2023 Ford Explorer revealed | GRR
Things for Ford have looked a little uncertain this side of the pond the last couple of months, as it’s moved to dismantle its lineup with the discontinuation of stalwarts like the Fiesta and Focus. What is Ford in Europe to be now? The (excellent) Puma, yes, the Transit, the Mustang, the Mache-E and now this… the new all-electric Ford Explorer. This is our best look yet at what Ford wants to be in its immediate and distant future – more American, less European; more Explorer, less Mondeo. It also represents the first fruits of a collaboration with Volkswagen…
Because yes, this Explorer is all-electric, from the ground up. There will be no internal combustion version, given it uses VW’s MEB all-electric skateboard platform that underpins the ID.4, Audi Q4 and more. Can you tell?
Thankfully in terms of design, at least for the most part, no. Like the Mustang over the last couple of years, there’s been a very careful fusion (ha) of the very best of Ford’s American and European design sensibilities. It’s handsome, minimalist and muscular, but not excessive or crude. The bluff front end features a ‘shield’ rather than an unnecessary grille, above which we see a Range Rover-style ‘Explorer’ script in the black trim. The lights are sharp, muscular yet stylish, which is an apt description for the whole thing if truth be told.
As for clues to its DNA? We can’t help but see a bit of ID.4 in that swooping haunch and pinched glass aft the C-pillar, which ironically features a hashed motif harking back to Explorers of old. The proportions too are a bit of a giveaway, though the designers have done a commendable job of dressing it. It is a bit more European crossover than American SUV in profile, mind.
What is arguably the biggest leap in progress for Ford is on the inside. Quality, design flare and the standard of technology are on the up. The large central 15-inch vertical touch screen is very much in keeping with what we’ve seen in the Mustang Mach-E, albeit reclinable up to 30 degrees and without the solid rotary dial. The screen handles most of the car’s interior controls, though stuff like climate temperature and settings has a permanent place at the bottom of the screen.
New for the explorer too is the squared-off steering wheel, with worryingly familiar touch controls. It’s reported however that Ford has optimised inherited components based on customer feedback. We can only hope that means it’s much better than on its German counterparts.
Okay, what about the (not-so) oily bits? The figures will ring familiar to those who know what the ID.4 offers. That’s to say battery options around the 52 and 77kWh mark, offering between 250 and just over 300 miles of range, there or there abouts.
Ford’s only hard and fast claim is that charging between 10 and 80 percent will take just 25 minutes on the right charger, meaning it will ‘take road trips in its stride’. What is reported is that Ford does intend the Explorer to be the most powerful MEB-based car yet seen, with a 340PS twin-motor option heading the range.
“Explorer is a trailblazer for a new breed of exciting Ford electric vehicles,” said Martin Sander, general manage, Ford Model e Europe.
“Steeped in our American roots but built in Cologne for our customers in Europe, it is road trip-ready for the big adventures and fully loaded with everything our customers will need for their daily drives.”
In terms of pricing, just because it rings in a new post-Focus/Fiesta era in Europe, doesn’t mean it replaces them – expect numbers in the £30-50k range. The Explorer indeed is indicative of a larger margin, lower volume approach made clear by the fact the long-serving hatchbacks aren’t to be replaced.
So what do you think of the new Ford Explorer? It’s certainly a good-looking thing, dare we say it compared to its VW equivalents. We do wonder if the spearhead of Ford’s new dawn in Europe being based on a rival platform three years into its market life is cause for query, though. The proof will be in the product.