Ford Explorer EV Scouts Around Digital Hills and Plains for Different Identities

The Ford Explorer series of SUVs has been around since 1990 and was initially introduced as the Blue Oval company’s first four-door SUV as a direct replacement for the two-door-only Bronco II. Since then, it has evolved across no less than six generations in line with the trends, switching from an off-road focus to the mid-size crossover lifestyle beginning with the fifth iteration that arrived for the 2011 model year.

Now, it occupies a rightful place inside the Ford roster – at least in America – where it is on sale above the EcoSport, Escape, and Bronco Sport, alongside the Edge and regular, reinvented sixth-gen Bronco, but below the mighty Expedition. Interestingly, the current Explorer has not been shy about its exploratory desires, reaching far corners of the Earth such as the Chinese market but also not staying away from electrification – an Explorer Hybrid is available in the U.S. with 318 hp. Meanwhile, a plug-in hybrid variant dwells around certain European markets with a combined output of 450 hp that even puts to shame the 400-hp Explorer ST!

Well, that means the Explorer nameplate was just one teeny, tiny step away from a zero-emissions lifestyle through complete electrification, right? No worries, now that has also been taken care of, albeit only in Europe where the regional division borrowed Volkswagen Group’s dedicated MEB platform to create the stylish and minimalist Ford Explorer EV. So, the mid-size crossover will soon join the Mustang Mach-E at a lower price point of around $48k, and that naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Both in the real world as well as across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, as it turns out. Speaking of the latter, the virtual artist better known as automotive.ai on social media, who brings us AI automotive designs from a parallel universe and usually gives us plenty of choices, has immediately thought about creating “a few different styling ideas for the VW-based Ford EV in Europe,” just in case anyone thought this model might suffer from an identity crisis going forward.

That is probably not the case, as the Explorer EV seems well-defined as a modern Ford, and there are no traces of visible ID. strands of DNA, as far as we can tell. But if you want a couple of good laughs, the AI-cooked design projects include some pretty interesting stuff. The most serious one is a lifted, ruggedized version that uses additional plastic body cladding, chunkier wheels (dressed in black and orange) plus all-terrain tires, as well as a bigger ride height, along with some camping accessories.

But from that one until the end, the CGI story spirals out of control into AI madness, complete with something that was quickly dubbed as the ‘ID.Bronco,’ a town-dweller that could easily get mistaken for a Citroen, as well as a non-descript beach dweller that would feel pretty boring if not for the off-road accessories. Anyway, that does not mean anyone should loathe them, as beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

Alas, if you need a more normalized digital alternative on the OEM matters, there is also Nikita Chuicko, aka kelsonik on social media, who immediately thought about what the aftermarket realm could do with the new Ford Explorer EV and produced a hypothetical black roof, lowered suspension, and bigger wheels tuning project. So, which one is your favorite – the wacky lifted Explorer EVs that want to be true SUVs all over again or the subtler, lowered depiction that does not seem to be far from what can be achieved in real life?

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