This week I’m excited to have a really neat and wildly-popular SUV, the 2024 Ford Bronco Raptor, a true off-roader and one of the most insane, over-the-top SUVs I’ve ever driven. The Raptor has virtually nothing in common with the regular Broncos, not even the body.
Exterior
This beauty features 17” wheels and massive 37” B.F. Goodrich all-terrain tires and huge removable color-matched fender flares. Look at the width of this beast, it is over 7-feet wide, so wide it has to have amber U.S. Department of Transportation marker lights in the grill, much similar to the F-150 Raptor.
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The grill and fenders are heavily-vented, and the hood prominently features a large flat black heat-extracting area that also cuts down on glare when you are taking this beast up to the top of a mountain.
Also in the front are tow hooks, orange daytime running lights-which are exclusive to the Raptor, unique taillights, a trailer hitch, rear tow hooks, and the big matching spare tire mounted on the rear. There are removable running boards also, but the rock rails stay on the vehicle.
Performance
The Raptor comes with a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo EcoBoost, mated to a 10-speed shiftable automatic. Together they put out 418-horses and a strong 440-pound feet of torque. This almost 5800-pound SUV really moves, and it sounds good doing it thanks to a true dual exhaust system that you can change the sound from the steering wheel. You can make it quiet or do what I do, keep it on Sport or Baja, both of which sound fantastic. Top speed is governed to 114-miles per hour, which is beyond reasonable.
Interior
Ray Charles could see this is a very capable off-roader, so one might expect a utilitarian, somewhat bland interior, but that would be wrong. Oh sure, there is a lot of plastic, which is what you want to be able to clean the interior easily after a hard day of jumping hills and plowing through riverbeds with the doors off. However, Ford knew that people would also want a nice vehicle on the pavement, and they delivered. The beautiful leather and suede seats are slightly-bolstered and feature attractive stitching, both front passengers get power controls, and both can heat-but not air condition-their seats.
An all-digital gauge cluster looks terrific and helps you configure all the settings to your liking. Once you get it as you want it, it is incredibly enjoyable and many of the settings can be changed from there. The steering wheel is just outstanding, it feels good to the hands, and there are shortcuts there to adjust the steering, dampers, exhaust, and the Raptor mode button which will allow you to change to preset settings quickly, for instance when you get into rough terrain.
In the middle of the center stack, up high, is a 12” touch screen that houses the Sync 4 system, which works very well and is quick and simple. This runs all the audio, navigation system, apps, Bluetooth, the vehicle setups, the 360-degree camera including a front view when you are looking through the windshield at the sky, Wi-Fi, voice recognition, and the extra features, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Above the screen on top of the dash are your differential settings, which you need to configure if you do any serious off-roading. You can lock in the front and/or rear differentials and also release the front stability bar if you get yourself in a real bind when off the pavement. You can also turn off the traction control, but I can’t imagine why you ever would.
The center console area is quite busy. There are cup holders, automatic temperature controls, the start/stop defeat button, and a button to turn on the many different camera angles. This is also where you change the GOAT modes. Goat stands for: goes over any terrain. Turn the rotary dial to choose from normal, sport, slippery, Baja, off-road, tow/haul, and Rock Crawl for serious off-road driving. The graphics on the instrument cluster changes with each GOAT mode selection.
Up high, there are pre-wired upfitter switches for all your added equipment such as a winch and additional exterior lighting.
Just below the armrest are the power window and power outside mirror buttons. Although it seems as if it is a funny spot for them, the doors come off, so with the buttons in the console, there are no wires to disconnect. In a brilliant move, the exterior mirrors are attached to the body, so when you take the doors off, the mirrors are still usable. Score one for Ford, when you take the doors off a Wrangler, the mirrors are gone.
Back seat head and leg room are both good and the occupants get a fold down armrest, rear window buttons, USB-C and USB-As, and 110-volt power outlet. I wish there were air conditioning vents back there, but it will cool fine, it just takes a little longer.
Utility
Moving to the cargo area, you swing open the tailgate from the left side, then raise the back glass. The cargo area has 33-cubic feet of cargo area with the rear seats up, but if you lower the second-row seats, it increases to 77.6 cubic feet. The rear seats are easy to fold down, but do not fold completely flat, but it’s close.
Let’s talk about configuring the Bronco. You can take all four doors off, the running boards, and the entire hardtop comes off, albeit it will take two people and it is not a quick operation. Most people will just remove two panels over the front seats to soak in the sun, not unlike T-Tops, and there is one larger panel over the second row seats. Although more complicated, you can remove the rest of the top. It would be a task but can be done. The Bronco comes with all the tools needed to go completely topless and also has covers for the tops.
Safety
The Bronco Raptor comes well-equipped with many great features, especially on the safety front. You get adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, emergency braking, 360-degree cameras, blind spot monitoring, and a lot more.
Options
Options include the upgraded seats of leather and suede for $2495. Standard features include remote start, the wheels and tires, and everything else I wrote about above.
MPG and What You'll Pay
Fuel economy is rated at 15 city, 16 highway, and 15 combined. MSRP as equipped is $94,425 as equipped.
Ride and Drive
Sadly, I did not get a chance to really go off-road with the Bronco Raptor but can tell you there is no doubt in my mind it can do anything, and go anywhere, thanks to 11” of ground clearance and the HOSS 4.0 suspension with Fox live valve dampers. There is a lot of what makes this SUV awesome that is not where it can be seen, but you know it is there when you push it hard.
The big surprise is how enjoyable the Raptor is as a daily driver. Acceleration is terrific, the exhaust sound is wonderful, and the ride is acceptable on the pavement. Interior noise level is just OK, those Goodrichs will sing to you at higher speeds, but that’s the price of admission.
Verdict
Overall, this is truly an enjoyable SUV.
To view larger photos see the slideshow below on CarPro.com.
- What I liked most: The interior and exterior appearance, and of course performance.
- What I would change: Getting close to $100K, I’d like to see air conditioned seats.
- MSRP: Base price $90,035/$94,425 with transportation.
- Fuel Economy: 15 city/16 highway/15 combined.
- Odometer reading when tested: 1,900 miles.
- Official Color: Shelter Green.
- Weight: 5,764 Pounds/6,835 GVWR pounds.
- Length-Width-Height: 191” long/85.7” wide/77.8” high.
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 20.8 gallons with filler on the driver’s side.
- Towing Capacity: 4,500 pounds.
- Spare Tire: Full-sized with matching wheel.
- Final Assembly Point: Wayne, MI.
- 2024 Bronco Raptor in a few words: A mind-boggling, incredibly capable off-roader that doubles as a wonderful daily driver.
- Warranty: 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper with roadside assistance, and 5-year/60,000 mile power train warranty.
- Manufacturer’s website: Ford
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