New Ford Explorer review

We watch American movies, are addicted to American social media platforms, and spend around £60 billion a year on American products. But like baseball and root beer, the Ford Explorer has always been one of those things our transatlantic cousins love that have never caught on in the UK. At least until now.

Yes, while the Explorer is Ford’s most popular SUV stateside, with more than eight million sold, its huge size and thirst have traditionally meant it’s not suited to our tastes. However, the latest car to bear the name couldn’t be more different from Ford Explorers of old  – not least because it’s about half a metre shorter and swaps petrol engines for electric power.

In fact, it has more in common with modern VWs than the all-American Explorer ‘truck’ that Ford continues to sell in its home market, due to the fact that a lot of the latest Explorer's hidden parts are borrowed from the Volkswagen ID 4. This is thanks to a deal agreed a few years back that saw Ford secure VW’s electric car tech in exchange for sending commercial vehicle mechanicals the other way.

Has Ford managed to improve on the ID 4, though? And how does the Explorer compare with other electric family SUVs, such as the What Car? Award-winning Kia EV6, the recently reborn Renault Scenic and the big-selling Tesla Model Y? Let’s find out…

The best-selling version of the Ford Explorer is likely to be the 77kWh Extended Range RWD, because this can officially travel 374 miles between charges (or 354 miles on the bigger alloy wheels that you get with range-topping Premium trim).

To put that into perspective, the equivalent Kia EV6 can manage up to 328 miles, and the Volkswagen ID 4 up to 337 miles, although the Renault Scenic beats them all with a 379-mile maximum.

On the other hand, the Explorer is quite a bit nippier than the Scenic, thanks to the healthy 282bhp that its single electric motor can send to the rear wheels (RWD stands for rear-wheel drive).

This version offers all the pace you need. However, if you want a car that can really pin you back in your seat when you put your foot down, the Extended Range AWD (all-wheel drive) is the Explorer that will appeal. This has twin electric motors that produce a combined 335bhp and cut the 0-62mph time from 6.4sec to 5.3sec. That’s faster than a Ford Focus ST hot hatch can manage, and it feels it.

The price you pay for this extra pace (beyond the literal higher purchase price) is that the official range drops to 329 miles, despite this Explorer having a slightly bigger, 79kWh battery than the RWD car.

A third variant, with a 52kWh battery and a 239-mile range will go on sale towards the end of this year, but we’re yet to try that.

Like other electric cars, the Explorer has a regenerative braking system that can put energy back into the battery on the move. Fortunately, it’s far less intrusive than the system in the bigger Ford Mustang Mach-E, as well as more consistent than the ID 4's, so it’s easy to slow the car smoothly via the brake pedal.

Alternatively, if you select ‘B’ mode, the Explorer slows so dramatically when you lift that you hardly need to touch the brake pedal at all.

Another area in which the Explorer trumps the Mustang Mach-E is ride comfort. Like most versions of that car, it isn’t available with adaptive suspension to let you adjust how firm the ride is, yet the Explorer is much more forgiving over larger bumps and potholes.

True, it still bobbles around over uneven surfaces, so isn’t as comfortable as the Scenic, although the AWD Explorer seems to cope a bit better than the RWD – at least when they’re on the same size wheels.

Compensation for the slightly unsettled ride comes in the form of composed handling. The Explorer leans less through corners than many rivals, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Scenic, and its steering responds in a more reassuring way than the Model Y’s.

The Explorer is a quiet motorway cruiser that keeps wind noise and motor whine to a minimum, although you do sometimes hear thunks from the suspension in town.

The first thing that catches your eye when you climb inside the Ford Explorer is the huge (14.6in) portrait-orientated touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard.

This features something called Sync Move, which might sound like it’s linked to redecorating a bathroom, but actually means the screen can be adjusted vertically in a 30-degree arc. As a result, you can choose the angle that works best for you and potentially reduce glare.

It’s disappointing that there are no separate buttons or dials for the functions you use most often, but the climate controls are at least permanently on display at the bottom of the screen. What’s more, that screen is responsive, with crisp graphics.

What’s less impressive is that the icons for switching between other menus are small and positioned closely together, which makes them fiddly and distracting to use on the move. Plus, most menus don’t have a back button, meaning you need to return to the home screen if you make a mistake.

For this reason, it’s all the more welcome that wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone mirroring are standard, allowing you to bypass Ford’s own software.

Key driving information – such as your speed, efficiency and remaining range – is shown on a separate digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. That makes it much easier to see than the driving data in the Tesla Model Y, which is on the central screen.

