MW The new 2025 Ford Explorer has a powerful engine, redesigned, upscale cabin and top safety ratings
By Russ Heaps
It's roomy and comfortable too. Pricing starts at $41,220.
Pros
Solid fuel economyOver-achieving enginesImpressive towing
Cons
Tight third row
What's new?
Exterior stylingInterior designStreamlined grade lineup
The Ford Explorer is a good 3-row midsize SUV made better for 2025. Pricing starts at $41,220.
We like the Ford Explorer's unapologetic commitment to providing a muscular platform for hard work, superior towing, and enough capability to tackle just about anything you might expect a midsize SUV to do. Roomy, powerful, and comfortable to boot, the 2025 Explorer will blast onto the scene sporting updated styling inside and out, as well as a boatload of new technology. The Explorer faces stiff competition from the likes of the Kia (KR:000270) Telluride, Honda $(HMC)$ Pilot, and Toyota $(TM)$ Grand Highlander, and this year's improvements will help.
See: The all-new 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander: This 3-row midsize SUV offers expanded cabin space and a broad choice of trims
What's new for 2025
The major Explorer makeover the rumor mill had pegged for 2024 finally arrived for 2025, and it seems well worth the wait. Ford $(F)$ spruced up the exterior, conveying an even more rugged attitude. Inside, premium materials and softer surfaces elevate the cabin's feel. For example, wrap-and-stitch soft-touch surfaces cover the center console, dashboard, and door panels. To keep the information and entertainment flowing, the Ford Digital Experience allows drivers to use apps and services from Google $(GOOGL)$ and Amazon $(AMZN)$ through the Ford system or with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. To help the driver pilot the Explorer, Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving technology is now available on the upper trims.
When does the 2025 Ford Explorer come out?
Ford says the 2025 Ford Explorer should start hitting showrooms in the second quarter of 2024.
2025 Ford Explorer pricing
The 2025 Ford Explorer starts at $41,220. For reference, the 2024 Explorer lineup starts closer to $38,000, but the no-name base model goes away for 2025 with a better-equipped Active trim stepping into the entry-level role.
Explorer Active $41,220 Explorer ST-Line $45,980 Explorer ST $53,120 Explorer Platinum $56,800
These are manufacturer's suggested retail prices including the $1,595 factory-to-dealer delivery fee (destination charge).
Before buying the Ford Explorer, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. To date, the Ford Explorer has fallen a bit shy of the segment leaders when it comes to resale value. Recouping more money when you sell a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on your next one.
Power, ride, and handling
The source of thrust for the Active, ST-Line, and Platinum 2025 Explorer trim levels will remain the 300-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine carried over from last year. Power reaches the rear wheels - or all four wheels, when so equipped - by way of a 10-speed automatic transmission. Among the Explorer's rivals, only the Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse best the Ford's entry-level horsepower figure. The rest of the pack trails somewhere below 300. The Explorer can run to 60 mph in about 6.0 seconds. That puts it in the top tier of the segment for off-the-line acceleration. It's also among the segment's most efficient engines. We found power delivery comparatively unrefined in our most recent 3-row midsize SUV comparison test, with several reviewers noting unpleasant jerkiness in the stop-and-go of city driving, but maybe we'll see some improvement there, too. If more oomph is to your liking, the ST comes with a 400-horsepower twin-turbo V6 - one of our favorite engines - which is an available upgrade for the Platinum trim.
Read: Value, space, styling, safety: The 2024 Kia Telluride is tops in the 3-row midsize SUV class
Untouched in the 2025 revamp, the Explorer's chassis and suspension remain the same. We're fine with that because we have found the Ford Explorer comfortable enough, particularly in view of its sporty driving dynamics and performance-oriented engines.
Fuel economy
The Ford Explorer's 24 mpg in combined city-and-highway driving is near the top of its class for gas-only models. That's with rear-wheel drive. Opting for all-wheel drive will drop that combined figure to 23 mpg. Going with an Explorer version with the V6 and rear-wheel drive gets you 21 mpg, or 20 mpg with all-wheel drive.
