This is a great time to be an off road enthusiast!

[Rob41]

Maybe I'm preaching to the qhoir but I’m honestly gobsmacked by the Bronco and particularly the Bronco Raptor.

Never before has an OEM produced such a capable vehicle. There’s no denying the ubiquitous Jeep has been a mainstay of off rod capability off road. Jeep has made huge strides in recent years to that end. Certain versions are just amazing at what they do.

I have been very much a GM guy my whole life but they dropped the ball entirely when it comes to playing off the pavement. The ZR2 meets the needs of some folks but it isn’t on par with a Jeep or a Raptor by any stretch of the imagination. The golden opportunity GM had with the Blazer……just makes me want to cry.

Ford did a great build with the F-150 Raptor giving customers a factory pick up that can blast through the desert, perform well as a daily driver and can do some basic trail riding/off roading. Oh boy, then Ford built the long awaited Bronco. Well done Ford! You hit a home run on this one. It has already proven to be an exceptionally capable platform tackling about any terrain you can drive to.

Then the design team saw the very well received response from customers and they said, hold my beer. Holy hell, the regular Bronco could already handle some of the most demanding obstacles at MOAB…..what more could you ask for? More ground clearance….check, more suspension travel……check, more horsepower….oh yeah and how about blasting through the desert at highway speeds……no problem!

The OEM F-150 Raptor can’t go offroading or rock crawling to the extent the BRaptor can. No version of the OEM Jeep is going to keep up at high speed in the desert. Ford has actually managed to accomplish what no OEM has ever been able to do before by building the BRaptor.

It’s not lost on me how far technology has taken us and the willingness of an OEM to take things to the extreme with the latest version of a Raptor. I’m thankful we are able to get such a rig strait off the assembly line. This is a great time to be an off road enthusiast!

 

[TurboS]

Exactly

My off roading has been with snowmobiles or high speed boating on the great lakes. Looking forward to trying the Silver Lake sand dunes and possibly some Colorado rocky mountain trails with the Raptor.

 

[Rob41]

Bone stock it will be a blast!

 

[Losy]

I agree the Ford engineers nailed it with the Bronco and now BRaptor. I also think Mustang GT's, F150's, are all vehicles at the top of their class.
I drove a badlands Sas at Nevada off-roadeo this past weekend. I was impressed with the handing on higher speed trails. The guide/instructor was my passenger and allowed me to drive it pretty hard since we were leading the group. I owned a Gen 1 Raptor, and the stock BadLands reminded me of the suspensions on the Gen 1 Raptor F150 (stock.) The 2.7 did feel like it need a tune when pushed uphills in Baja mode. The front shocks bottomed out a few times on some small/modest whoops on the trail. The 2.7 was underpowered a touch.

I think the Braptor is going to be the perfect upgrade for people who are into off roading.
As capable as the Badlands was, it was begging for the Braptor's Fox shocks, larger engine, larger brakes, and more aggressive tuning. Off roadeo reinforced why I am willing to purchase the Braptor.

 

[Rob41]

Thanks for the insights Losy. I get the impression they executed the appropriate levels of performance for the Badlands and other Bronco variants for the majority of owners. Those that push too hard can enjoy plenty of aftermarket support.

I should make it a point to drive a regular Bronco offroad. It would be nice to see and feel the difference the BRaptor makes.