TURBOCHARGED SUV HAS POWER, PERFORMANCE AND VERSATILITY
I’m more than a little confused by the 2020 Ford Explorer ST. Oh, it’s a great new SUV, what with its turbocharged V-6, 10-speed automatic transmission, and 21-inch wheels. But is Ford trying to start an all-new market niche?
I get that people want SUVs, and they don’t want to give up performance. But are big-tired, stiffly sprung SUVs really a thing? Won’t the wannabe-goalies in the third row get a little queasy if you launch the Explorer ST’s 400 horsepower into the big game? Do you really need the larger-diameter sway bars when you’re taking Marjorie and Bill — and maybe Gretchen and Sven — to the opera? Adding seven seats throws me for a bit of a loop.
Its purpose may be a bit mysterious, but the attraction is not. Ford is starting to get this EcoBoost stuff right. Despite a downsizing in displacement to 3.0 litres, the blown V-6 boasts 400 hp and 415 pound-feet of torque. That’s good enough to muster the big Explorer — it’s lighter than the previous generation, but at more than 2,200 kilograms, it’s still a bit of a porker — from rest to 100 km/h in a hair over five seconds. It also sounds the part; it moans when pressed, burbles when you back off, and lends an air of sophistication when you’re just cruising. It’s even pretty fuel efficient, my tester averaging exactly the 13.3 L/100 km in urban driving that Transport Canada rates it for. Throw in the 10-speed automatic transmission that is a model of slick-shifting, and you have as good a mid-level performance SUV powertrain as there is.
With stiffer springing — 10 per cent more in the rear, and eight up front — more substantial rollbars, and a little firmer valving in the dampers, the Explorer
ST is Ford’s performance SUV. Cornering is pretty darned flat, and the tires — substantial P255/55R20s in snows — generate plenty of adhesion.
The ST is pretty snazzy inside, if a little monochromatic. It would seem the Explorer’s interior designers took Henry Ford’s “you can have any colour you want, as long as it’s black” dictum seriously. And even though the third-row seats are pretty cosy, the second row is positively expansive. That’s because the ST — unlike the even pricier Platinum — has captain chairs in the second row. That means the ST can accommodate six passengers; if you do want (luxurious) seating for seven, you’ll have to opt for the Platinum, which features the same engine, but with less horsepower.
The dashboard is similarly uni-colour. Pride of place in the dash is Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment, with a 10.1-inch touch screen. That doesn’t sound very big, but the Explorer’s screen is oriented Tesla-like in portrait mode and it’s quite effective. For instance, now you can use CarPlay to navigate or take a phone call on the top half of the screen, while futzing with your satellite radio presets on the bottom half. With Sync’s recent improvements, you have one of the leading infotainment systems.
All that flattery aside, this particular Explorer ST tester had a few minor problems. In theory, the Sync 3 infotainment should work like a pro, but sometimes it would not turn off. I’d push the power button and it would still keep pumping out Rush — and I’m not a fan. Weirder yet — and this was a first in more than 30 years of testing cars — the radio tuning knob didn’t work. Actually, it did work, but every half-revolution the knob would gum up to the point where it was distinctly hard to turn. That occurred in both directions.
Then the front driver’s door wouldn’t open. Yes, I know how to push a button on a key fob. No, I haven’t become so weak that I can’t pull a door latch. The door handle just refused to unlock for a day or so. By some convoluted misdirection of truly screwed-up electrons, if I opened the driver’s side rear door and then the front passenger door, the driver’s door would then open, so I was able to get in the car. Thankfully, the issue went away after 24 hours.
I’ll assume these issues were just bad luck. Indeed, I think we can trust Ford to make a reliable tuning knob, but it’s a measure of how finicky cars have become that we have to fool doors into opening. So, I’m giving FoMoCo the benefit of the doubt, and I have no problem recommending the new Explorer ST. It offers power, performance, and versatility in a package a little more exclusive than most Fords — and this well-optioned tester cost less than $57,000.
That said, I would not be looking to exercise all 400 horsepower or the Explorer ST’s tenacious grip when all three rows of seats are occupied.