Ford Explorer SUV (2024 - ) review

The Explorer is the product of a partnership between Volkswagen and Ford, so it shares a lot with the ID.4 and prices are similar even though the Explorer is a slightly smaller car. Entering an increasingly crowded segment of the market, the Explorer will be up against the likes of Renualt’s Scenic E-tech, the Peugeot E-3008, and Mini’s all-electric Countryman - not to mention Ford’s own Mustang Mach-e and the Tesla Model Y. To keep costs down, you can wait for a cheaper version with a smaller battery coming soon, though range is sacrificed as a result. As with all electric cars, the running costs will depend on where you charge, with those able to charge at home generally getting the best deal. Company drivers will also enjoy reduced Benefit In Kind for going fully electric.

Although this is an all-new model and we can’t say for sure, we are pretty confident about reliability. A pre-production Ford Explorer was driven 18,600 miles traversing across six continents and 27 countries on an epic world record-setting road trip. By comparison it should find the UK streets rather tame and public charging should be a lot more straightforward than finding chargers in the wilderness. Given the Explorer shares a platform with Volkswagen, you also know its foundations are tried and tested. There’s a standard three-year or 60,000-mile warranty covering manufacturing defects, while your battery gets a separate eight-years or 100,000 miles of cover. A free five-year service plan also includes Ford Assistance with roadside recovery should anything go wrong.

The Explorer comes with all the safety essentials as standard, and the systems are pleasingly unobtrusive. The lane keeping assistance gently guides and doesn’t jerkily take control, while the speed limit warning gives you a little bit of wriggle room before it gets audibly cross. Entry models get front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Additionally, there’s the option to add the Driver Assistance Pack, giving you a 360-degree camera view and lane centring, which lives up to its name rather than bouncing you from one line to the other. The all-around camera view doesn’t fill the entire screen and isn’t as good as the one in the new Nissan Qashqai, but we’d recommend adding this pack as the Explorer’s driving position leaves you with blind spots around the front wheels.

Slightly shorter than the Kuga, but with more internal space, the Explorer features a large amount of storage up front in the ‘MegaConsole’ between the two front seats. This is big enough for several large water bottles, a laptop or a handbag, and can be configured with either a shelf or cupholders on top. There’s also a hidden compartment behind the central screen, allowing you to store any smaller items out of sight. An airy feel is created with the use of contrasting light and dark materials, the design echoing the solid and robust exterior look. A heated steering wheel and front seats with a massage function for the driver come as standard and there’s decent head and legroom in the back helped by the flat floor, while the boot has an adjustable floor adding extra flexibility. The Explorer should be roomy and comfortable enough to take the whole family on adventures. It certainly seemed to do a good job of smoothing out imperfections in the road on our test, providing a quiet bubble of calm, with only a whistle of wind noise making its way into the cabin at high motorway speeds.

The 14.6-inch infotainment screen is a key part of the interior design and slides up and down, changing its angle by up to 30 degrees depending on your preference. We didn’t find this made much difference to how easy it is to view, but it’s more functional than the fancy rotating screen in BYD’s Atto 3. The Explorer uses Ford’s SYNC Move system which isn’t as slick as Android-powered integrations used by other brands such as Renault and Volvo. You’ll likely not use it much, given wireless CarPlay and Android Auto comes as standard, but if you do set the in-built sat-nav, mirroring your phone afterwards will wipe the route which is annoying. The theme continues with the lack of a physical volume controls. Instead there’s a very unresponsive slider below the main screen and one on the steering wheel. There’s also space for two phones in the centre console, but only one of them wirelessly charges and it frequently disconnects with a warning message taking over the entire screen. However, we appreciated the driver display giving information in your line of sight and enjoyed the head-up display, panoramic roof, and Bang & Olufsen Sound System you’ll get if you choose top of the range Premium trim. While some electric cars like the Renault Scenic E-tech include a heat pump as standard, it’s a paid option on the Explorer but worth considering if you want to maximise range in winter.

From launch only extended range versions of the Explorer are available with either a rear-wheel drive single motor, or a dual motor with four-wheel drive, a fractionally larger battery and more power. Later, there will be a standard range car with a lower price point. We’ve driven both the extended range models in the highest-level Premium trim. The two-wheel drive, although less rapid, still had enough instant acceleration to safely join motorways and overtake, while the dual motor was of course quicker off the line. Both variants seemed to use a similar amount of energy, so we reckon you’ll get around 270-300 miles on a single charge, falling a little shy of the WLTP estimates, though this would more than cover most trips and you should be able to top up from 10-80% in less than half an hour. The Explorer is very easy to drive, though the accelerator pedal is a little stiff and it can take a bit of practise to prevent the Explorer careering off when you just want to roll forward gently. There are four different driving modes, Eco, Sport, Normal and Traction, or you can configure your own preferences, and like all Volkswagen’s ID models you can twist the gear selector into B-mode for maximum regenerative braking. While the Explorer says fairly planted through the corners, it’s a heavy car so don’t expect sportscar handling, but it provides a relaxing environment to smoothly cover the miles.