What Makes the Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition So Cool? We Test Drove It to Find Out!
The Ford Bronco Stroppe edition doesn't just look good, it brings DNA designed to rock the off-road.
On the heels of the Rebelle Rally my head is filled with visions of competing in an off-road competition. I have very little practice and no competitive experience whatsoever and yet, I feel called to do it. And testing the 2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition just fueled the flames of that desire. Bill Stroppe was a rally competitor and truck builder and focused primarily on the Baja 1000, a desert race Stroppe won multiple times.
Of course, his vehicle of choice was the Ford Bronco, and that’s why Ford named this edition for him. But this collaboration isn’t out of hte blue; back in the day Stroppe was so successful that Ford sold Stroppe off-roading kits to give all Bronco rally racers an edge.
This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience, and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks.
What do you get with the Stroppe Edition Bronco?
Excited to test out this edition I wanted to know how this Bronco would be different from a regular Ford Bronco. The Stroppe Edition has a wild paint job and some fun visual details that give a nod to Bill Stroppe’s trucks of the 60’s and 70’s. The Stroppe Bronco most notably has a super bright reddish orange paint job and white trim across the main body of the SUV, with a “Bronco” decal along the side The roof is metallic blue, and the grille is white.
The hood and tailgate are matte black, which would seem odd until you learn why. The hood is matte black so that when you’re out racing in the blazing sun, the light doesn’t refract off the hood into your eyes. I was a skeptic about the effectiveness of the paint job. Lo and behold, out on the trail, I was glad for the muted paint on the hood. Anyway, when you see the original Bill Stroppe Broncos, you’ll recognize that the paint is almost identical.
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This is a Conversation Starter—and Not Just With Denver Bronco Fans!
I live in Colorado and there were a lot of people who thought my Stroppe Edition Bronco was actually my expression of Denver Bronco fandom. After a while I stopped correcting folks. But I can’t overstate how often people stopped to talk to me about the Bronco Stroppe Edition. Current Bronco owners had questions; one guy lamented that he’d bought a Heritage Edition right before the Stroppe Edition came out and after seeing it in person, wished he had gotten it instead of his Heritage Edition.
I loved that the hardtop roof panels came off and really felt like I was living the dream driving around in the sunshine, listening to good music. The two-door frame adds a sporty bit of liberty to the model, too.
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But Here’s What Really Makes the Stroppe Edition Special: A Turbo V6
It’s hard not to get caught up in the Stroppe’s cosmetic details, and while that’s special, this is even more so: this Bronco is mechanically unique in that it’s the only 2-door version of the Bronco that you can get with the twin turbocharged V6 engine. It also has a special Hoss 3.0 suspension setup. The Stroppe Bronco has stability bar disconnect so you can do tight turns on the trail (this feature isn’t exclusive to the Stroppe Edition, but it’s not available on all Bronco trims).
My particular test Bronco rang up at $77,665.
Here are a few more numbers for the Bronco: It gets an estimated 17 miles per gallon in the city, 18 on the highway, for a combined estimated 18 miles per gallon combined. It comes with 17-inch black wheels that look so good and keep the road feeling a bit more cushioned. It’s got a 12-inch touchscreen multimedia display. It’s got seven drive modes (Normal, Eco, Sand, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Baja and Rock Crawl). It’s got a 12-speaker premium sound system.
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This Special Edition Feels Particularly Special Inside
The interior of the Stroppe Edition Bronco has some fun details like a white dashboard treatment, a cool embossed plate on the center console, and an etched American flag on the gearshift. I thought the dash was really distinctive but other people didn’t always prefer it. As for the rest of the interior, the layout of the inside of the Stroppe Edition Bronco is the same as a regular Bronco.
Whether the Stroppe Edition is different enough to justify the price is probably a buyer’s personal decision, and it’s a good idea to price out an equivalent Bronco to determine if the uniqueness and historical nod are worth the extra money.
The Two-Door Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition Is Better as a “Me” or “We” Car
The amount of passenger space in the Stroppe Edition Bronco is good. There was plenty of head and legroom all around. But its worth noting that the front seats are manually adjusted (in keeping with the OG heritage of this model) and I struggled a bit to get comfortable. I’d not experienced this in the 4-door version I tested previously that had power adjustments. I felt like the manual adjustments were just a little off for me, as though I was “in between sizes.”
The seats were cushioned enough though, and the vinyl material was comfortable. They were also trimmed in that red-orange color that added a nice pop.
