A Week With: 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor

“Okay, so see, what happened was, just for fun, I dumped a quart of steroids into the gas tank one night and when I went out to the garage the next morning it looked like this!” 

That line bought big laughs from a cadre of “good ole boys” after I pulled up at a barn sale (the agricultural equal of a storage sale) on my method to do some off-roading within the Sierra Nevadas. 

Thing is although, that isn’t so very removed from the reality. 

Overview

Fitting it out with competition-level desert runner {hardware}, Ford’s Performance crew “swole” out the usual Bronco one thing fierce. And, within the course of, they created the world’s first Ultra4 Racing-inspired sequence manufacturing SUV—the 2022 Bronco Raptor. Now in its second 12 months of manufacturing, the 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor stays in a category of its personal.

Exterior

Commanding a totally boxed high-strength metal body, Bronco Raptor enjoys an upgraded suspension system, with repositioned shock towers and excessive responsibility Fox shock absorbers to extend its wheel journey over that of the bottom Bronco fashions. The skid plate you see beneath the Raptor’s chin is a part of an armoring system offering safety for the engine, the transmission and the switch case. 

A B-pillar cross bar and C-pillar reinforcement give the Raptor in extra of fifty% extra torsional rigidity than the already robust commonplace Bronco. Meanwhile, detachable roof panels and doorways enable for the last word in open-air motoring. The element oriented amongst you’ll observe the outside rear view mirrors are mounted close to the bottom of the windshield to allow them to stay in place when the doorways are eliminated. 

The Bronco Raptor’s ultra-aggressive look, when in comparison with the usual fashions, is achieved partly with distinctive entrance and rear quarter panels, fenders, fender flares and door appliques. Rock rails, detachable operating boards and a virtually 10-inch vast stance additionally contribute to its countenance. 

Interior

“My” Raptor was the luxuriously outfitted model with perforated blue Alcantara upholstery for the Raptor-specific closely bolstered seats. Trimmed in leather-based and accented with what Ford Performance calls “Code Orange” stitching, they have been fairly good-looking. My Raptor’s seatbelts have been of an identical hue. The flooring was carpeted, whereas a rubberized materials is the usual providing. 

The thick-rimmed sculpted steering wheel was wrapped in supple leather-based and featured a pair of magnesium shift paddles. A rack atop the sprint was completely suited to holding smartphones, in addition to the compulsory GoPro cameras you’ll must doc the unimaginable feats of derring-do Raptor encourages. An influence port for these gadgets was positioned there as properly. 

The HVAC vents, cargo nets within the doorways and the Bronco emblem on the instrument panel have been additionally rendered in Code orange, as was the drive mode choice dial. The push-button ignition swap glowed orange as properly. Subtle carbon fiber accents adorned the seize handles, steering wheel bezel and the shift lever’s deal with.

Powertrain

Capable of delivering 6-second zero to 60 occasions, a twin-turbocharged model of Ford’s 3.0-liter V-6 endows the Bronco Raptor with 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. Output is fed into the drivetrain by a 10-speed computerized transmission. 

Selectable drive modes known as G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) provide the motive force seven completely different settings to adapt powertrain response to the terrain encountered. There are additionally 4 completely different exhaust modes to change the aural signature of the Raptor. Front and rear differentials might be locked, and the sway bars might be decoupled on the contact of a button. 

The Raptor’s axles are borrowed from the Bronco desert runner racing truck. Track width is elevated by just below 9 inches over the usual mannequin and floor clearance is simply over 13 inches. Raptor’s 37-inch tires, mounted on 17-inch beadlock wheels, are reputed to be the biggest tires ever fitted to a sequence manufacturing SUV in America.

Fuel financial system is rated at 15 mpg within the metropolis, 16 on the freeway and 15 total, which matched my expertise exactly. Raptor can also be able to towing 4,500 kilos, which is 1,000 greater than commonplace Bronco fashions can accomplish. 

Safety and Technology

Hinting on the duality of its nature, my Raptor’s audio system was a 10-speaker configuration from one of many foremost names in audiophile-grade gear, Bang & Olufsen. A number of auxiliary toggles assist the addition of winches, further lighting and every other electrically operated system you may deem needed. 

A 12-inch touchscreen supplies entree to Ford’s Sync4 infotainment system and shows the output of the 360-degree digital camera system. The entrance mounted digital camera might be configured to remain on when the Raptor is in certainly one of its off-road modes to assist the motive force learn the terrain and place the entrance wheels to take care of obstacles.

Lane departure warning and lane preserve help are commonplace, as is forward-collision warning and automatic braking. Smart cruise management is obtainable as an choice. 

Driving Impressions

Scaling “Mount Raptor” to get inside might be one thing of a frightening process for these of shorter stature. Similarly, getting out can really feel like base leaping. The operating boards do assist, however there’s no mistaking the altitude benefit you take pleasure in when seated on the Raptor’s controls.  

Its look says this Bronco is a fully sensible off-road machine, and the Raptor is greater than able to cashing each examine its picture writes. Simply put, the Bronco’s a climbing, crawling, leaping, slogging and fording talents are really awe inspiring. 

Of course, one expects it to be able to all of that. 

What’s sudden is the way in which the Raptor behaves on pavement. 

I anticipated a loud, ungainly and stiff driving expertise and I used to be means fallacious. The Raptor goes round curves at pace with subsequent to zero physique roll and extra grip than it has any proper to own. It can also be extremely steady at freeway speeds and gives a surprisingly compliant trip in any state of affairs. 

Regardless of the character of the roads you encounter in your method to the desert, or the mountains, or the forest, the 2023 Bronco Raptor proves swift, sure and — enjoyable.

2023 Ford Bronco Raptor Specifications

Wrap Up

On the opposite hand, as civilized as Raptor presents itself to be in routine driving, it’s necessary to recollect that is a particularly specialised car. 

In different phrases, attempting to reside with a Bronco Raptor as your every day driver can be a irritating expertise. Its girth alone makes discovering a parking house within the metropolis an train in endurance. Climbing in and hopping out of it each day would get tiresome fairly rapidly as properly. In different phrases, whereas it would work as an “only” automobile, you (and the Raptor) can be a lot happier if you happen to introduced it out simply to play, then put it away till the following time. 

And, in all equity, that’s precisely what this model of the Bronco was designed to do. The 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor will get you to the path with out beating you up, after which grasp any terrain you encounter when you get there. 

In truth, it makes getting there a part of the enjoyable too. Essentially, the Raptor-ized Bronco is precisely what would outcome if a bunch of hardcore off-roaders bought collectively, brainstormed their final want listing — and proceeded to construct it.

Which, by the way in which, is precisely what the parents at Ford Performance did. 

2023 Ford Bronco Raptor — Frequently Asked Questions