Ford Explorer
Comfortable, practical and well equipped
Words by Mark Slack
Ford has seen many of its familiar names, familiar for many years, disappear with the demise of the Fiesta, Focus and a while back the Mondeo. Much public and ‘expert’ comment ensued and it’s probably fair to say much of it wasn’t favourable to Ford.
Back in 2024 Ford announced the arrival of the Ford Explorer, not the large, big engine off-road SUV from the late 1990s but an all-electric SUV. When so many cars share platforms and parts, styling tends to be rather homogeneous but the Explorer is a bit of a welcome change since it has a touch of individuality. While styling is always subjective many who saw the Explorer were rather taken.
Three versions of the Explorer are on offer – the Style, Premium and Select – with prices starting at £35,285. Standard fare includes LED lights with high beam assist, adaptive cruise control, navigation, dual zone climate, auto dimming rear view mirror, rear privacy glass, front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.
In lead-in form the 170PS Explorer, with rear wheel drive and 52kwh battery, passes the benchmark 62 mph in 8.7 seconds and has a range of 233 miles. Adding additional KWH for the extended rear drive version means 286PS and 374 miles with the all-wheel-drive extended range at 79kwh and 340PS offering 329 miles of range.
The interesting point to note is not so much the ultimate range but also the miles per kwh, which in the Explorer’s case was pretty consistently over 3 miles per kwh. It makes the Explorer a usefully practical EV.
The usual bolt-on iPad style central screen is large, as with shared VW ID models the driver’s information screen is a little too small for all the information displayed, although the clarity is excellent. Some of the controls can be annoying, notably the slider control for the sound system and the fact that the light switches are to the right of the steering wheel and obscured from view by the steering wheel and steering column mounted gear shift.
On the road the Explorer rides well although at higher speeds there’s a touch more road noise than I would have expected. The Explorer handles tightly, a trait of Fords across the years and thanks to very comfortable sculptured seats, and on the mid-range premium model, a panoramic roof, with lighter undertones within the interior it makes it a pleasant place to be on any journey.
Ford may have lost some of its great names but doubters should get behind the wheel of the Explorer. I suspect they may be pleasantly surprised.
Words by Mark Slack
