Photo: Stefan Baldauf / SB-Medien
Ford’s perennial best-selling utility vehicle had a rough start due to the Firestone controversy. The current model also suffered from a botched rollout, with very few 2020s in dealer lots in the first year of production. Worse still for the sixth generation, it’s been recalled so many times already that even the federal watchdog has lost count.
The second-largest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit moved no fewer than 207,673 examples of the breed in 2022 in the United States, down 5.5 percent from 2021. Despite the slight downturn and the high possibility of being recalled, the mid-size utility vehicle sells better than the Escape, which topped 137,370 units in 2022.
Although not the best-selling midsizer of the lot (Explorer ranks third after the Toyota Highlander and Jeep Grand Cherokee), it’s pretty obvious why people buy this model. Not wanting to lose a plethora of potential customers to segment rivals, the Ford Motor Company prepares to introduce a mid-cycle refresh.
Forget the facelifted Explorer for the Chinese market we covered roughly a year ago because the U.S. specification is a different animal both inside and out. The dashboard layout and infotainment system are the most telling differences, and the chintzy face of the Chinese model would totally flop in the U.S. as well.
Spied testing in Michigan in two specifications, namely the ST in black and Timberline in what appears to be Cactus Gray, the 2024 Explorer comes with a digital instrument cluster. It’s joined by a floating-style touchscreen infotainment system, sporting a landscape-oriented display. Although there’s nothing wrong with it, portrait would have been my choice because it shows slightly more information in satellite navigation mode.
Both the front and rear ends are heavily camouflaged, with the ST packing a quad exhaust and the Timberline, two tailpipes. Expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in the second half of 2023, the 2024 Explorer is expected to soldier on with a familiar selection of turbo’d engines.
The base 2.3-liter EcoBoost may be yanked out in favor of the MPC engine that premiered in the 2024 Mustang. Think of it as 2.3-liter EcoBoost version 2.0 or something. It produces 310 horsepower and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of torque in the pony car from Flat Rock, whereas the four-cylinder turbo in the outgoing Explorer is rated at 300 ponies and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm).
The 2023 model that will be soon retired for the 2024 further boasts a 3.3-liter hybrid and a twin-turbo sixer with a displacement of 3.0 liters, the 400-horsepower engine that Ford uses in the ST and higher trim levels.
The 2023 Ford Explorer further boasts a hybrid and a performance-oriented V6 engine, with said powertrains to be offered into 2024 and beyond. The Explorer Plug-In Hybrid for export markets isn’t expected to be adapted for the U.S. market because Ford is developing an EV.
Chief executive officer Jim Farley confirmed the Explorer EV and Aviator EV in May 2021 on Capital Markets Day, the virtual presentation (remember lockdowns?) outlining the Dearborn-based automaker’s future plans. Both are believed to premiere in 2024 as 2025 models, but no later than 2025 as 2026 models.
Although not the best-selling midsizer of the lot (Explorer ranks third after the Toyota Highlander and Jeep Grand Cherokee), it’s pretty obvious why people buy this model. Not wanting to lose a plethora of potential customers to segment rivals, the Ford Motor Company prepares to introduce a mid-cycle refresh.
Forget the facelifted Explorer for the Chinese market we covered roughly a year ago because the U.S. specification is a different animal both inside and out. The dashboard layout and infotainment system are the most telling differences, and the chintzy face of the Chinese model would totally flop in the U.S. as well.
Spied testing in Michigan in two specifications, namely the ST in black and Timberline in what appears to be Cactus Gray, the 2024 Explorer comes with a digital instrument cluster. It’s joined by a floating-style touchscreen infotainment system, sporting a landscape-oriented display. Although there’s nothing wrong with it, portrait would have been my choice because it shows slightly more information in satellite navigation mode.
Both the front and rear ends are heavily camouflaged, with the ST packing a quad exhaust and the Timberline, two tailpipes. Expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in the second half of 2023, the 2024 Explorer is expected to soldier on with a familiar selection of turbo’d engines.
The base 2.3-liter EcoBoost may be yanked out in favor of the MPC engine that premiered in the 2024 Mustang. Think of it as 2.3-liter EcoBoost version 2.0 or something. It produces 310 horsepower and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of torque in the pony car from Flat Rock, whereas the four-cylinder turbo in the outgoing Explorer is rated at 300 ponies and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm).
The 2023 model that will be soon retired for the 2024 further boasts a 3.3-liter hybrid and a twin-turbo sixer with a displacement of 3.0 liters, the 400-horsepower engine that Ford uses in the ST and higher trim levels.
The 2023 Ford Explorer further boasts a hybrid and a performance-oriented V6 engine, with said powertrains to be offered into 2024 and beyond. The Explorer Plug-In Hybrid for export markets isn’t expected to be adapted for the U.S. market because Ford is developing an EV.
Chief executive officer Jim Farley confirmed the Explorer EV and Aviator EV in May 2021 on Capital Markets Day, the virtual presentation (remember lockdowns?) outlining the Dearborn-based automaker’s future plans. Both are believed to premiere in 2024 as 2025 models, but no later than 2025 as 2026 models.
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