2023 Ford Bronco Raptor Reviews, Pricing & Specs
Write a reviewPros
Amazing off-road abilities
Easy-to-use technology
Strong powertrains
Cons
Not very fuel efficient
Lots of road noise
Small 2nd row in 2-door model
The 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor serves as proof: Automakers live for one-upping their rivals.
This is most frequently exhibited in popular vehicle segments such as full-size trucks and three-row SUVs. Every year, you can find a new “best-in-class cargo space” or “best-in-class towing.” But this one-upping also extends to more specialized vehicles, such as the 2023 Ford Bronco. The trail-ready SUV is specifically designed to take on the Jeep Wrangler, and the rivalry has already produced some fantastic results.
The Bronco is offered in some terrific trims, such as the Badlands and Sasquatch versions. And then to raise the bar, Jeep responded with the Wrangler Rubicon 392—powered by a Hemi V8. Well, the inevitable has happened, and Ford has unleashed a Raptor variant of the Bronco. This new range-topping trim is the most powerful and capable version of the Bronco, but is it worth its high price tag?
The Bronco cannot be confused for anything other than a gritty off-road vehicle. Ford has nailed the combination of fun and function with this SUV. The circular headlights and the B-R-O-N-C-O lettering across the grille are just the tip of the iceberg. The doors are frameless, which makes for a clean look, but we also noticed some creaking when opening and closing the driver’s door. This could be a one-off issue, but keep an eye out for that.
The Bronco’s cabin is modern and functional, like a pickup truck but even more rugged. The floors are rubberized and drainable, so you can hop in with muddy boots and not worry about the floor. Even the accessory buttons are rubberized like you would find on a powerboat. This is a clever touch that not only adds functionality to the vehicle, but connects it to other activities you may be using your Bronco to go do.
The Bronco offers a surprisingly expansive selection of trims. This is not unlike its rival, the Jeep Wrangler, as both have a wide variety of customers with different tastes and preferences. In Canada, trims are Base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, Heritage Edition, Badlands, Wildtrak, Everglades, Heritage Limited Edition, and the new-for-2023 Ford Bronco Raptor.
The base model spent this model year in limited inventory status. Standard features on the Big Bend trim include 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 32-inch mud-terrain tires, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, marine-grade vinyl seats, as well as fog lights and the availability of a number of options and packages.
The Black Diamond trim adds the rubberized flooring with drain plugs that we mentioned. It also adds a locking differential, steel bumpers, steel skid plates, and vinyl upholstery.
A popular trim since the Bronco’s debut in 2021 has been the Outer Banks. This trim features a number of additional driver assistance features, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, remote start and keyless entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a wall-style power outlet.
The Heritage Edition is one of the most visually distinctive trims, and is meant to call back to the original 1960s Bronco. This trim has a white grille, wheels, and roof. It also has white pinstripes and some unique lettering.
The Badlands features a beefed up suspension with Bilstein shocks, locking front and rear differentials, 33-inch all-terrain tires, and a disconnecting front sway bar.
The Wildtrak and Everglades trims are combinations of much of the running gear and creature comforts that we just listed, but with some additional touches like leather-trimmed vinyl seats. The options can be dizzying, but if you want to stand out from all of them, there’s the Bronco Raptor.
This new Ford Bronco Raptor is the range-topping trim and features larger fender flares, a taller suspension, 37-inch tires, and even a reinforced frame. It also comes with an exclusive powertrain that emits a menacing mechanical howl.
The base engine in the 2023 Ford Bronco is a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It makes power specs of 300 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. The twin-turbocharged 2.7-litre V6 engine is optional from the Black Diamond trim and is standard on the Wildtrak and Heritage Limited Edition. This upgraded engine puts out 330 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. And if you step up to the Bronco Raptor, you get a twin-turbo V6 with 410 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque.
All three engines make great power. The base turbo-four is the same engine used in the Ford Ranger pickup and it provides solid acceleration. If you select this base engine, you’ll never feel like you short-changed yourself. The 2.7-litre V6 is similar to the EcoBoost V6 used in the F-150 pickup and it provides plenty of grunt.
All engines can route power to four-wheel drive (4WD) through a 10-speed automatic transmission. The base 2.3-litre engine routes power through a standard seven-speed manual transmission. Seven speeds have often been used for sports cars with manual transmissions, but an SUV? In the Bronco, Ford uses the seven-speed transmission to include a crawl ratio as first gear. This makes it one formidable off-roader, especially with the beefed-up suspension in the upper-tier models. The base trim provides 21 centimetres of ground clearance while the Raptor has an impressive 33 cm. You can drive at a decent rate of speed, and the Bronco will soak up bumps and rocks on the trail. To master the various off-road attributes, the Bronco has GOAT mode, or “Goes Over Any Terrain.” It can adjust the traction control and power delivery for a number of terrain modes, including mud, sand, and rocks.
The Ford Bronco Raptor boasts serious running gear, including 37-inch tires, upgraded skid plates, and advanced Fox shock absorbers. The soft off-road-ready suspension and big, beefy tires all make the Bronco Raptor a comfortable ride in most driving situations. The wide track also allows you to make a turn at a decent rate of speed. If you are looking to do some towing, the Bronco Raptor has the highest rating, at 2,040 kilograms (4,500 pounds). All others tow up to 1,587 kilograms (3,500 pounds) when properly equipped.
The Bronco is offered in two-door and four-door versions, with the choice of hardtops and soft tops. These choices all impact how you use your Bronco, as the soft top is easier to store but harsher in terms of road noise. The hard tops provide a more hushed cabin, but you have to be thinking about how to store it. With the roof in place and the full cabin at your disposal, the two-door Bronco provides up to 1,480 litres of cargo space with the rear seats folded, and 634 litres with the rear seats folded upright. The four-door Bronco provides up to 2,197 litres of cargo space with the rear seats folded and 1,008 litres with the rear seats in use.
The Bronco has a complex rear opening, with a combination of a rear window that flips up and out and a separate side-hinged half-door. Any owner of a Jeep Wrangler will be instantly familiar with this setup. It does make any simple grocery-getting a bit more involved of a process, but you can also leave the window open with the door closed for oversized items.
The front seats are seriously spacious and supportive. The driver’s seat provides a commanding view of the road without it feeling like you’re towering over other cars. The two-door Bronco has seating for four while the four-door Bronco seats five. It’s a bit of a squeeze on headroom and legroom for adults in the two-door model, but it’s manageable. The four-door Bronco provides solid space for all but the tallest adults.
When comparing the Bronco to the Wrangler, this is the area where the Ford 4x4 stands out. It’s larger, but is also has its roll-bars integrated into the body work, so there’s even more cabin space. Even the most stalwart Wrangler fan would have to admit there’s just more space in the Bronco.
The base infotainment system in the Bronco is an 8-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto. This screen has a logical layout and easy to use menus and controls. It is the right combination of being modern enough to feel contemporary without being overly complicated. This same blend of logical-yet-high-tech also extends to the upgraded 12-inch touchscreen. This larger screen comes equipped with navigation and it puts features like CarPlay into one portion of the screen so you can use the rest for other functions. One of the best parts of the SYNC 4 layout is the dock of buttons at the bottom of the screen. This makes for incredibly easy navigation through various menus.
One of the only downsides of the SYNC infotainment system is that it can be buggy at times. The wireless Apple CarPlay doesn’t always want to connect or the screen will randomly freeze. We should stress that this could be a one-off issue or is tied to the phone that’s connected to the vehicle.
In addition to the base seven-speaker stereo, the Bronco is available with a 10-speaker premium sound system by Bang & Olufsen, including a subwoofer. The Bronco is also available with a wireless device charging pad, a fully digital instrument panel, a WiFi hotspot, and wall-style 120-volt power outlets.
The Bronco offers some of the modern advanced driver assistance features that you’d find on other cars, but not all of them. In Canada, only automatic high beams are standard. You’ll need to equip the Mid package to get Ford’s CoPilot 360 system, which includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring system, and rear cross-traffic alert. Front parking sensors are also available as an option.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has only evaluated the Bronco for rollover and frontal crash-testing. In these two phases, it earns three stars and four stars (out of five), respectively. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the Bronco its best score of Good in most areas of evaluation. It earns a score of Acceptable for Rear Crash Protection and Marginal for headlights. The Bronco earns a best score of Superior for its crash prevention driver assistance technology.
The most efficient version of the 2023 Ford Bronco is the base trim with the 2.3-litre engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. It returns a Natural Resources Canada estimated fuel economy of 12.1 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 11.1 on the highway, and 11.6 combined. The Bronco Raptor returns fuel economy of 15.7 L/100 km city, 14.8 highway, and 15.3 combined. In our week of combined city and highway driving, we observed an average fuel economy of 15.3 L/100 km.
In Canada, the 2023 Ford Bronco has a base MSRP of $47,360 for a two-door version, not including the $2,095 destination charge or fees. The Big Bend trim level starts at $48,915 and the Black Diamond trim starts at $53,170. The Outer Banks trim starts at $57,340, the Heritage starts at $61,150, and the Badlands starts at $60,895. The Wildtrak starts at $75,070 and the range-topping Bronco Raptor, which is available as a four-door only, starts at $108,565. On the new Bronco Raptor, the Lux Package is an included upgrade. The Bronco is backed by a 3-year/60,000 kilometre new vehicle warranty and a 5-year/100,000-kilometre powertrain warranty that will be honoured by your local dealership.
The Ford Bronco is not the most sensible vehicle you can buy. It’s more like buying a sports car. It’s a lifestyle vehicle for those who can afford it. But compared to other such lifestyle vehicles, it does offer some benefits. The Bronco has a more spacious interior than the Jeep Wrangler, and the controls layout is a bit more logical and sensible. There are always tradeoffs with specialized vehicles, but with the Bronco, those tradeoffs are seemingly less painful.
Note: Images show a US model.
