Quick summary
- Three engines carry the 2025 Bronco: a 2.3-liter four, a 2.7-liter V6, and the Raptor’s 3.0-liter V6.
- Every one of them is rated on regular fuel, which is unusual for a range built entirely on turbochargers.
- Two surprises hide in the ratings: the stick shift loses, and one V6 trim beats the other.
Short answer: the 2025 Bronco is rated between 15 and 20 mpg combined depending on engine and trim, and the EPA treats six versions of it as separate vehicles. The cheapest to run is the base 2.3-liter automatic at 20 mpg; the thirstiest is the Raptor at 15. Nothing in the range asks for premium fuel. The 2026 Bronco carries exactly the same set.
Which engine does the 2025 Bronco have?
Three, and the choice is mostly made for you by trim. The standard engine is a 2.3-liter turbocharged four, the only one offered with a manual gearbox, a seven-speed. Step up and you get a 2.7-liter turbocharged V6, automatic only. The Raptor gets a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 of its own that appears nowhere else in the lineup.
All three run on regular. That is worth pausing on, because a turbocharged engine often carries a premium recommendation to hold off knock — the reasoning our octane guide walks through. Ford tuned this family to live on 87, so the running-cost gap between a Bronco and a similarly powerful rival can be wider than the mpg numbers alone suggest.
What each version actually returns
| Version | Engine | City / Highway / Combined |
|---|---|---|
| Bronco (base) | 2.3-liter four, 10-speed auto | 18 / 22 / 20 mpg |
| Bronco (base) | 2.3-liter four, 7-speed manual | 18 / 21 / 19 mpg |
| Bronco (base) | 2.7-liter V6, 10-speed auto | 17 / 18 / 18 mpg |
| Outer Banks | 2.7-liter V6, 10-speed auto | 19 / 21 / 20 mpg |
| Badlands | 2.3-liter four, auto or manual | 17 / 19 / 18 or 17 / 18 / 17 mpg |
| Sasquatch | 2.3-liter four, auto or manual | 17 / 19 / 18 mpg |
| Raptor | 3.0-liter V6, 10-speed auto | 15 / 16 / 15 mpg |
Two things in that table deserve a second look. The manual is the thirstier choice, not the frugal one: 19 mpg against 20 for the automatic on the same engine, and 17 against 18 in a Badlands. And the Outer Banks beats the base car on the same V6, 20 mpg against 18, because the EPA rates each configuration as it is actually equipped. Tyres, axle ratio and off-road hardware move the number more than the badge does, which is why Badlands and Sasquatch give up two mpg against a plain 2.3.
Is the Bronco Sport the same vehicle?
No, and this catches people out. The Bronco Sport is a smaller crossover that shares a name and almost nothing else. Its engines are a 1.5-liter three-cylinder rated 25 / 30 / 27 mpg and a 2.0-liter four at 21 / 27 / 23 — both comfortably thriftier than any full-size Bronco, because the car underneath them is a different thing entirely. A Bronco Sport Sasquatch lands at 23 / 26 / 24.
If the 27 mpg figure is what drew you in, check which Bronco you are reading about before going further. The gap between a Bronco Sport and a Raptor is twelve mpg, which is the difference between a commuter and a weekend machine.
Picking one on numbers alone
If efficiency is the deciding factor, the base 2.3-liter automatic and the Outer Banks V6 tie at 20 mpg, so you can have the bigger engine without paying for it at the pump — an outcome the trim ladder does not advertise. If capability matters more, Badlands and Sasquatch cost you two mpg, and the Raptor five, which is the honest price of what they add.
What these figures cannot tell you is how any of them drives, how they hold up, or what they cost to keep. For a Ford that answers a different question entirely, our look at the Maverick Tremor covers the compact end, and the 2025 F-150 the other.
Sources: EPA fueleconomy.gov ratings for the 2025 and 2026 Ford Bronco, Bronco Badlands, Bronco Outer Banks, Bronco Sasquatch, Bronco Raptor, Bronco Sport and Bronco Sport Sasquatch. Photos: Damian B Oh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
