2022 Ford Bronco

TRAVIS LANGNESS: The Raptor name is to Ford trucks what the SS badge is to Chevys or the M badge is to BMWs. Sure, the Raptor name hasn't been around as long, and you're probably not going to see an F-150 Raptor on a racetrack. But it is the most high-performance version of the F-150. And now Ford has expanded the Raptor name to this, the new Bronco Raptor. [MUSIC PLAYING] What we're here to see is whether or not it can live up to the high standard set by the F-150 Raptor. We want to know if the Bronco is faking the funk or if it's really all it's cracked up to be, see if it's capable when you take it out into the dirt. And that's what we're here for in the desert. Before we get going, click Like and Subscribe so you can get more off-road tests. And for a cash offer on your car today, go to edmunds.com/sellmycar. So what are the differences between these two trucks? Well, for starters, one's a truck, and one's an SUV. But they're both powered by turbocharged V6 engines. They're both running on 37-inch tires. And they both start around the same price. But from there is where things diverge. The F-150 is a little bit more powerful than the Bronco. So as a result, it's faster. But it's also wider and longer, so the approach, departure, and breakover angles aren't as good. It's not going to be as adept at rock crawling. But as a truck, it can also tow and haul more than the Bronco can, so it's got that leg up. The F-150 is larger. So in the backseat, especially, your passengers will be a lot more comfortable. But in terms of interior quality, both of these rigs are pretty much equal. This is the world-famous ziggurat of integrity. Roll the sting! [MUSIC PLAYING] Basically, this is a set of stairs that we take all our off-road vehicles up to test their articulation. And a win is getting to the top, the fourth step, with still having the rear tire on the ground. We've taken the F-150 Raptor up this, and it only gets to the third step. Well, I'm up. And a little bit of space down here. We've taken several Wrangler Rubicons to the top of this no problem, all the way to the fourth step with a tire on the ground. But our long-term Bronco, for instance, only made it to the third step before it started to kick up that rear wheel. And what we're judging here is how well an off-road vehicle can maintain traction when it gets in the twisty bits. So the way we set up all the vehicles for the ziggurat is the same. We want to give them the best possible chance of getting to the top. We do that by disconnecting sway bars, in this case, something you can't do in the F-150 Raptor, and by putting it in 4 low, putting on the rock-crawl camera, going straight ahead. All right, let's give it a go. All right, we are to the steps. First step, no problem. Second step, no problem. Feels like I'm up on the third step now. All right, this is always the least graceful part of my day, where I climb out of a vehicle that's up on an articulation test. This railing helps. This is nice. This is on the third step, just like the F-150. And the rear wheel has lost traction. You can see I can lift it up easily there. This is disappointing, because this is the same result that we got in the Bronco Sasquatch edition. And it must have to do with the geometry of the vehicle, the size of it. Sway bars are disconnected, and it doesn't make it all the way to the top. Now, some of this might be due to the 37-inch tires on this vehicle and the F-150 Raptor we brought out, or the 35s that are on our long-termer in the Sasquatch package. Either way, it's a little bit disappointing, especially when you compare it to vehicles like the Wrangler Rubicon, which we've brought several versions of to the ziggurat. And they've all made it all the way up to the fourth step while keeping all four tires on the ground. It might do well in the desert at high speed. But on the ziggurat, it's failed to make the grade. Up next is our hill climb. And essentially, this takes articulation and combines it with a steep climb. We put the vehicle in 4 high, then see what we need to get to the top, whether that's disconnecting sway bars, engaging lockers, or putting it in 4 low. We've already taken the F-150 Raptor up this same hill, not just today, but in previous tests. And essentially, what it has to do is switch to 4 low about halfway up and go into rock-crawl mode, which changes some of the settings. I'm expecting a similar thing will happen in the Bronco Raptor, especially since they're on the exact same tires. Annoying thing about the Bronco is the seatbelt height. Short kings-- we get the seat belt coming across our neck when it's this high up. And I would love to be able to adjust its position, but I can't. You can do that in an F-150, and you can't in a Bronco. All right, so we've got it in 4 high. I can follow the F-150's tracks right up the hill, see where it slipped. There's no point in trying this thing in two-wheel drive. That doesn't make any sense. I'm just in regular off-road mode here, no lockers. Yeah. Well, and I guess the rear locker is engaged. Well, a little bit of slip there. Try not to get too much dust on the guys over there. All right, this is actually-- I don't know if it's the difference in wheelbase. But 4 high did not do it in the F-150. But in the Bronco-- sorry about the dust. Oh, there it is. Now, that is a slip at the top. So I'm going to go into 4 low here, see if that'll change things up. Shift in progress. Shift delayed. Drive forward. [CHUCKLES] OK, I'll do my best. That's the problem, is I couldn't drive forward. Give it. Oh, no. Slow. Shift to neutral. 4-by-4 shift in progress. All right, 4 low. We've got 4 low now. Give it a shot. OK, I'm just digging in there. So I'm going to switch over to rock-crawl mode and see if that'll get me anything. Disconnect the stabilizer bar. Back it up just an inch here so I don't dig into the same spot. I'm in 4 low. Drive now. OK, now I'm going to have to do some steering inputs, maybe back it up a little bit, connect the front locker, see if that'll get me anywhere. Don't want to lose the momentum. There we go. Up. I think that was just a momentum issue. I didn't feel the front lockers coming into play there. And we are to the top. So I made it up, I guess, without incident. I did get a little stuck there at the top. Could have been a momentum issue. I think the fact that I kept digging in a tire didn't help. Just backing it up and going forward. For better or worse, it was about even with the F-150, in terms of difficulty getting up there, and did just fine. So now we will move on to the next test. This is our third test. Essentially, it's an out-and-back drag race over Whoops. And it's a test of how much abuse the suspension of a vehicle can take and how fast I can turn it around in the dirt. Now, a lot of vehicles, like the F-150 Raptor, are so big that you have to do a three-point turn at the end. You can't exactly power slide it. That time, in the F-150 Raptor, was one of the quickest times we'd ever had down on this course-- homemade course, at least-- until our long-term Bronco came along. And it has turn assist. So essentially what that does-- trail turn assist-- is, when you get to a tight space like that, the inside wheel gets locked up, and it makes it do the turn without having to back up. It's a big time saver. 