My guess is that it was always Tommy's favorite model. He likes low end trims with high end off road equipment. He'll happily forgo fancy interiors for lockers and winches.
Second to that I'll guess they probably got a deal on it.
Also the Everglades wasn't reviewed online nearly as much...
Raptor. No really. You can find killer deals. It really is a big step up and with discounts it makes sense if it is your price range.
Otherwise... if you don't want a manual transmission. Get the 2.7 v6.
I'm more of the keep it stock crowd for warranty and resale value. SAS is a big chunk...
It seems to me they deemed the Bronco to be the clear winner.
They had to stack rocks for the Jeep and not only did they not try to hide that or minimalize it, they zoomed in on it.
The jeep did "better" in the sense that didn't need lockers as much but the Bronco drove over that rock and...
I notice Bronco owners mostly do not wave but Bronco Raptor owners usually do wave.
We had JK ten years ago, the wave thing was cool and Jeepers really do stop to help other Jeepers.
Plus the auto has integration with the Bronco's systems and can manage shift points to match numerous variables such temp, speed, rpm, etc.
I like to figure that out on my own and it's why I enjoy driving a stick so much.
But yeah the computer and the auto can do it better most of the time.
Before the BRaptor I had 2dr Badlands 2.3 manual and 4dr Wildtrak 2.7 auto.
2.3 was good enough with the manual but the 2.7 was noticeably better.
FWIW, I got better mpg in the Badlands by a couple on average.
I loved the manual but if it was a choice of 2.3 or 2.7 with the auto, 2.7 hands...
A good friend won an orange duck at an arcade while we were on vacation and gifted it to me for the Raptor. I put it on the dash that week and a couple of jeeps waved at us.
I always wave back if I can.
Ah yes, the Faux-rarri kits. I last saw one 5+ years ago parked at a home I occasionally passed on the way home from the office.
I believe that one was based off a Fiero. Looked like the Magnum PI car (308?).