2022 Ford Bronco Reviews, Pricing & Specs

With attractive retro styling, a go-anywhere attitude, and a very deep lineup to choose from, it’s easy to see why the 2022 Ford Bronco is one of the most sought-after vehicles on sale today. Coming off its wildly successful debut last year, the Bronco returns with two new range-topping models: the Everglades and Bronco Raptor, which are covered in a separate review. As the name implies, the new Ford Bronco Everglades is built with swamp trekking and deep water in mind. It comes with an intake snorkel, a Warn winch, and 35-inch Goodyear mud-terrain tires, among other additions.

The Everglades and Raptor models expand the Bronco’s offerings to eight distinct trims, with off-road capabilities that increase with the price. Unfortunately, if you were hoping to get one of your own this year, you’re out of luck as Ford announced the 2022 models are already sold out. Those lucky enough to get in on ordering a Bronco can choose between the two-door or four-door body style as well as a four-cylinder or six-cylinder engine. There’s also a choice of a removable roof with either a soft- or hard-top, as well as an exciting palette of paint choices.

At their core, all Broncos are built with off-roading in mind and as you’d expect, a lot of its design is dictated by this mission. The short overhangs and low-profile bumpers increase approach and departure angles while the tall ride height limits how much scraping you’ll do to the underbody skid plates. The Bronco is unapologetically utilitarian in its appearance, satisfying its enthusiastic fan base with large recovery hooks, removable fender flares, a full-size spare mounted to the tailgate, and modular construction that makes customization a breeze.

On the inside, the Bronco continues the utilitarian theme with available features that include sealed switches and buttons, marine-grade vinyl upholstery, and drain plugs in the floor. These allow you to hose out your Bronco after a day getting it delightfully filthy. Large rubberized toggle switches and buttons control the many off-road systems, along with the G.O.A.T. mode (for “Goes Over Any Terrain”) dial on the centre console that allows the driver to bypass the myriad settings in favour of distinct drive modes for specific types of terrain, whether it’s mud, snow, desert sand or boulders.

At the same time, the Bronco’s rugged look and impressive all-terrain capabilities don’t necessarily mean the car is primitive. Technology is well represented in those G.O.A.T. modes, as well as the digital instrument panel and large infotainment touchscreen. A full complement of cameras can also remove any guesswork when you’re crawling over treacherous boulders or just backing into a tight parking spot, and many advanced safety features are available as options.

It’s clear that the 2022 Ford Bronco has the brawn and brains to not just tackle the most challenging terrain, but also win over a broad cross-section of the buying public. It seems the only reason not to get one is because they’re either sold out or their price had been marked up to ridiculous heights. It’s a success story we can all get behind.

The Bronco’s base engine is a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. An optional EcoBoost (turbocharged) 2.7-litre V6 engine is good for 330 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque. A seven-speed manual transmission is available on the two-door Bronco with the four-cylinder engine only while a 10-speed automatic is mandatory for the V6 and all four-door models. The manual is notable for its seventh crawl gear that allows for very low-speed driving while maintaining high levels of torque for climbing. All Broncos come with four-wheel drive and an electronic two-speed transfer case.

As the specs suggest, there’s not a huge difference between the four-cylinder or V6 powertrains. Both employ turbos to deliver ample power in almost any setting. There are varying degrees of off-road prowess throughout the Bronco lineup, but even the less-capable base model or fancier Outer Banks trim will conquer obstacles that few vehicles can. The Wildtrak, Everglades and Raptor are so insanely accomplished that you might find yourself running out of challenges.

We tested the Everglades on particularly difficult terrain on Drummond Island, a corner of Michigan’s upper peninsula area that included deep-rutted muddy trails, deep water crossings, and steep rock climbs. As the most capable model in the Bronco lineup (not including the new Bronco Raptor), the Everglades barely broke a figurative sweat in its appropriate mud/ruts drive mode. It can ford water as deep as 92.5 centimetres, which is an odd sensation hearing water splash against your door. We actually had to try to get the Bronco stuck by wading into some oppressive mud in order to demonstrate its winching abilities.

As impressive as these feats were, we were equally impressed by how well the Bronco behaved on pavement. Off-road vehicles typically suffer with vague steering and a rough, bumpy ride quality, but that’s not the case with any of the Bronco models. It may not be as refined and comfortable as the standard family SUV, but it’s leaps and bounds better than its direct rival: the Jeep Wrangler. Unlike the Wrangler, the Bronco easily tracked straight down the highway and the ride was noticeably smoother. This makes the Bronco a much better road trip companion as it greatly reduces driver fatigue.

The amount of wind noise on the highway is one of our few complaints, but even then, it’s not intrusive enough to be a real bother. The absence of tire howl on pavement is another advantage that contributes to the Bronco’s overall excellence as a vehicle that can truly do everything well.

The Bronco’s iconic squared-off styling isn’t just for aesthetics, as it contributes to the abundance of interior space. It’s unlikely you’ll find anyone tall enough to exceed headroom space outside of the NBA, and that also applies to the rear seats. There’s also plenty of legroom and lateral space to stretch out. Getting into the Bronco requires a bit of effort in the higher-riding trims, but there are enough grab handles and available side steps to help you. Accessing the rear seats in the two-door Bronco will require an awkward squeeze between the door frame and front seat, though.

