The all-new Ford Bronco family embodies freedom. It doesn’t need the open road, it will make its own pass through the mountains. Ford claims class-leading ground coverage, the “toughness of an F-series and the spirit of a Mustang.” The video clips by Jimmy Chin are breathtaking and it’s easy to get all emotionally involved with the idea of chasing the American wild. But the Ford Bronco family isn’t just iconic, wild, and free. It’s also practical in terms of Ford Bronco fuel economy.

Ford Bronco engine options overview

The Ford Bronco Sport will come standard with a turbocharged 1.5 liter EcoBoost 3 cylinder engine projected for 181 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque. Its option engine upgrade is a 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder good for a projected 245 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. Both of these engines feature Ford’s fuel economy-boosting auto start-stop technology.

Fuel economy

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. So with the 2021 Ford Bronco––you can lead this SUV to petrol but you can’t make it thirsty. No matter how you play it out, these engines are efficient. Especially compared with something like, say, a V8. Or a Hemi. As seen in other vehicles across the Ford lineup, these new 2021 off-road innovations will not be gas gizzlers by any stretch of the imagination.

Still, they will definitely kick up the dust when it counts. The Ford Bronco is built wild. It doesn’t have to show off, right? It will just disappear into the iconic American sunset with self-possessed strength and confidence. There is no need to––ahem––wrangle anything.

Ford Bronco wilderness

There is no doubt about the fact that the Ford Bronco will take us deep into the wilderness. The open-air and “reconnection with nature” concepts of the new SUV line are both appealing to our emotions and our wild spirits. The more economic engines will bring happiness to rock-climbing, mountain bike-riding, acoustic guitar-playing nature lovers everywhere. Especially because they aren’t slurping up petrol at every turn.

Capable off-road SUVs have never exactly been known for their stellar fuel economy. In fact, that is often one of the leading critiques of models like the Toyota 4Runner or the Jeep Wrangler. OK, yeah. We said the Bronco isn’t showing off, but in terms of fuel economy––without sacrificing on power–– it’s possible the new American SUV is actually flexing just a tad. A little toss of the mane and snort of pride never hurt anyone right?

No EV version….yet

The hybrid is all-but confirmed. So far, however, we haven’t seen any solid evidence that there will be an EV version of the Bronco. But it’s not hard to imagine that there could be one just over that next GOAT mode-crawled mountain. Adventurers and their wild spirits would surely get on board with that. Maybe that’s why Jeep is already teasing one for the Wrangler. The Ford Bronco will surely have no problem keeping up.

As much as we see available on the all-new all-American 2021 Ford Bronco, there is sure to be plenty of new additions for future Broncos in Ford’s back pocket. Just when people started to worry about Ford the Bronco is dropped, wild and efficient as we could have hoped. We see you, Ford. And we’re impressed. But public demand is never satisfied, and now that we see what you can do our imaginations are running wild. Ford Bronco fuel economy will be competitive, but what else does Ford have up its sleeve?