Under the Mustang Mach-E, for Europe
This is the all-new all-electric Ford Explorer. Other than that name, the car has little to do with the Ford Explorer we already know, but that is only good news for the European market.
HighlightsFord Explorer
- First of two Volkswagen MEB-based Ford EVs
- Under the Mustang Mach-E
- Especially for Europe
Ford chooses to call its all-new EV ‘Explorer’. This makes it a namesake of the fairly large SUV that has also been supplied in Europe as a PHEV since 2020, but it is certainly not the direct successor of that model. Instead, Ford again makes a clear distinction between the American and European Explorer. Although not immediately, the Explorer PHEV will disappear from the market in Europe. This should also put an end to the confusion about that name, since every continent has its own Ford Explorer.
Ford Explorer (Europe)
Ford Explorer (USA). Note the C-pillar and taillights.
American design
The electric Ford Explorer is the first of two EVs that Ford bases on Volkswagen’s MEB platform. The car was developed entirely in and for Europe and will only be available here (plus perhaps Australia and New Zealand). Yet Ford uses the Explorer to say that the brand wants to show more of its American side. The brand wants to show more guts in its designs and have a more adventurous and tough image, and that ‘American’ character can help with that. With the Explorer we see this concretely reflected by a sturdy SUV carriage, which actually resembles that of the American Explorer here and there. Just look at those vertical rear light units, for example, but also at the special C-pillar. Those ‘lines’ in the glass behind the rear door are standard and clearly refer to the ‘fin’ shape that the thick window style of that other Explorer has there.
As a whole, the car is sleek, tidy, fairly stocky and tough. The nose and roofline are high and fairly square, the wheels large and the overhangs short. As the first electric Ford after the Mustang Mach-E, this is in fact the first purely EV-developed Ford to actually carry Ford logos. In the case of the Explorer, the familiar oval is mounted on a large, closed panel, which is supported at the top by a black band that connects the L-shaped headlights. We also see a similar fusion of light units at the back, where the name ‘Explorer’ is spread across the middle, just like at the front.
Relatively compact
As an MEB product, the Ford Explorer shares its technical base with the Volkswagens ID.4 and ID.5, Skoda Enyaq and Audi Q4 E-Tron, among others. Yet on the outside we see very few similarities with those cars, not even at a detailed level. Interestingly, Ford is launching a second EV in more or less the same segment with this car. After all, the Ford Mustang Mach-E is already here, but it surpasses most rivals when it comes to price and size. It also seems difficult for Ford to market the already quite expensive Mustang profitably, a situation that must undoubtedly be different for this new Explorer.
The Explorer, which will soon be built in Cologne, must operate more at the bottom of the electric SUV class in terms of size. We don’t have exact measurements yet, but with a length of less than 4.5 meters, the car is clearly shorter than an ID4, EV6 or Mustang Mach-E. We see that in the luggage compartment, which with 450 to over 1,400 liters is clearly less spacious than that of an ID4. Typically for an MEB-based car, there is no room for luggage in the front: the entire nose is filled with technology. The Explorer offers a lot of space in the back seat thanks to its long wheelbase and fairly high roof.
Sliding screen
In the front we see some Volkswagen elements here and there in the form of light buttons, window buttons, levers on the steering column and instruments, but it does not really stand out. The whole is mainly very ‘Ford’, but tighter and more homogeneous than we are used to from that brand. Where the large, Tesla-like touchscreen in a Mach-E looks a bit out of place, the 15-inch screen here fits in beautifully with the rest of the interior. Very special is that the screen is slidable. It can be manually pushed from its slanted, lower position to an upright, high position, which also opens an additional storage compartment. The Explorer has enough storage compartments anyway. Between the seats, according to Ford, there is room for several one and a half liter bottles or, for example, a 15-inch laptop, whereby the space can also be flexibly arranged by means of all kinds of separate trays and cup holders.
Different power
Of course, the Ford Explorer has rear-wheel drive in the base, just like all other MEB-based EVs. Yet there are also differences with those cars, for example in terms of engine power. The Ford Explorer is available with one electric motor of 170 or 286 hp. If you want more power, you can opt for the four-wheel drive. It delivers 340 hp and is therefore considerably more powerful than an ID4 GTX, which keeps it at 299 hp. Ford does not yet mention battery capacities, charging speeds and exact WLTP figures, but the brand does promise that the Explorer will travel more than 500 kilometers on a charge of electricity in the best case scenario. The first customers should be able to drive their new Ford Explorer this year, so those exact figures will probably not be long in coming.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl