Ford Bronco Raptor: Will It Road-Trip?
We all know the Ford Bronco Raptor can go off-road, and can do it insanely well — we’ve had two opportunities to do some extensive testing of Ford’s insane Baja-ready Bronco in the dirt and were blown away by its performance. Nothing can stop this thing: It’s race-ready right out of the showroom, able to tackle literal cross-country blasts through hilly scrubland or barefaced rock climbing up slippery boulders without so much as breaking a sweat. But being a good off-road vehicle has, in the past, come at a price: uncivilized on-road behavior, from loud tires to floaty ride quality to vague, sloppy steering. The general wisdom goes that the more capable you make your off-road rig, either from the factory or through use of aftermarket parts and accessories, the less good it is on pavement.
Related: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor Review: A Better Bronco in Nearly Every Way
If that’s the case, then the top Bronco should be a nightmare to live with on the street given its absolute top-dog status in the dirt. So on a recent weeklong vacation to Colorado, I decided to put that to the test. Is Ford’s ultimate Bronco good for a multiperson road trip if it never puts a tire onto the dirt?
What Exactly Is a Bronco Raptor?
By now, we’re all familiar with the new Bronco – Ford’s answer to the Jeep Wrangler and the first direct competitor that iconic off-roader has had … well, ever. But adding the Raptor trim to the Bronco has turned it into something special. Its design is influenced by Ultra4 off-road racing that beats the crap out of trucks, ensuring only the strong survive. To that end, Ford’s made some massive modifications to the top Bronco to ensure not only its survival, but success in such conditions.
It’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine that makes 418 horsepower and 440 pounds-feet of torque. It’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and sends power to the wheels via a four-wheel-drive system with selectable operation and many different modes. It sits on a wider track and uses suspension components from the Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck, resulting in an SUV that’s 9.8 inches wider overall than a base Bronco that needs fender flares to keep the absolutely massive 37-inch BFGoodrich tires on beadlock-capable wheels under some plastic mud protection. It’s had so much body reinforcement that Ford claims torsional stiffness improvement of more than 50% over a regular four-door Bronco.
The list of equipment upgrades for the “Braptor” is lengthy and impressive. There’s a true dual exhaust with near-equal-length pipes and selectable exhaust-sound modes. There’s also Trail Control off-road cruise control, Trail Turn Assist and Trail One-Pedal Driving. An active and adjustable suspension features Fox 3.1 internal-bypass semi-active dampers with separate rear reservoirs. There are also new front and rear control arms for more wheel travel, as well as a higher ride height — all stuff designed to help the Bronco Raptor decimate anything in its path.
Related Video:
That’s Great, But How’s It Do On-Road?
My trip wasn’t going to involve any off-roading because where we went in southwest Colorado in mid-April, the back-road trails were still covered with record snowpack and the locals said, “You can venture out there, but I sure wouldn’t; it hasn’t been officially opened or even inspected yet.” That instead meant a drive down Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway from Ouray to Durango, along with an extended highway blast to and from Denver’s airport, stopping at various attractions, eateries, scenic pullouts, hot springs spas and Victorian hotels along the way — nearly 1,200 miles in total over the course of a week through some of the most gorgeous scenery the U.S. has to offer. And because we went during the offseason, after the skiers but before the summer crowds inundate this part of the world, we had much of it to ourselves to enjoy the scenery, the wildlife and the stillness of it all — which was frequently upended by the Bronco Raptor’s brilliantly sonorous dual exhaust at full blat.
See, here’s the kicker about the Bronco Raptor: It’s as fantastic on the road as it is in the rough. Sure, you have to climb up into the thing like any lifted off-road beast, but once you’ve squeezed past the B-pillar that’s next to the front seats (that likely provides a significant amount of side impact protection in this removable-door SUV) and have settled into the big, supportive seats, you’ll find that they really should’ve nicknamed the Bronco Raptor’s cabin the “entertainment center.” And I don’t mean that because of the multimedia system, which features a big screen, quick responses and easy-to-follow menus and icons; I mean it because from the moment you push the start button and fire up the small-but-powerful twin-turbo V-6 engine and hear the marvelous exhaust note, you know you’re in for a good time.
The biggest surprise of the Bronco Raptor is how civilized it is in everyday use. Don’t want the big noise from the engine? The exhaust can be left in Quiet mode. The V-6 is both incredibly punchy and supremely docile depending on what you’re asking it to do. But the steering, handling and ride are what elevate the Bronco Raptor above other big-bucks, high-powered off-road SUVs (I’m looking at you, Wrangler Rubicon 392). The independent front suspension and proper steering tuning mean there’s no floatiness to the Bronco Raptor, no sloppiness in the responses and no vagueness when you’re negotiating fast mountain switchbacks. Pop the G.O.A.T.-mode selector into Sport mode and everything gets dialed up to even more responsive levels, with firmer steering effort and better feedback, flatter cornering with less body roll and quicker throttle responses to boot. I was keeping up with a Porsche 911 on some of the twistier highways approaching Denver and thoroughly enjoying the experience, as well — an experience you’d never have in a Wrangler Rubicon 392. That the Bronco Raptor can be this on-road entertaining and responsive, shod as it is with freakin’ 37-inch BFGoodrich KO2 squishy-sidewall all-terrain tires, is even more astonishing.
It’s Not a Family Truckster
That the Bronco Raptor can not only handle long road trips, but do so with excellent on-road ride and handling; space aplenty for luggage and a wealth of amenities, including an optional 10-speaker B&O premium audio system; wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; and adjustable seats wrapped in easy-to-clean marine-grade vinyl, is something of a surprise … but as to whether or not this should be your first choice in road-trip vehicles, well, probably not.
The Bronco Raptor is smooth, but it’s loud — the multipiece hardtop whistles, rattles a bit, and doesn’t look or sound terribly well sealed. The frameless door windows do allow for the removable doors to be stored in the cargo area (provided there isn’t any luggage there), but they also tend to let in a lot of wind noise at highway speeds. Visibility out of any Bronco isn’t great, but that same complaint can be made of the Wrangler, too, as both have rather short windshields and high seating positions. Then there’s the fuel economy — the Bronco Raptor is EPA-rated 15/16/15 mpg city/highway/combined, and that’s pretty much exactly what I saw on my 1,200-mile voyage. It’s a high-speed brick with a big-power engine and massive tires, so fuel efficiency really isn’t the priority here anyway.
More From Cars.com:
- 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor: Smaller Size, Different Mission, Still Awesome
- Ford Bronco Vs. Jeep Wrangler: A Wrangler Owner Drives the 2021 Ford Bronco
- 2021 Ford Bronco Review: Worth the Bucks
- Redesigned 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor Bulks Up, Techs Up
- Shop for a 2023 Ford Bronco
The point is that you can use the Bronco Raptor for everyday use, and do so both comfortably and enjoyably. You’re also sure to make some new friends along the way. Want to meet new people? Show up in Colorado, where Jeeps are thick as flies but Broncos are a relative rarity, in a lizard-green Bronco Raptor, and you’ll be talking to everyone in every parking lot, rest stop, gas station, toll booth, restaurant and hotel valet you visit.
Of course, you’ll pay for the privilege: The sticker price for a similarly equipped 2023 version of this loaded ultimate Bronco tops out at a tick over $97,000 (including destination). That easily puts it in the company of the Wrangler Rubicon 392 or even a Land Rover Defender, but I dare say the Bronco’s combination of on-road civility and unstoppable off-road ability should put it at the top of that short, loud list.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
