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Giant of the industry finally wades into the wider EV game with family-friendly crossover

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Welcome to the first real harbinger of modern Ford: the all-electric new Ford Explorer.

The reimagining of the company as it jerks towards widespread electrification has been swift and, at least in Europe, fairly brutal. The Fiesta, a perennial favourite in the UK, is no longer being built at all, and the final Focus is set to leave the Saarlouis plant in November 2025. These high-volume, low-margin cars will be replaced by crossovers such as the Puma and the subject of this road test: the new Explorer.

So the mainstream, mass-market family Ford now takes the form of a £40,000-plus electric crossover, and one whose core attributes have been defined not in Dunton or Cologne but in Wolfsburg. Underneath, the Explorer sits on Volkswagen’s MEB platform – the tangible result of a technology-sharing deal finalised in 2020 and one that, Ford says, shaved two years off the development time of this latest model. Handy when you’re scrambling to compete in a crowded, growing segment but have been notably slow off the mark in developing a suitable product.

It’s perhaps unsurprising that the MEB is therefore a transitional tool for Ford. It makes possible the Explorer and its slope-roofed Ford Capri sibling but will make way for proprietary Blue Oval hardware thereafter. To us this seems a bold strategy, even if in economic terms Ford has little choice but to go down such a path. The appeal of Ford cars has always been in their balance of affordability and likeability, much of the latter deriving from carefully honed dynamics and a quietly satisfying driving experience, no matter the spec or engine size.

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Now, with a pivotal product that – more so than the larger, far pricier Ford Mustang Mach-E before it – will define Ford’s reputation in the medium term, the core engineering has effectively been outsourced. If the Explorer proves little more than a rebodied Volkswagen ID 4, it would be a betrayal of Ford’s back catalogue of brilliant ‘ordinary’ cars. Equally, if it has its own personality and that Ford-typical spirit, it will go down as a savvy move, and an important one.

The Explorer’s gestation hasn’t been easy. It was delayed and re-engineered to take advantage of more advanced battery tech. Martin Sander, who led the company throughout its development, then left Ford to join Volkswagen just a week before the first test drives. Was it all worth it? Let’s find out.

DESIGN & STYLING

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ford explorer review 2024 02 side panning

A clean-sheet design for the car that effectively replaces the Focus (a habitual five-star entity in these pages) would have been nice, but for reasons we have touched on, that hasn’t happened.

Instead, the Explorer is genetically ID 4, and the two cars are very similar in terms of footprint, although the Ford has a pronounced two-box silhouette and a tiny rear overhang that, to our eyes, makes it more interesting to behold than its more streamlined German cousin.

Ford spent $2 billion converting the old Fiesta assembly line for Explorer production, and it’s here that the panels are pressed and spot-welded and the car’s steel monocoque is then married to the MEB.

For now, the Explorer is being built in either 282bhp rear-wheel-drive form, with a 77kWh (usable capacity) battery, or with four-wheel drive and 335bhp, with a faster-charging 79kWh (usable) battery.

Both these variants are known as Extended Range models, hinting at an upcoming entry-level 52kWh Explorer with 168bhp.

Note also that while earlier cars will use nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, more degradation-resistant lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry is likely to become Ford’s preferred choice later.

Ford is limited to what it can do with the suspension, which uses a MacPherson-strut front axle and a multi-link rear, controlled by passive dampers and coil springs. The hard-connection points are as per the ID 4, but the Explorer is differentiated by Ford-specific suspension rates and bushings, not to mention retuned steering and, you would expect, a more liberal, fun-loving calibration of the stability control.

Down at the ground, the Explorer has a fair spread of options, with wheels ranging from 19in to 21in. Our RWD test car, in the upper of two available trims (Premium, as opposed to Select), has striking 20in alloys and a wheel-and-tyre package the same as that of the warmed-up ID 4 GTX.

Whether RWD or 4WD, the Explorer always wears 235-section front tyres and 255-sections on the back. B

raking is by discs at the front and drums for the rear – not unusual for this type of car.

Kerb weight is a claimed 2102kg for the RWD car, to which you can add 77kg if you would like to have another motor at the front. Our car tipped the scales a little under claimed, at 2067kg, with a neat weight distribution of 48:52 front to rear. Again, this is class-competitive, although note that the 1.5-litre Focus we tested in 2019 had a power-to-weight ratio just 3bhp per tonne shy of this Explorer, courtesy of weighing 650kg less.