The rear seats were comfortable but note that there are only two rear seats. That’s right, the Stroppe Edition Bronco (or any two-door Bronco, for that matter) only seats four people. And while there are two sets of LATCHes for kids car seats, getting them, and the kids, in and out of the rear seat may be a challenge. If your ‘kiddos’ are the four-legged kind, they’ll be plenty comfortable.
How Is the Bronco Stroppe Edition for Overlanding?
The rear seats also do not fold flat, so if you’re planning on packing a ton of stuff into your Stroppe Edition Bronco to go camping or overlanding or moving your apartment, you’re going to need to be strategic about the space. However, with the hard top you can add a roof top tent, and with a tow rating of 3,500 lbs. it’s easy add a trailer to haul your gear.
Driving the Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition Shows It’s Unbridled Passion
The Stroppe Edition was fun to be in, but on-road manners are not its strong suit. Will you care? Probably not. It seemed pretty natural, after all.
I thought the Stroppe Edition Bronco had plenty of power. I kept the Bronco in 2-wheel drive in the city. If it was winter and snowy or icy, I could use 4WD which would decide for me what mode the Bronco needed to be in. The steering and handling was pretty good, but at times I thought the Bronco fell victim to its short wheel-base in terms of comfort. Any seams in concrete were met with a bit of a stutter and a hop. It’s not atypical, 2-door Jeeps do this too, and I wasn’t surprised at this dynamic. But if I were doing a lot of freeway driving where I experienced those kinds of seams regularly, I might consider a 4-door Bronco. Maybe all this is to say that the Stroppe Edition Bronco doesn’t want to live in the city. It wants to roam, and I wanted to let it.
Off-Roading Proved the Stroppe Edition Lives Up to Its Name
The best part of my test was when I partially embraced my dream of off-road rallying in the Stroppe Edition Bronco. While I didn’t take it on a high-speed journey in the desert, I did do some light off-roading in it. And this is where the Stroppe Edition Bronco really began to shine. The Bronco’s off-road mode switches made it super easy to navigate terrain changes. I went through a creek, I went over angled, rutted trails with loose gravel and sand.
Was I rock-crawling? No. Was I afraid to if I needed to? Not one bit. I used the Rock-Crawl mode for some areas I was a little unsure of, and I used Sand and Slippery modes in most other cases. I actually kept the Bronco in 2-wheel drive as long as possible just to see how far I could get. It was only with some steeper terrain and loose gravel and sand I decided to switch the Bronco over to 4WD, but I probably could have kept going in 2WD for a while longer.
Ford Made 4WD Functions Really Simple
Switching into 4WD is only a matter of turning the knob on the center console and letting the Bronco do all the work to switch the gears; you only have to shift to neutral to shift into 4 low, but to shift into 4WD or 4 high you can leave it in drive. Mostly, I kept the Bronco in 4H and waited for the opportunity to use 4L and Rock Crawl mode. I didn’t get a legitimate opportunity to use Rock Crawl, though I engaged the mode just to see how it performed. I felt like I was driving in Velcro mode, the Bronco was so grippy. I was in Sand and Slippery mode most of the time and felt like those were perfect for what I was doing.
If you want to manage your locking differentials yourself you can do that, too. Just switch the Bronco into 4-low or 4-high and press the button on the dash for the locking differential and go on your way. It’s in this same place on the dash that you can employ the Trail Turn Assist function. This setup locks the rear inside wheel and creates a tighter turn radius for tight sections of off-roading trails. It’s really cool and yes, it works really well. This is not a special Stroppe feature, though; its offered on other Bronco trims, too.
There is a trail control button in the center of the G.O.A.T. mode knob (where you can select 2- or 4-wheel drive options and modes). It enables you to drive the Bronco in a mode akin to 1-pedal driving. Meaning, you control how fast and slow the Bronco goes just by using the accelerator pedal. Press down to accelerate, let up to slow down. It’s a great way to manage speed in off-road settings.
When Looks Equal Capability, the Trail Calls Your Name…. Every Day
And really, this was the joy in the Stroppe Edition Bronco. That I can get in it and immediately feel transformed into a potential Baja 1000 contestant wherever I am. That I can get more away from the hustle and bustle than I have before and do it confidently. That every bit of dirt is practice for the real thing.
It feels badass to drive the Stroppe Edition Bronco in town, but it’s actually badass to drive the Stroppe Edition Bronco in the wild and know I can get where I want to go. The historical nod certainly got to me a bit. I loved keeping a mental image of Bill Stroppe and his original Broncos blasting across the desert while I was testing the 2025 Stroppe Edition Bronco, and hope I would have made him a little proud.
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