Ford Bronco Outer Banks Vs. Big Bend: What's The Difference?
Ford recently revived the Bronco SUV, its off-road-ready competitor for the long-running Jeep Wrangler. The Bronco returned to the scene in 2021 after being gone from Ford's lineup for 25 years. The original Bronco first appeared in 1966 and was in production through 1996.
The Bronco made headlines during O.J. Simpson's infamous 1994 slow-speed chase on the streets and freeways of Los Angeles. This unforgettable chapter in pop culture and American crime history aside, the Bronco of the past has disappeared into the mists of time.
Ford brought the Bronco back as an off-road focused SUV, offering a wide variety of trim levels to consumers. Two of the more well-equipped versions are the Outer Banks and Big Bend. While both these versions of the Bronco offer buyers Ford's most state-of-the art engine and transmission options, there are some key differences in terms of what you can get with each model. There's also a significant price discrepancy between the two.
The Outer Banks has luxury features and four doors
The Ford Bronco Outer Banks is priced at a base MSRP of $47,940 and comes only as a four-door model. The Outer Banks is described on the Ford website as being designed for "Off-roading in style." It is powered by a 2.3-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine with an output of 300 horsepower.
The Bronco Outer Banks comes standard with Ford's part-time four-wheel drive system. It features an electronic shift-on-the-fly two-speed transfer case with three different drive modes, plus neutral for towing. The various drive modes provide for torque multiplication to help you get up steep grades or through deep sand. A 10-speed automatic transmission is the only gearbox choice available on the Outer Banks.
A black cloth soft top is standard on the Outer Banks, with a wide variety of hard and soft roof options available as optional equipment. Other Outer Banks standard features include LED headlights, leather-trimmed seats, heated front row seats, dual-zone climate control, and remote start. The infotainment system combines a seven-speaker subwoofer audio system with a 12-inch touchscreen with swipe capability, as well as SYNC 4cloud connectivity with enhanced voice recognition. The other advantages the Outer Banks has over the Big Bend are the standard automatic transmission, leather seats, heated front seats, and dual-zone climate control. It's not available in a two-door body style or with a standard transmission.
The Big Bend is less expensive than the Outer Banks
The less-expensive Ford Bronco Big Bend has a base MSRP of $39,360 for the two-door and $40,370 for the four-door. Ford characterizes the Big Bend on its website as being suited to "Mainstream off-roading." It is powered by the same 2.3-Liter, 300-hp, turbo four-cylinder engine as in the Outer Banks model. A seven-speed manual transmission is standard, with a 10-speed automatic available as an option.
The Big Bend two-door comes standard with a hardtop, while the four-door has a soft top as standard. Either a hardtop or dual tops are available as options on the four-door version. Other standard Big Bend equipment includes LED headlights, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, push-button start, and cruise control.
For off-road traction, the Bronco Big Bend comes with part time selectable engagement 4x4 system as standard equipment. This is the same system that is standard on the Outer Banks, and the infotainment systems in both vehicles are also identical.
There's a couple more minor differences to be noted: The Big Bend comes with 17-inch wheels and black fender flares, while the Outer Banks has 18-inch wheels and body-colored flares.