This is a model that celebrates its 34th anniversary this year, and already has a sixth generation: the Ford Explorer!

The queue is 34 years long

Dear Americans, this large family SUV was born in 1990, was originally conceived as a true crossover model, located just below the more powerful Bronco. It had to better compete with the Jeep Cherokee and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer of the time, too built on a ladder chassis and equipped with four-wheel drive. But over the years, it has become more refined, adopting a self-supporting body in its fifth generation in 2011, which replaced the “body on a frame”. From this date on, it is no longer of any use now it’s a family crossover built for roads and long trips, more than tracks and dirt roads. Or Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chevrolet Traverse, its main rivals, did the same. The last and current generation dates back to 2019, and it was introduced in Europe in 2020 ! The consequences of both the disappearance of traditional minivans (Explorer offers 7 seats) and his plug-in hybrid engine (the only one available in France), which allows it not to suffer from environmental fines. Almost five years after its launch, Ford finally offers it its restyling long awaited to keep him in the game…

More ambitious than before

First observation: now he looks like a “cool guy” : its curves disappeared in favor of more geometric lines: a vertical shield, rectangular headlights, an enlarged radiator grille, a horizontal light sign at the rear. Ford introduced 7 new wheel models and reorganized the range around four trim levels: Active, ST-Line, ST and Platinum. FYI, in France, the current Explorer is offered only in ST-Line and Platinum versions. On board, the dashboard was completely redesigned. result: the vertical screen changes to a landscape format and now has a size of 13.2 inches, and the driver’s instrument panel is now digital as standard (12.3 inches). under the hood the same engines remain: 4-cylinder EcoBoost 2.3L and EcoBoost V6 3.0L. In Europe, we have the latter, in the plug-in hybrid version with a capacity of 457 horsepower. – clarifies Ford that all-wheel drive is still standard, as well as a 10-speed automatic transmission that has been calibrated. Finally, note the introduction of the BlueCruise system, which allows Level 2 autonomous driving on the highway. Here, in general terms, is the evolution of the model.

But one question is burning on our lips: will we see this updated Explorer in Europe? with the big move to 100% electric that the manufacturer has made in recent months, nothing less certain, especially as the taxation of plug-in hybrids becomes less and less lenient… All bets are off!

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