Read: These are the 2024 SUVs that get the best gas mileage
Upscale cabin
Ford spent a lot of time and effort in redesigning and enhancing the Explorer's interior. The Explorer retains its three-row configuration and seating for seven. Upper trims offer second-row captain's chairs that reduce seating capacity to six but improve second-row comfort and open up easier access to the third row. Front-row occupants have more breathing room because Ford pushed the dashboard forward. Ford added a tray beneath the 13.2-inch touchscreen for storage or to house the available wireless smartphone charger. Next to the touchscreen and directly behind the steering wheel is a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and driver-information display.
Addressing a chronic owner complaint for previous model-year Explorers, Ford upgraded the quality of materials and workmanship in the cabin, creating soft-touch surfaces from the dashboard to the door panels.
The Explorer provides a generous 39 inches of second-row legroom; however, the Kia and Hyundai contenders have more. Somewhat less comfortable is life in the third row. Low-set cushions and 32.2 inches of legroom make this area better suited for younger and smaller family members. The Explorer's third-row legroom is near the bottom of the 3-row pack.
Behind the third row is a luggage area of 16.3 cubic feet. With rows two and three folded down, the maximum cargo space is 85.8 cubic feet. Both measurements are roughly average for the class.
You might like: The 2024 Honda Pilot vs. the Kia Telluride
Bold exterior
Ford beefed up the Explorer's exterior with a larger grille (each trim has a unique grille), new LED headlights, and lower, wider air curtains. An updated liftgate, sporting new LED taillights, highlights the changes to the tail. Pick the ST-Line, ST, or Platinum grades and you can opt for a black-painted roof.
Our favorite features and tech
13.2-inch infotainment touchscreenIncluded on every trim, this big new touchscreen commands the Ford Digital Experience infotainment interface. Powered by Google, it allows you to surf the web, stream music and video, play games, and generally stay connected.
12.3-inch digital driver information displayAlso standard on every trim, the driver can customize this large screen to display whatever information is most essential at the time. Moreover, it has a minimal Mindful mode, cutting down on any info that might be distracting.
Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android AutoWireless smartphone integration is standard in every new Explorer.
Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist+A comprehensive array of advanced safety and driver-aid technologies, it includes automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and more.
Intelligent 4-wheel driveAvailable on every Explorer trim, this intuitive 4WD system offers settings for different terrains, as well as a low range for tougher off-roading conditions.
Available Ford BlueCruiseOptional on the ST-Line and higher trims, this is an autonomous driving system advanced enough that a driver may remove their hands from the steering wheel when in a predetermined hands-free stretch of divided highway (Hands-Free Blue Zones). It can brake, steer, accelerate, and even change lanes on its own. We're big fans.
Also read: The radically redesigned 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe: The 3-row SUV is roomy with a minimalist interior
Engine and transmission
Granted, many SUV owners probably don't consider it as the most important aspect of a midsize 3-row SUV, but the basic engine in the 2025 Explorer is among the most powerful in its class. The turbocharged 2.3-liter 4-cylinder unit makes 300 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. In our cross-testing of the Explorer against competitors, this performance advantage was clearly evident. Trust us, it's easy to grow accustomed to merging into freeway traffic without drama. It only gets better from there for performance junkies. A twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 in the ST and optional in the Platinum trims develops 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. This is also remarkable for the sector.
Maximum towing capacity is 5,000 pounds for both 4-cylinder and V6-equipped Explorers. Rear-wheel drive is the standard configuration in most versions, with all-wheel drive on the options list. All variants employ a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Plus: The best new cars and SUVs for tall people
3-year/36,000-mile warranty
Ford follows most mainstream carmakers, issuing the industry-standard bumper-to-bumper limited warranty coverage of three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Likewise, Explorer's limited powertrain warranty is the usual five years or 60,000 miles.
Safety ratings
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the current-generation Explorer its 5-Star overall safety rating. Moreover, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety not only rated the Explorer with its top score of Good in every one of its crash tests, but it also named it to its Top Safety Pick list. Moreover, the Ford Explorer's bundle of advanced safety and driver-assist tech includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, high-beam assist, rear-park assist, and more.
KBB's car review methodology.
This story originally ran on KBB.com.
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April 24, 2024 04:58 ET (08:58 GMT)
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