Click for more Explorer.
Ford Motor (NYSE: F) has refreshed its Explorer SUV for the 2025 model year with a complicated assortment of new grilles options and apps. It is taking orders today starting at $41,220 MSRP. Rear-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel drive is optional. The popular SUV is expected to start arriving in dealerships during the second quarter of 2024. It will be built at Chicago Assembly, not far from the upcoming auto show starting during the second week in February.
“The new Explorer starts with a great foundation. Customers told us they love the way it drives and the choice of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. So, we focused on improving other areas including redesigning the interior with new materials, textures and colors to make sitting inside Explorer as enjoyable as driving one,” said Kelley Clark, Explorer chief engineer.
Click for more Explorer.
Standard on Platinum and ST, and available on ST-Line, Explorer customers can choose from seven ambient lighting options: Ice Blue, Orange, Soft Blue, Red (recall red/), Green, Blue and Purple. Explorer is the first Ford vehicle to include the new Ford Digital Experience designed to for greater connection and personalization for customers through profiles, content and apps even when parked. The displays on the 13.2-inch touchscreen are claimed to allow for easy control, and integration with Google Maps lets navigation screens appear on both the touchscreen and the 12.3-inch digital cluster.
Designed for the use of voice, Google Assistant serves as the default voice assistant and Alexa Built-in is also available as an alternative for in-vehicle controls, including to set in-vehicle temperature, search information, find and set a destination and request a specific broadcast or satellite radio station. It (he or she?) can also help with making calls, sending texts, setting a meeting and controlling connected home devices. Customers can listen to streaming music, audio books, and podcasts using entertainment apps downloaded on Google Play, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart Radio, as well embedded SiriusXM with 360L for personalized listening so they are always available in the vehicle whether or not a smartphone is connected in the vehicle.
Some trims of the new Explorer are equipped with Ford BlueCruise hardware, enabling hands-free highway. The system includes Lane Change Assist, allowing a driver to switch lanes hands-free with a tap of the turn signal if the path is clear, and In-Lane Repositioning, which helps provide more space by shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes. Simply put, Ford Blue Cruise assists with the braking, accelerating and steering, but not the ordering. New Explorer customers with BlueCruise-equipped vehicles can choose to activate a Connected Services plan at the time of vehicle purchase for one year or experience (endure?) hands-free highway driving with a complimentary 90-day trial. At the end of the trial, customers can activate it annually or monthly, based on their needs.
ST Returns
The special edition Explorer ST continues as the most powerful Explorer ever with new options. Powered by a tuned 3.0-liter EcoBoost® V6 engine that produces 400 horsepower and 415 lb.-ft. of torque running on regular unleaded. Explorer ST comes standard as a rear-wheel-drive performance SUV. Four-wheel drive is optional. Every Explorer ST and ST-Line customer is eligible to attend the complimentary Ford Performance Racing School’s ST Driving Experience, where it’s said they will learn how to get the most out of their Explorer ST. Customers can select the location of their choice, Park City, Utah or Asheville, North Carolina.
There’s also an optional Explorer ST-Line special edition for customers who prefer standout ST styling without the sometimes harsh Ford Performance driving dynamics. New for this year is Vapor Blue Metallic paint, available on ST, as well as ST-Line and Active models. Other new options for Explorer ST customers include a black-painted roof and new 21-inch Magnetite-painted aluminum wheels.
Explorer at a Confusing Glance
Active
- 3-liter 4-cylinder EcoBoost® Real-wheel drive standard.
- Four-wheel drive optional.
- 18-inch Sparkle Silver-painted aluminum wheels standard.
Platinum
- 2.3-liter EcoBoost® standard.
- 400 horsepower 3.0-liter EcoBoost optional.
- Rear-wheel drive standard; four-wheel drive optional.
- 20-inch luster nickel-painted aluminum wheels standard.
ST
- 400 hp V6 3.0-liter EcoBoost®.
- Rear-wheel drive standard; four-wheel drive optional.
- 21-inch Magnetite-painted aluminum wheels standard.
ST-Line
- 2.3-liter EcoBoost®.
- Rear-wheel drive standard; four-wheel drive optional.
- 20-inch Ebony machine-painted aluminum wheels standard.