INTERIOR

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ford explorer review 2024 07 dash

Inside, the touchscreen commands your attention. At nearly 15in, it dominates the centre console and then some. It also has the novel feature of being able to be tilted at different angles to reveal extra storage at its base and to counter the occasional sunlight reflection these screens are vulnerable to.

The resolution of the screen is also excellent and the graphics are crisp, yet it shares an unwelcome trait with earlier Volkswagen Group MEB cars in being tricky to navigate once you get beyond the initial menu screen and want anything more than a simple function.

The movable screen is a bit of a gimmick, but it's a handy extra bit of hidden storage, which is automatically locked when the car is locked.

Small icons also don’t help, although the climate controls are at least given permanent residence and prominence along the bottom. Alas, with small buttons and a vast screen, there’s a sense here that Ford has more space than it knows what to do with. At least Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are standard issue and the software is neatly integrated and in general easier to use than the native Sync system.

But what of the fundamentals? They are, in general, good. The blend of various greys in various textures is American in feel, but the driving position is commanding and supportive and there is a huge amount of storage in the front portion of the cabin, not least via the 17-litre cubby underneath the armrest, which is deeper than the Mariana Trench and will swallow laptops and 1500ml bottles.

While the choice of materials is uninspiring and at times outright cheap in feel, there’s very little wrong with the apparent solidity with which the cabin is assembled. The Explorer is a little po-faced, especially in contrast to the plushness of, say, the Renault Scenic E-Tech or the light-filled expansiveness of the Kia EV6, but it feels rugged and practical and has more personality than the ID 4.

Equally, you can’t escape the Explorer’s borrowed Germanic roots. The drive selector is the same awkward, stubby rocker that VW uses, and the same is true for the irritating, semi-haptic controls for the door lock and rear windows (to operate them from the front, you need to select ‘rear’). There’s also the little 5.3in display that suffices for the driver’s instrument panel, although there’s nothing wrong with it and it’s entirely visible through the firm, pseudo-quartic steering wheel (home to some more less-than-intuitive haptic switchgear).

As befits a car whose name is borrowed from a Stateside SUV, passenger space is a strength. The squared-off roof means even six-footers can get comfy in the back and there’s more leg room here than a Focus could dream of offering, not forgetting the Explorer’s flat floor, which means even middle-seat occupants don’t suffer. The panoramic roof fitted as standard on Premium trim also prevents the back from feeling too cosy, although you can’t vary the opacity.

Boot space is less impressive. For one thing, the Explorer has no ‘frunk’, as the EV6 and Tesla Model Y do. Back in the boot proper, the Ford’s 470 litres notably trails the 543 litres of the ID 4, as well as most rivals.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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ford explorer review 2024 14 motor

In the world of front-driven hot hatchbacks, a 0-60mph time of 5.8sec isn’t just respectable, it’s right on the money.

The updated, Mk8.5 Volkswagen Golf GTI that we recently tested managed a time of 5.3sec, so for the Explorer to be a scant half-second behind that car shows that this family-ready Ford doesn’t want for performance. Even when you consider mid-range grunt, the Explorer’s 4.8sec for the 30-70mph dash is just 0.3sec shy of the GTI’s. The more powerful, 4WD version would be considerably quicker still.

As is so often the case with EVs, the Explorer owes its straight-line speed mostly to its snappy, clean getaway. The accumulation of speed thereafter isn’t too exciting, just smooth and linear, with a noticeable tapering off of accelerative force. Consider the 14.7sec taken to reach 100mph versus 12.4sec for the GTI.

Nonetheless, the Explorer offers a good level of performance for the money, especially in regard to its positioning. And with 402lb ft of torque to draw on, the prospect of loading the car up with people and luggage should be no cause for concern.

In general, the Explorer has an easy drivability recognisable from the ID 4. Throttle response is nicely calibrated, being sharp enough for a sense of fine control but not so sharp that you will ever inadvertently knock your passenger’s head into that shapely integrated headrest.

The Explorer isn’t faultless, mind. The brake pedal is conspicuously imprecise during the regenerative phase and offers little in the way of feel even once the system has transitioned into pad-on-disc retardation.

There's also only one regen braking mode, where rivals often have three or more, easily cycled through using paddles on the steering wheel. Engaging the Explorer's B mode requires you to reach forward, beyond the steering wheel, and rock the drive selector column forward. It’s an awkward gesture and not one that you will make on the fly particularly often.

RIDE & HANDLING

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ford explorer review 2024 15 front cornering

Ford’s ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat – that is, to give an outwardly humdrum car stellar dynamics – is well known, but turning the ID 4 platform into something resembling a driver’s car has proved beyond it.

