The automotive media and many of its fans were abuzz when Ford relaunched the Bronco nameplate after almost 25 years since it last rolled off the factory floor. Today, Ford Bronco comes in three flavors: the two-door Bronco, the four-door Bronco, and the crossover-based Bronco Sport.
This follows the spirit of the first Ford Bronco, brought to market in 1966 to compete against the Scout and the Jeep CJ. According to the Ford Motor Company, “…the Bronco became a palette that each owner could, and did, modify for their lifestyle. In its basic configuration, the Bronco was as comfortable on the highway as the trailhead, but with some modification, could win at Baja.”
Like the SUVs we see today, the first Ford Bronco prioritized comfort alongside utility in off-road conditions. Don Frey, the Ford Product Manager behind the Mustang and also worked on the Bronco, described it as “neither a conventional car nor a truck […] It can serve as a family sedan, a sports roadster, a snow plow, or a farm or civil defense vehicle. It has been designed to go nearly anywhere and do nearly anything.”
This kind of flexibility made the Ford Bronco a well-loved vehicle, causing more people to consider the SUV as a daily driver. It was also the first SUV from Ford, which eventually led to its other successful models today like the 2025 Ford Explorer and Mustang Mach-E.