Even the Explorer Wheel Selection is Complicated. The new Explorer has seven wheel options:
- 18-inch Sparkle Silver-painted aluminum – standard on Active.
- 20-inch Carbonized, Gray-painted aluminum – optional on Active.
- 20-inch Ebony machined, painted aluminum – standard on ST-Line.
- 21-inch Magnetite-painted aluminum – standard on ST, optional on ST-Line20-inch.
- Luster Nickel-painted aluminum – standard on Platinum, optional on Active.
- 20-inch polished aluminum – optional on Platinum.
- 21-inch dark alloy polished aluminum – optional on Platinum.
AutoInformed.com on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Ford to Show Revised 2025 Explorer at Chicago Auto Show
Click for more Explorer.
Ford Motor (NYSE: F) has refreshed its Explorer SUV for the 2025 model year with a complicated assortment of new grilles options and apps. It is taking orders today starting at $41,220 MSRP. Rear-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel drive is optional. The popular SUV is expected to start arriving in dealerships during the second quarter of 2024. It will be built at Chicago Assembly, not far from the upcoming auto show starting during the second week in February.
“The new Explorer starts with a great foundation. Customers told us they love the way it drives and the choice of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. So, we focused on improving other areas including redesigning the interior with new materials, textures and colors to make sitting inside Explorer as enjoyable as driving one,” said Kelley Clark, Explorer chief engineer.
Click for more Explorer.
Standard on Platinum and ST, and available on ST-Line, Explorer customers can choose from seven ambient lighting options: Ice Blue, Orange, Soft Blue, Red (recall red/), Green, Blue and Purple. Explorer is the first Ford vehicle to include the new Ford Digital Experience designed to for greater connection and personalization for customers through profiles, content and apps even when parked. The displays on the 13.2-inch touchscreen are claimed to allow for easy control, and integration with Google Maps lets navigation screens appear on both the touchscreen and the 12.3-inch digital cluster.
Designed for the use of voice, Google Assistant serves as the default voice assistant and Alexa Built-in is also available as an alternative for in-vehicle controls, including to set in-vehicle temperature, search information, find and set a destination and request a specific broadcast or satellite radio station. It (he or she?) can also help with making calls, sending texts, setting a meeting and controlling connected home devices. Customers can listen to streaming music, audio books, and podcasts using entertainment apps downloaded on Google Play, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart Radio, as well embedded SiriusXM with 360L for personalized listening so they are always available in the vehicle whether or not a smartphone is connected in the vehicle.
Some trims of the new Explorer are equipped with Ford BlueCruise hardware, enabling hands-free highway. The system includes Lane Change Assist, allowing a driver to switch lanes hands-free with a tap of the turn signal if the path is clear, and In-Lane Repositioning, which helps provide more space by shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes. Simply put, Ford Blue Cruise assists with the braking, accelerating and steering, but not the ordering. New Explorer customers with BlueCruise-equipped vehicles can choose to activate a Connected Services plan at the time of vehicle purchase for one year or experience (endure?) hands-free highway driving with a complimentary 90-day trial. At the end of the trial, customers can activate it annually or monthly, based on their needs.
ST Returns
The special edition Explorer ST continues as the most powerful Explorer ever with new options. Powered by a tuned 3.0-liter EcoBoost® V6 engine that produces 400 horsepower and 415 lb.-ft. of torque running on regular unleaded. Explorer ST comes standard as a rear-wheel-drive performance SUV. Four-wheel drive is optional. Every Explorer ST and ST-Line customer is eligible to attend the complimentary Ford Performance Racing School’s ST Driving Experience, where it’s said they will learn how to get the most out of their Explorer ST. Customers can select the location of their choice, Park City, Utah or Asheville, North Carolina.
There’s also an optional Explorer ST-Line special edition for customers who prefer standout ST styling without the sometimes harsh Ford Performance driving dynamics. New for this year is Vapor Blue Metallic paint, available on ST, as well as ST-Line and Active models. Other new options for Explorer ST customers include a black-painted roof and new 21-inch Magnetite-painted aluminum wheels.
Explorer at a Confusing Glance
Active
Platinum
ST
ST-Line
Even the Explorer Wheel Selection is Complicated. The new Explorer has seven wheel options:
AutoInformed.com on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.