Ford Bronco Heritage Edition Review: Retro SUV Turns Heads And Drains Wallets

Right when Ford resurrected the Bronco a number of years ago, it felt like anyone still on the fence about driving something other than another Jeep Wrangler or Toyota 4Runner immediately drove to their nearest Ford dealership to buy one. Just the Bronco badges sold a number of people right off the bat. 

The Ford Bronco Heritage Limited Edition you see here carries a number of applicable adjectives. It's huge, loud, ridiculous, surface-level nostalgic, hilarious, ostentatious, and inefficient. I loved every second of driving it. If it weren't for the atrocious fuel economy and exorbitant cost (more on those factors later), I would currently own one.

The Heritage Edition itself was announced in 2022, and production limited to 1,966 units. So, you may already be out of luck finding one at your local dealership. Ford sent a 2023 model year version to test, though all prices listed are for the functionally-identical 2024 model year Bronco Heritage Limited Edition.

In context, the Ford Bronco Heritage is a special edition callback to the Broncos of the 1960s, and as such it was finished in Robins Egg Blue and had a white roof. It looks simultaneously retro and contemporary. While a Ford fan in the late '60s might wonder how Apple CarPlay works, the SUV itself wouldn't look entirely out of place next to Ford Country Squires, Fairlaines, and other Blue Oval Badged cars in the parking lot of a Gary Puckett & The Union Gap concert. It's immediately recognizable as a Ford Bronco. It also says "Bronco" on it like half a dozen times, so that helps.

In the modern era, the Ford Bronco is Dearborn's answer to the off-roading world's darling child, the Jeep Wrangler. While the Wrangler can sometimes lean more towards a "Storm Omaha Beach" vibe, the Bronco is decidedly more of a beach cruiser and fun-having vehicle. You're probably not going to see angry grilles, AR-15 stickers, and Punisher skulls on a Bronco. It just doesn't fit the aesthetic.

Despite the lack of militaristic vibe, the Bronco Heritage isn't lacking at all in the off-road department. The Heritage Limited Edition is mechanically the same as the Badlands trim Ford Broncos. This Bronco was equipped with a front and rear locking differential, an electronically detachable stability bar, a two-speed 4x4 system with selectable drive-modes through Ford's GOAT system, and 35-inch tires. It sits incredibly high off the ground and it looks like a pastel-colored office building compared to anything but the most cartoonish Jeep.

Although the interior was nicely equipped with a 10-speaker audio system, dual-zone climate control, grab handles literally everywhere, and a huge 12-inch infotainment screen that offered every conceivable piece of information you could ever want, it felt more like an armored personnel carrier that listened to Bob Dylan, than an equivalent large SUV. 

It's as tonally inconsistent as it is an absolute riot to drive. The tires are loud and, despite coming with an optional sound-deadening headliner, it was like living inside of a wind tunnel. It's roughly as aerodynamic as a bookshelf. I can still hear the wind noise and tire rumble. I miss it.

Next to any other car, it oozes character. The Bronco is just really funny to look at and I never stopped smiling when parking it next to Camrys and Accords. I would intentionally look for over-the-top Jeeps and lifted trucks to park next to because the Bronco would outshine them 99 times out of 100. Something about a huge blue two-tone SUV with a lift kit scratches my brain in a way that I can't quite quantify.

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There lies the quandary of the Heritage Edition. It's entirely at odds with just about every vehicle in its class, and even other Broncos. While other Broncos/Wranglers/etc. tend to wear a paint scheme akin to that of an F-22 Raptor or something from Warhammer 40,000, here's the Heritage Bronco with a paint scheme visible from space. It wasn't quite made for the grimdark market of the 2020s. 

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy," C.S. Lewis once said, "the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." The Bronco Heritage Edition, by virtue of its very name, was made for a world that is very much not the current environment we find ourselves in. It looks like it's having far too much fun.

Philosophical ramifications of a carefree car aside, the Bronco delivers specs-wise. It's powered by a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 that generates 330 horsepower on premium fuel and a fairly stout 415 pound-feet of torque. The 2.7-liter necessitates the use of a 10-speed automatic transmission, whereas the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-banger on lower trim models can be equipped with a 7-speed manual transmission. I can hear every off-roading purist groaning in disgust right now. 

As far as fuel economy is concerned, the Bronco might be the least fuel efficient vehicle I've driven in recent memory, and I've driven a steam tractor from 1923. I achieved between 16 and 17 miles per gallon regardless of how I drove it, and it was a monster to keep filled up. Premium fuel isn't cheap. The thirst was likely due to the fact the tires were nearly twice the size of a normal car's entire wheel, and the slab-sided SUV cuts through the air like a cold knife through frozen butter. But, you don't buy a Bronco for fuel efficiency or any semblance of practicality (beyond off-road), you buy it for looks.

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The Bronco was not a canyon carver or highway cruiser. It's hard to park and harder to fill with gas. It's wholly impractical for daily living. However, it's also nearly impossible to not giggle with excitement every single second behind the wheel. Out on a winding road with a relatively high speed limit, the Bronco's own limits became clear: When going through anything but the gentlest corner at speed, the tires howled, the engine roared in anger, and the Bronco's body rolled to the side. It never felt like it was going to roll over, but it certainly required prudence and care when cornering. My heart rate is likely permanently a little higher.

As far as price is concerned, you already know it isn't going to be cheap. The Bronco Heritage Limited Edition starts at an absurd $71,105. However, the included options list is nothing short of exhaustive as it's the second most expensive Bronco next to the Raptor version. You get the 2.7-liter EcoBoost, the Sasquatch package which entails the huge wheels, tires, and Bilstein shocks. You also get leather trimmed seats, a 360 degree camera, skid plates galore, auxiliary switches for all of your various peripheral lighting and winching devices, and a Bang and Olufsen sound system. It's rather well equipped, then, and so it ought to be for a vehicle that's nearly $30,000 over the price of the lowest trim Bronco on the lot.

Alex Hevesy/SlashGear

Here's the thing, though: I loved driving the Bronco. I didn't merely like it or find it enjoyable to drive, I loved it. There's something incalculably pleasing about driving a brick of an off-road truck while doing mundane tasks like going to the library or rolling through the drive-thru. Yet, despite that love, I would never own a Heritage Bronco, even if it wasn't hyper-limited. 

The fuel economy is too bad, it's loud on the inside, the tires and lift kit don't make any sense outside of a swamp or desert, and it's as subtle as the Woodstock music festival. It would be rough to live with as your only vehicle. Sometimes you need peace and quiet while driving to the pharmacy, and the playful Bronco offers exactly zero quiet, and only a little peace.