Compare the2023 Ford BroncoVS 2023 Land Rover Defender

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Bronco 4-Door are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Defender doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Bronco has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Defender doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the Bronco and the Defender have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Bronco 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Defender. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Defender ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 15 times as many Ford dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco’s warranty.

The Bronco has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Defender doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Bronco has more powerful engines than the Defender:

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Raptor 3.0 turbo V6 is faster than the Defender P400 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid (automatics tested):

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco 4-Door gets better mileage than the Defender 110/130:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Ford Bronco uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The Defender requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Bronco has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Defender doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Bronco offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Defender doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

A 10-speed automatic is available on the Ford Bronco, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Defender.

The Bronco stops much shorter than the Defender:

For better traction, the Bronco Raptor’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Defender (37 x 12.5R17 vs. 285/65R18).

The Ford Bronco’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Land Rover Defender only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Bronco Badlands has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Defender doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Bronco’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Defender doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Defender.

The Bronco Outer Banks 4-Door handles at .75 G’s, while the Defender 110 SE pulls only .70 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Bronco Outer Banks 4-Door executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Defender 110 SE (28.7 seconds @ .57 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .54 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Bronco 4-Door’s turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Defender 110/130’s (39.8 feet vs. 42.1 feet).

The Ford Bronco may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Land Rover Defender.

The Bronco 4-Door is 8.2 inches shorter than the Defender 110, making the Bronco easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Bronco has standard flush composite headlights. The Defender has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Bronco uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Defender doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Bronco 4-Door has 2.7 inches more front headroom, 4 inches more front legroom and .7 inches more rear headroom than the Defender 110.

The Bronco 4-Door has a much larger cargo volume than the Defender 110 with its rear seat up (38.3 vs. 10.7 cubic feet).

The Bronco 4-Door’s optional sliding cargo floor makes loading and unloading cargo easier and safer. The Defender doesn’t offer a sliding load floor.

The Bronco’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the right swing out door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Defender’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Bronco can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Bronco can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Defender can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Bronco’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Defender does not have an oil pressure gauge.

On a hot day the Bronco’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Defender can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Defender doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its InControl can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Bronco has standard extendable sun visors. The Defender doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Bronco’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The Defender’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

Insurance will cost less for the Bronco owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Bronco will cost $2215 less than the Defender over a five-year period.

The Bronco will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Bronco will retain 55.78% to 58.62% of its original price after five years, while the Defender only retains 43.98% to 45.77%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco will be $24353 to $67689 less than for the Land Rover Defender.

The Bronco was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” in 2022. The Defender has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Ford Bronco outsold the Land Rover Defender by over six to one during the 2022 model year.