The 2025 Ford Explorer is a compact, all-electric SUV. (Photo: © Ford)
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The Explorer is an iconic model. Ford has revived it as an all-electric SUV. Exploring with the Ford Explorer.
It is this year 35 years ago Ford presented the Explorer for the first time in the USAThree years later, the iconic Off-roader in Europe with superior equipment premieresLast year there was a Facelift of the now sixth generation – but no longer in Europe. Here a fully electric version, which anyone who still had the old model in mind would probably rub their hands in amazement.
The The electric Explorer is just 4,46 meters long and is built by Ford in Cologne The brand has invested around two billion euros in converting its plants. Despite all the difficult news surrounding Ford Europe's restructuring, including job cuts, the Explorer's market launch was only in the last quarter of 2024, accompanied by high expectations. The model is intended to drive the conversion to an e-brand in this country and become the new bread-and-butter car of the Cologne-based companyafter the old workhorses had gradually dropped out of the model catalogue.
For fans of the old SUV mine ship, the shrinking process is probably painful, just like the fact that the technology under the bodywork comes from Wolfsburg for brand fans. Explorer 2025 is based on VW’s Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB). But the technology is hidden, the pure appearance shows a unmistakable design and you have to use a lot of imagination to identify a VW.
You feel comfortable behind the rather square than round steering wheel and have a good all-round view with plenty of head and legroomThere's also plenty of room for passengers in the rear. The view sweeps through the cockpit of the compact SUV, which could easily have accommodated more buttons. A huge display is displayed in the center console, making the dashboard display rather puny in comparison. Everything looks robust, continuing what the exterior design suggests.
We start the Premium version of the Explorer, which means that the car has Four-wheel has a large battery pack on board and 250 kW/340 hp under the hood. It only takes a little more than five seconds, then the compact SUV has already reached 100 km/h and accelerates to 180 km/h before the electronic lock is triggered to optimize energy consumption. Ford specifies this as 16,1 kW/h; for the smaller engines, it is 14,3 kW/h for the rear-wheel-drive version with 210 kW/286 hp, while the smallest engine with 125 kW/170 hp requires 16,3 kW/h.
This model also only has the Standard battery with 52 kW/h of usable energy on board, sufficient for 378 kilometers. Those opting for the large battery with 77 kW/h of usable energy (79 kW/h with all-wheel drive) can travel up to 602 kilometers, depending on the model (mid-engine, rear-wheel drive). The all-wheel drive variant has a range of up to 532 kilometers. The maximum charging power is 145 kW (small battery) or 185 kW (large battery).
The The car sits well on the road, proves to be quite maneuverable due to its compact dimensions and is really fun on the asphaltIn any case, an electric car with a top-of-the-line engine offers a lot of pleasure thanks to its constant torque, even if it's just a quick trip to the supermarket for the weekly shopping. 532 liters fit in the trunk, with the rear seat folded down you can even store up to 1.460 liters.
Conclusion: The Explorer is a successful electric SUV, which only suffers from its name because it could create false expectations.
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