However, this isn’t to say that the Explorer doesn’t reside at the more engaging end of the class. It does. The steering is better than average, certainly, and its generous three turns lock to lock is more a reflection of the car’s compact turning circle than it is indicative of sluggish direction changes.

With intuitive pacing, some natural weighting and the vestiges of what you might call ‘feel’ (you can’t ask for much more in this class), the Explorer is easy enough to guide along and mostly avoids the disconcerting, helm-related inertness presented in the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Equally, it lacks the carefree motion and transparency you get in a Focus. Vastly more assisted in its motion, how could it not?

If the steering is neat but forgettable, the same is true of the handling. The Explorer has an honesty about the way it corners and transitions, and what body roll there is (not a lot, comparatively) is well controlled. Ford probably could have afforded to dial in a little more off-centre steering response to make the Explorer feel a bit more agile and differentiate it further from the ID 4. You can also play with the rear-drive layout a little: an injection of torque, administered mid-corner, will benignly tweak your line. In truth, the ID 4 will also do this, although not with quite the same panache, if you can call it that.

These are granular observations, however. In general, Ford has not pulled a rabbit from the hat here, and the Explorer fails to convince as an everyday driver’s car in the style of the Focus. It is tidier on the move than average, with the driver perhaps able to tap into nearly 300bhp more confidently than they would in certain rivals, but there’s little to excite or engage.

Comfort & Isolation

We've recently revised the way we test for noise at MIRA proving ground so currently have no direct competitor data against which to compare the Ford. What we can say is that the Explorer is about as loud at 30mph as a V6 TFSI-engined Audi Q7 is at 50mph and that at 50mph it's as loud as the big luxury SUV is at 70mph. And that's about what you would expect of a car in the Ford’s class. Subjectively, it isn’t at all tiring on the move, at least as far as noise is concerned.

The same can’t be said for ride quality. The Explorer is more focused in its set-up than the ID 4 and there’s a price to be paid for the steering precision and body control this enables at higher speeds. The Explorer’s chassis doesn't like threadbare surfaces, over which it generally twitches and sometimes crashes. We suspect the smallest wheels – the 19in ones – would help a little, but the issue seems more fundamental than wheel diameter.

On the motorway and on larger roads, this is rarely a serious problem, because with speed the suspension settles. But on slower, less well-maintained roads (your typical school run, for example), it makes the Explorer tiring company relative to rivals less concerned with having a sporty image.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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ford explorer review 2024 01 front tracking

As a value proposition, the appeal of the Explorer depends on your requirements. Want four-wheel drive? Then you must also have the car in range-topping Premium trim, at a cost of around £54k. Several rivals offer a less expensive route into two driven axles. Want the rapid-charging potential of 185kW? Then you must also opt for the marginally bigger-battery 4WD version – and in Premium trim, of course.

Our test car, with its RWD layout and 135kW charging speed, looks a touch expensive at just under £50k before options. The 4WD car is more expensive but probably better value. Equally, if you simply want an Explorer for shorter journeys, the upcoming entry-level car, a 52kWh RWD variant, should sneak in at less than £40k, and it will be well equipped as standard, as every Explorer is (the only notable omission from base spec are the matrix LED headlights, for which you need to have Premium trim). However, a heat pump, crucial for maintaining range in the winter, is an option at £1050.

In our efficiency tests, the Explorer did well. Its everyday figure of 4.1mpkWh just beats the less powerful Kia EV6 we tested recently and comfortably beats the 3.3mpkWh of the Audi Q6 E-tron. A touring figure of 2.9mpkWh translates to a motorway range of a little over 220 miles, which is reasonable for the class, if not as impressive as the autonomy of the cheaper Renault Scenic E-Tech Long Range.

Charging performance was so-so, the car dropping off from its already modest 135kW peak speed when the battery was only 50% charged.

VERDICT

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ford explorer review 2024 20 front static

Ford’s foray into the most brutally competitive new vehicle class in recent memory – the mid- size electric crossover – is necessarily something of a pulled punch, owing to the Explorer’s Volkswagen-sourced architecture, but there is nonetheless plenty to recommend here.

This hastily developed model has its own identity in the way it looks and, to an extent, drives. Its front-of-cabin ergonomics are excellent, and it's impressively efficient, especially in terms of everyday driving. Over-delivering against the stopwatch is never a bad thing, either.

However, there are notable compromises. The boot is inexplicably small and the ride quality suffers in order to deliver something approaching – but never delivering – what you would call Ford-typical handling. Good but not great.

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat. 

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.