The Explorer’s unusual, almost square steering wheel also helps, ensuring your view of the digital instruments isn’t obstructed – something that’s a problem in the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with its more conventional wheel.

The driver's seats is mostly another strength, providing good lower back and shoulder support, and a wide range of electric adjustment to help you find a comfortable position. The base is a little on the short side, though, and some people will wish that the steering column offered a greater range of reach adjustment.

There are also visibility issues, with the thick windscreen pillars sometimes getting in the way at junctions, and the shallow rear window and rearmost side windows limiting your over-the-shoulder view. Fortunately front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera are on hand to help during low-speed manoeuvres, while a 360-degree camera is available as part of an optional Driver Assist Pack.

As mentioned, the Explorer is mechanically related to the Volkswagen ID 4, and a few interior parts are carried over, too, including the steering column-mounted gear selector and the touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons that are so frustratingly unresponsive that Volkswagen is planning to remove them from its car.

The interior has more visual wow factor than the ID 4’s, and quality is more consistent front to back, but the plastics are still mostly hard. Both the Renault Scenic and the Tesla Model Y have the Explorer beaten in this area.

In entry-level Select trim you get a stereo with seven speakers, including a sound bar that runs across the top of the dashboard. Meanwhile, Premium models bring a 10-speaker, B&O system.

While some rivals give their front seat occupants a little more leg and shoulder room, you won’t feel cramped behind the wheel of the Ford Explorer, even if you’re tall and broad.

Similarly, a couple of six-footers will be able to fit in the back, even when a panoramic glass sunroof is fitted. However, they can’t stretch out like they can in the Kia EV6 or Renault Scenic.

On the up side, the Explorer does match those rivals in having a completely flat floor, so there’s plenty of room for everyone’s feet, even if you’re carrying a central rear passenger.

All Explorers have 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks – an arrangement that isn’t as versatile as the 40/20/40 split found in the EV6 and Tesla Model Y. That said, you can still carry long, thin items between two rear passengers, thanks to a ski hatch.

Alternatively, with all of the seats folded down, you’re left with a flat extended load area – as long as the height-adjustable boot floor is in its upper setting.

Putting the floor in this position also leaves space for the changing cables underneath, which is just as well, because there’s no secondary luggage area at the front of the car; both the EV6 and Model Y do offer this.

Turn the Explorer back into a five-seater, and it has a 470-litre boot capacity, which is significantly less than the 543 litres in the Volkswagen ID 4 and the 545 litres in the Scenic, let alone the 854 litres offered by the Model Y.

On the other hand, in-car storage is fantastic; there’s a 17-litre ‘MegaConsole’ cubby between the front seats, with space for a laptop or three 1.5-litre drinks bottles, plus a hidden compartment beneath the infotainment screen that’s ideal for keeping mobile phones out of sight.

As a bonus, when you get out of the car, the infotainment screen automatically locks in place over the top of that compartment to secure any valuables hidden beneath.

The Extended Range RWD model is priced roughly in line with equivalent versions of the Kia EV6, Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID 4. That said, it does look a little expensive compared with the front-wheel-drive Renault Scenic.

It’s also worth noting that Ford offers the Extended Range AWD only with range-topping Premium trim, so the EV6, Model Y and ID 4 can all be bought with four-wheel drive for less money (there’s no four-wheel-drive Scenic).

Still, no matter which version of the Explorer you go for, you get a lot of equipment for your money. In addition to the kit already mentioned, it comes with heated front seats, a massaging driver's seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise control and a Clear Exit Warning system that is designed to prevent you from opening your door into the path of a cyclist.

Upgrading to Premium trim, meanwhile, brings ambient interior lighting, a powered tailgate, a panoramic glass sunroof, 20in alloy wheels (instead of 19s) and Matrix LED headlights which can remain on high beam without dazzling other drivers.

While the AWD Explorer has a slightly bigger battery than its RWD sister, the former also has a higher maximum charging speed: 185kW versus 135kW. This means a 10-80% top-up is possible in 26 minutes – two minutes less than the RWD needs. Although, of course, that’s assuming you can find a public charger capable of delivering 185kW of energy.

The Explorer is obviously too new to have been included in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, but Ford finished 17th out of 32 brands. That put it ahead of Volkswagen (22nd) and Renault (23rd), but behind Tesla (10th) and Kia (8th).

More encouragingly, the Ford Mustang Mach-E topped the electric SUV class with a 100% reliability score.

The Explorer’s warranty lasts for three years or 60,000 miles, which is a bit disappointing compared with the five-year, unlimited mileage warranty that you get with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the EV6. That said, Ford does cover the battery for a competitive eight years or 100,000 miles.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here