New 2025 Ford Explorer Review

Is this new era of electric Ford's actually any good?

Exterior – Front

Yes, that is correct the new Ford Explorer is based on the Volkswagen ID.4 specifically the MEB Platform from Volkswagen. This means that throughout this video you will notice quite a few similarities between the 2 cars. The front end though is different and has a unique design that isn’t the same as other Ford’s which means you wouldn’t know that this is a ford to start with. We get these boomerang style Daytime Running Lights, a bit like what Vauxhall have had for years and in these light units are a set of LED Headlights. These headlights are connected with a black strip that spells out explorer which is quite cool. Lower down we get a pronounced fake body colour grill which houses the ford logo on it. Lower down on the bumper we get a central air vent that stretches the front and disappears into the side vents. We also get some matt black and silver cladding too to give it an off roader look.

Exterior – Side

Moving round to the side and we do get a clean and simple design. We get a set of sporty Ford looking wheels as well as some matt black plastic wheel arches and side sills. We also get a bit of decoration along the side and some Ford designed door mirrors. What are Volkswagen though are the door handles but I can look over them.

Exterior – Rear

Moving round to the back and we get a similar design to the front end. We get a set of small taillight units that look similar to the American Explorer. These are connected by a black bar that again says Explorer on it. On the boot we do get the Ford logo and even lower we get a bit of matt black plastic that is styled to look like the front of the car. we also get some silver cladding to go with it too. overall, then not too bad on the outside but it could be better in some areas. Right, its now time to have a look and see what battery and motor options you can have with the new Ford Explorer.

Car and engine specs and price

So, as you may already know the Ford Explorer is based on the Volkswagen MEB Platform and this means the battery and motor options will be very similar to the ID.4’s. So, there are 3 versions of the Explorer. Let’s start with the base model. This uses a 52 kWh battery pack and a single rear wheel drive motor setup. This has 168 bhp and a 0-62 time of 8.7 seconds which isn’t that bad. The range is also decent at around 233 miles. The next version uses a 77 kWh battery pack, and a single motor mounted on the rear wheels making 282 bhp. This has a 0-62 time of just 6.4 seconds and a range of 374 miles which is very useable in day-to-day life. Finally, we have the top of the range dual motor model. This uses a 77 kWh battery pack and a dual motor setup with one motor on the front and back making it 4-wheel drive. This has 335 bhp and a 5.3 second 0-62 time. The range of this car is about 329 miles because of the dual motor design. The price of the new Ford Explorer starts at £39,875. Right let’s have a look at the interior and see what is Volkswagen about that.

Interior – Design

So, climbing inside and things start to go downhill slightly. Now as I have said with the battery and motors the Explorer is based on the Volkswagen platform and this is obvious inside with the same indicator stalks, window switches and volume slider. Even the steering wheel controls are touch sensitive, but I am going to look past that although it is very annoying. The overall dashboard design is very modern and sleek looking. You get this B&O sound bar up top which sounds very great. We also get a second layer down with a full width style air vent which again looks premium. lower down we get some light-coloured materials, and, in the centre, we get this 14.6-inch portrait touchscreen running Ford Sync Move which is a Volkswagen MiB4 based operating system. It has a decent layout, and it does work very well and is easy to use and you do have some quick shortcuts up top. The climate control is on the screen, but it stays in place all the time. Now you may be thinking that there isn’t that much storage, but ford has given the Explorer a moving screen. If you slide the screen back, you have a huge cubby hole which you can hide things under and locks the screen in place when the car locks which is very clever. You also get some more cubby holes in the centre console and some cup holders and some storage under the centre console. There is also a decent amount of space under the arm rest too. The steering wheel also does look quite decent, and it is nice to hold in your hands which is good. Finally, we come to the seats and yes whilst they aren’t the prettiest to look at, they are very comfy Volkswagen seats which is nice, and they also have a memory function and a massage function so the driver can drive in comfort. Let’s have a look and see what it is like in the back.

Practicality

So, climbing in the back of the Ford Explorer and legroom and headroom isn’t that bad. The only downside though is because the batteries are stored underneath the seat the seat feels like it does sit quite low, so you do have to sit sort of in a squat position unless you put your feet right under the front seat. We do get some lighter materials in the back though as well as this full-length panoramic roof which lets a bit of light in. We also get an arm rest as well as some air vents and USB C ports. You can also sit 3 in the back because there isn’t much of a hump in the floor. Right, lets have a look and see what the boot space is like.

Boot Size

So, opening the boot to the new Ford Explorer and you are welcomed with 470 litres of space which is smaller than the ID4 and even less than the Skoda Enyaq and the Audi Q4 E-Tron. All of which these cars are based on the same chassis. Anyway, even with it being the smallest it is still useful and does have a flat load area. The seats can also fold down 60:40 and this increases to 1,460 litres. Do bear in mind though that if you have a 4-wheel drive version then this reduces to 445 litres with the seats up and 1,417 litres with the seats down. You also have a ski hatch for longer items too.

Summary

So, in summary then what do I think of the new Ford Explorer. Well, if it takes the Volkswagen part out of the equation for a moment then it isn’t a bad car. Yes, it could look better and look more like a Ford and the interior could also look and function better but considering what you are getting you are getting a decent Ford. Bring the Volkswagen part back into the equation and then everything changes. For me, there isn’t enough changes to justify buying it over the Volkswagen ID.4. the ID4 is better looking inside and out and in some areas is even better built. Really if you want to buy an Explorer then great go ahead but I would consider its rivals like the ID.4, Enyaq and Q4 E-Tron first as they do it better.

Exterior 4/5

Interior 4/5

Practicality 4/5

Total 12/15

Model	Ford Explorer Premium
Engine	77 kWh Battery Pack, Dual Motor Motor, 335bhp, 0-62 = 5.3 Seconds, 329 Mile Range, 4 Wheel Drive
Transmission	Single Speed Electric Motor
Price	£53,985
On Sale	Now