Cargo capacity also benefits from the Bronco’s boxy shape, but the specs vary depending on the model and roof types. The two-door with a hard top can accommodate up to 634 litres behind the rear seats and 1,481 litres with those seats folded. The hard-top four-door increases capacity to 1,008 litres and 2,197 litres, respectively. The soft-top will increase those figures slightly. Unfortunately, the rear seats don’t fold flat with the cargo floor, leaving a step-up between them that complicates the loading of larger objects. It also makes for a very uncomfortable place to sleep.

In addition to the Bronco’s large cargo space, it also has some clever storage solutions and accessories. There are plenty of places to store your personal effects, from the large armrest bin to the netted door pockets and rubberized phone tray. There are also options for accessory rails atop the dash to secure items such as an action camera. Oh, and there’s an option for stowable doors that fit in the cargo area so you won’t have to chain them to a tree, like Jeep owners often do. The fender flares are removable in seconds without the need for tools.

Utility is further enhanced with a few external hard mounting points. Hidden anchors atop the windshield are strong enough to support heavy load-bearing racks or light bars. Cleats above the headlights have slots for cargo straps as well as holes for limb-lifter cables. Those cleats also help the driver get an indication of where the corners are when off-roading.

Traditional off-roaders usually avoid an abundance of technology because those features are generally not serviceable when things go wrong in the field. The Bronco smartly uses technology to enhance its capabilities while still keeping the driver engaged. The aforementioned G.O.A.T. modes add off-road confidence for novice drivers by selecting drivetrain and chassis component setting optimized for specific terrain. More seasoned off-roaders can still manually select their preferred setups, too.

One of the most useful features has to be the forward-looking trail camera that overlays lines that indicate where your tires will travel. The Bronco’s tall ride height and upright grille make it impossible to see what is directly in front of the vehicle, but the trail camera removes any doubt. It gives you the confidence that you won’t accidentally drive over a tire-deflating rock or rip body work off in narrow chokepoints. There’s also a Trail Turn Assist feature that individually brakes an inside wheel to allow the Bronco to make sharper turns in tight spaces.

As for the usual technology features, the Bronco benefits from its Sync 4 infotainment system that has quick responses, sharp graphics and is loaded with helpful off-road apps. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone integration plus Bluetooth are standard for all models and pair well with the available wireless charging pad.

Standard safety features include hill-start assist, hill descent control, and trailer sway control. Frontal collision warning with automatic emergency braking, a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alerts, lane-keep assist, rear parking sensors, and automatic high beams are available on all but the base trim as part of the optional Mid package. Front parking sensors and a surround-view camera system are offered with the High package while the Lux package adds adaptive cruise control and evasive steering assist. To Ford’s credit, all of these systems function as advertised, with no false alarms or glitches.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not fully evaluated the Bronco in crash tests, but the four-door has received four-out-of-five stars for frontal crash protection. Both the four- and two-door Broncos have a three-out-of-five-star rating for rollover protection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the standard Bronco its best score of “Good” in frontal, side and roof strength tests and its second highest score of “Acceptable” for head restraints and seats.

Dual-stage front and side airbags are standard for the front row, and side-curtain airbags for both rows and a rollover sensor are also standard.

For model year 2022, the base two-door Bronco SUV has a starting new-vehicle MSRP of $43,199 (not including destination charges of $2,095) while the four-door costs an additional $4,850. The two-door Big Bend trim level starts at $44,699, Black Diamond at $49,199, Outer Banks at $49,849, Badlands at $56,794, and Wildtrak at $60,649. Moving to four-doors costs just over $3,000 extra on average.

A few optional packages add several comfort, convenience and safety features. The Mid package, High package, and Lux package incrementally add more features. The Sasquatch package is a must-have for serious off-roaders as it adds the big 35-inch tires and increases suspension ground clearance. It’s included in the Raptor trim but the costs vary for other models.

These prices are in line with the Jeep Wrangler’s comparable trims that range from $40,540 for the base two-door Sport model to $105,640 for the bonkers Rubicon 392. The Toyota 4Runner starts out higher at $51,890 but tops out at $67,060. The upmarket Land Rover Defender starts at $69,000 and maxes out at a staggering $128,100 for a Defender 110 V8.

As far as fuel economy goes, the Bronco is thirstier than mass-market SUVs, but among off-road rivals, it compares favourably. The two-door with the base four-cylinder engine is estimated by Natural Resources Canada to return 12.1 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 11.2 on the highway, and 11.7 in combined driving with the automatic transmission (manual figures are slightly higher). The V6 ranges between 12.4 to 15.3 L/100 km combined with the latter figure being for the Raptor.

The Jeep Wrangler has a few aces up its sleeve with the plug-in hybrid 4xe that has 35 kilometres of EV range, achieves 4.8 Le/100 km overall, and returns 11.7 L/100 km combined in hybrid mode. There’s also an EcoDiesel model rated as low as 9.5 L/100 km combined. Bronco-comparable Wranglers vary between 10.3 L/100 km combined for the four-cylinder engine and 16.5 L/100 km combined for the Rubicon 392. The aging 4Runner is estimated at 13.8 L/100 km combined, while most Defender models average 12.3 L/100 km and the Defender 110 V8 averages 14.7 L/100 km combined.

Note: Images show a US model.