The 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor in Code Orange paint is the perfect vehicle to test-drive as we enter the fall season of this year of weather excesses.

First of all, when Ford started producing the Bronco as a throwback to the original squarish midsize SUV using the same name, the company couldn’t possibly have imagined the demand the new vehicle would generate. As demand rose, Ford added a variety of models, and both models and demand rose alongside the proliferation of models.

The Raptor, however, might be the ultimate Bronco by such a margin there is no need to add more. To begin with, the aggressive-looking Bronco styling makes a large leap by becoming 10 inches wider than the “normal” Broncos, which helps it incorporate all the performance and off-road capabilities possible to put into a vehicle into the wider body. Everything about the Bronco Raptor cries “excess,” which makes it perfect for the current year’s excessive weather patterns.

Up here in Duluth, we sat perched on the western tip of Lake Superior and weathered — so to speak — the all-time record snowfall in one month, followed closely by the all-time record cold when the temperature plunged below zero and stayed there, day after day. The new weather folks at the TV stations started showing area towns with their wind-chill figures for the day, unaware that hardy residents are well-satisfied when the actual temperature is 20-below to render wind-chill figures as superfluous.

As we headed into summer, we followed the national trend and registered the hottest month ever recorded, blending nicely into the dryest month ever recorded in July and August. Then came September, and we chased another trend of recording the most rain ever for a 24-hour period, and for the month, with two storms that measured more than 6 inches of rain in a 24-hour span, and we could wake up in the morning to learn that we had flash-flood warnings that washed every construction site down the big hill and closed Superior Street, downtown’s main drag. The lack of moisture, then the excess of it, caused weird growing seasons for crops, and also confused Mother Nature as the foliage changed colors intermittently.

My favorite color of autumn is orange, which glows as the maple leafs fall to the ground and properly represent the excess nature is capable of. It also made the aforementioned Bronco Raptor perfect, because its Code Orange paint stands out above and beyond the other very neat colors Ford put on vehicles such as the Heritage model of the Raptor, or the various other more basic models.

The Bronco Raptor was introduced as a 2022 model, with a potent 2.,7-liter V6 that developed 330 horsepower and 415 foot-pounds of torque. Impressive as those figures are, Ford changed the 2023 Bronco Raptor to the more potent 3.0-liter V6 with 418 horses and 440 foot-pounds, preparing to battle Jeep’s best off-roaders for supremacy.

The 10-speed automatic is not only heavy-duty, but it changes personalities depending on whether you’re in normal or sport setting. In sport, everything is tightened and the transmission shifts quicker and downshifts like a race car to put you in ideal control ratios at all times. Take it out of sport, and the transmission is still impressive, but with the performance edge removed and transforming the Bronco Raptor to a surprisingly smooth and comfortable on-road family hauler.

Some dealers don’t like the flashy black decals that are splattered on the exterior to alert bystanders that this is, indeed, a Raptor. One that I know of removes those decals and prefers to sell any Raptors he might obtain as understated. Me? I love the flashy black-on-orange trim and it drew raves and thumbs-up signals from everybody we passed on our daily ventures up and down those Duluth hillsides.

My biggest regret is that I stopped at Wrazidlo’s Old World Meats on top of the hill in Duluth several times, but never when my old buddy David was there. He still talks about the Heritage model Raptor I was driving that lured him outside to check it out. It was pale yellow and looked more mellow than flashy, but it was David’s favorite of all the test-cars I’ve brought in to show him.

Neat as the Bronco Sport Heritage was, I was sure the Raptor would have dazzled him. Of course, most dealers don’t have to worry about removing the decal trim, because they can’t hope to get their hands on anything resembling a proper allotment of Bronco Raptors, which are even more scarce than the F-150 or Maverick Raptor models which preceded the Bronco. Those who do get them must fight the temptation to tack an extra $20,000 or so onto the sticker price, which is outrageous enough at $96,720. Excessive?

Yes, but while the exterior is overdone, so are all the underside features such as the skid plates – which Ford calls “bash plates” — and off-road, competition-quality suspension, including Dana heavy-duty components front and rear and Hoss 4.0 reinforced parts with Fox live-valve dampers, front and rear, and locking differential with stabilizer bar disconnect.

With all that stuff, it’s no surprise the Bronco Raptor is perhaps unexcelled at off-road challenges, but a bigger surprise is that there is no harshness from the giant tires and beefed-up suspension when on the road.