (550 Nm) of torque from a turbocharged straight-six engine with mild-hybrid assistance, while the body-on-frame SUV packs 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) on premium gas.
Be that as it may, the Land Rover is boasting a better max tow rating at 7,716 pounds (3,500 kilograms) compared to 3,500 pounds (1,588 kilograms) for the Bronco. When all is said and done, this tug of war doesn’t reveal anything of note about the actual capabilities of the Bronco and Defender.
Reportedly in production at MAP in Wayne, the 2022 Ford Bronco will keep the hype train going with a plethora of newities that include the factory-equipped snorkel of the Everglades and the no-nonsense Raptor. We still don’t know if the latter features the 3.0- or 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, but whatever it may have, it’s indubitably torquier than the 2.7 powerplant.
Over at Land Rover, customers are offered a V8 option in the guise of a 5.0-liter mill developed with Ford’s help during a time when the Ford Motor Company used to own the British company. The P525 supercharged engine develops 518 horsepower and 461 pound-feet (625 Nm), and this lump also happens to be ludicrously expensive at $104,400 for the two-door variant.
In due time, it’s very likely that Land Rover will phase out Jaguar's AJ V8 engine in favor of the BMW N63 twin-turbo V8 of the Range Rover.
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. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News