GO AHEAD, PACK ’EM IN
Explorer offers lots of room
The Ford Explorer started life as a rough and ready body-on-frame, Ranger-based rig with some off-road potential. Today, it’s a soft-roader that keys on comfort rather than tackling something more challenging than a gnarly cottage access road. The transformation means it is now a viable alternative to a minivan.
This fifth-generation, Taurusbased unitized-body Explorer arrives with three rows of seating. The first two rows live up to expectations, with lots of comfort and space, but the third row is like most in the segment, meaning tight and very much for the kids. There’s no issue with the available cargo space; with all rows up it offers 595 litres, or lower the third row of seats for 1,243 L. With all rows folded there’s 2,314 L of space and a reasonably flat floor.
Up front, the Explorer is pleasantly crafted, with decent materials and all the modern conveniences; the Limited model brings leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, dualzone automatic climate control, power tilt-and-telescope steering wheel, power pedal adjustment, a 12-speaker Sony sound system and Ford’s Sync 3 with an eightinch touch screen. The latter, when compared to previous versions, is faster, the clarity is better and it is intuitive, so accessing all functions is a simple task.
The interior nit to pick has to do with the size of the A-pillars; they block a lot of real estate, which cuts into visibility. The right-side pillar can hide a motorcycle if the driver does not pay attention.
The tester arrived with blindspot monitoring, lane-departure warning with keep assist, rainsensing wipers and auto high beams. It also has the ability to self-park; the Explorer does all of the work, with the exception of selecting the appropriate gear and controlling the speed. This lot, in spite of the Explorer Limited’s near-$50K price, is part of the 301A package, which adds $2,250 to the bottom line. With more affordable vehicles arriving with a similar level of safety technology, Ford needs to rethink this aspect when the 2018 face-lifted model lands. The tester arrived with Ford’s 2.3-L EcoBoost four-cylinder engine ($1,000). Unlike in the Mustang, where it twists out 310 horsepower, in the Explorer’s case the engine’s power is capped at 280 hp. The saving grace is it still has 310 pound-feet of torque, which is only down 10. This engine is teamed with a six-speed automatic transmission with a Sport mode, which brings a far more willing work ethic. Drive mode tends to upshift early to improve fuel economy, which blunts the acceleration unless well into the gas. In Sport mode, the Explorer delivers decent performance, running to 100 km/h in 8.6 seconds.
The drawback to the fourcylinder EcoBoost engine is that as the number of passengers or the amount of cargo rise, the edge comes off the performance. This is where the thirsty-but-powerful 3.5-L EcoBoost V6 comes into its own. The 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque make a huge difference to performance and it is unaffected by the number of passengers or cargo load, and it chops the run to 100 km/h to 6.4 seconds.
From the transmission, the power reaches the road through the front or all four wheels. The Limited arrives with the latter. It’s smart and does a good job of quelling unwanted wheelspin. Under hard acceleration, for example, it automatically splits the power evenly front to rear.
The Explorer also arrives with Ford’s Terrain Management system, which offers Normal, Snow, Sand and Mud/Rut modes, each of which is aimed at getting the best out of the available grip when off-road.
The Explorer has a comfortable suspension that soaks up rough roads, which makes it a comfortable long-distance highway cruiser. The steering is quick to respond to driver input. That said, it drives as expected: the large body likes to roll when pushed into a fast corner. In fairness, the elevated ride height and seating position does exaggerate the amount of lean.
The one thing that helps matters is Curve Control, an extension to the stability-control system. It backs out of the throttle and applies the brakes to help maintain control when a corner is entered with too much speed. Ford says it can scrub off up to 16 km/h in one second if needed.
In spite of my nitpicking, the three-row Explorer has a lot to offer, not the least of which is the range of models. The base model is just that: sparse but affordable. The top-of-the-line model sits in Lincoln territory. Between the extremes is the best place to shop if you are looking for a viable alternative to a minivan.