25 seconds was our time in the long-term Bronco. I'm hoping the combination of 37's and trail turn assist and extra power in this one will get us even quicker. SPEAKER 1: All right, Travis. In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go. TRAVIS LANGNESS: All right, here we go. Baja mode, 4 high. Got trail turn assist turned on. Here comes the big one. Up we go, and around the cone. Come on. Go, go, go. Oh, yes. That trail turn assist-- that's on a dime. Give you nine cents change. Holy crap, this thing is good. It is going to beat the hell out of that time. Whoo! Crossed the line. [LAUGHS] That [EXHALES SHARPLY] was excellent. That's probably the best. If that's not the best we've ever done, it's going to be really close. Call John here. John, what was the time? JOHN: 22.89 seconds. TRAVIS LANGNESS: [LAUGHS] That is the best by a long margin. I would say, job well done, Bronco Raptor. JOHN: Agreed, my friend. TRAVIS LANGNESS: So that solves it. You take the off-road capability of the F-150 Raptor and combine it with trail turn assist that you get in a Bronco, and it's the fastest out-and-back time we've ever had out here, by a long margin, too. 3 seconds on a course that short, in the difference between this and the standard Bronco, and then-- what was that? 6, 6 and 1/2 seconds between this and the F-150? It does a lot, especially if you're in, like, a valley race. I don't know. That could be fun. This is wide-open country. It's where anything with the Raptor name really has to shine. And obviously, the F-150 is pretty good at this stuff. This is my favorite kind of off-roading-- high-speed off-roading. [LAUGHS] I went on the first drive of the Raptor, I don't know, sometime this year, this generation. And we jumped it. Here we go. And we're up in the air. SPEAKER 2: Well, how was it? TRAVIS LANGNESS: Yee-haw. Who does that? Who jumps a vehicle on a press launch? And they told us to do it. They gave us the instructions. That is some serious confidence in a vehicle. This Raptor is one of the closest things you can get to a trophy truck from a dealership. If you don't know what a trophy truck is, just go ahead and YouTube that, take a break, come back, and you'll be astonished to see how fast trucks are going in the desert. And this is like that experience. It's amazing. You can be going 50 miles an hour and still feel like you're at the ragged edge of performance. And you're not even close. If I push this truck harder, I'm sure it could take it. But this is so much fun at this speed. You bounce, and you jostle, and you laugh all the way home. Maximum airflow. It's got ventilated seats. It's 106 degrees outside, and this truck is cooling my butt like careen over Whoops. Technology is awesome. The best part of an experience like this is how much abuse it just soaks up and keeps on kicking. You just put the hammer down, and the thing just wants more. It's so much fun. Aw, I love doing this. Favorite kind of off-roading. But now it's time to get in the Bronco Raptor and see if it passes the vibe check. So does the Bronco Raptor handle the high-speed off-roading-- whoo-- as well as the F-150? Yeah, it sure does. Now, it is different in that it's a little bit more tail-happy. The wheelbase being so much shorter, this thing moves around a little bit. But it feels playful. It doesn't feel unsettled or scary. Matter of fact, I tend to go higher speeds in this than in the F-150, just because it feels like it's more suited to the task. And it's a little bit lighter, so it feels lighter naturally on its feet out here at high speeds. Whoo! [LAUGHS] And it's easier to move around. You toss it side to side. It feels more like a rally car than a trophy truck. So there's a difference between them, but it's not really better or worse. It's just what you prefer. Whoo! Shift. [CHUCKLES] And they both have Baja mode. So while you're out here, off-road use only, you can throw on Baja mode, and you get a full forward-facing camera on this giant center-stack screen that shows you everything in front of you. It's actually really cool. [LAUGHS] Aw, it's so fun. It sounds a little bit better, too. Just because it's got less horsepower than the F-150 does not mean this thing is any less fun to drive. Whoo-hoo! It's not just all high-speed Whoops out here, though. We did have some tight trails today. And the Bronco excelled there, too. It's way skinnier, side to side, than the F-150, almost 10 inches narrower when you measure from mirror to mirror. That means you're less likely to get trail pinstripes along the way, and you don't have to worry as much when you're squeezing between rocks. So our original question. Does the Bronco Raptor enhance the Raptor name that the F-150 has made so legendary? Hell, yes, it does. In every test we performed on it, it did better than a standard Bronco. And in some places, it outperformed the F-150. In acceleration, it's excellent. Up-the-hill climb-- did great. Articulation also awesome. And in our out-and-back race, it clocked the fastest time we've ever put down. It's got a combination of features that make it an excellent off-roader. And it can go tight places that the F-150 can't, because it's smaller and narrower. Plus, it's got better approach and departure angles, which is what an off-roader really wants. Sure, it's got some drawbacks. It's choppy on the highway compared to the F-150. But that wouldn't keep me from buying one. As a matter of fact, I'm excited to see what Ford puts the Raptor name on next. Maybe they'll do a Maverick Raptor. Or, I'll take a compromise-- Ranger Raptor for the United States. Whatever. Click Like and Subscribe below to see more off-road videos. Let us know in the comments below what you want to see the off-road Raptor name be applied to next. And for a cash offer on your car today, go to edmunds.com/sellmycar.