The 2025 Ford Explorer is all about simplification. The updated SUV rolls into the new model year with updated exterior styling, a revamped cabin, more standard features, and a reduced trim lineup.
The most significant change for the popular three-row SUV is its interior. Ford pushes the dashboard forward, increasing the cabin space and revamping the layout. The 13.2-inch infotainment screen sits higher on the dash with a new tray below it to hold your phones, which comes with a wireless charging pad. Ribbed trim underneath the screen helps passengers sense where their hands are reaching.
The Explorer will also be the first Ford vehicle to feature its new Digital Experience infotainment setup. The automaker designed the system, which has five times the processing power and 14 times the graphical capability of the previous generation, to integrate the apps and services customers use the most. Google Assistant is the default voice assistant, but Alexa Built-In is also available.
The new infotainment system incorporates the Google Play app store, providing access to popular services, including ones that can be used when the vehicle is parked. Users can stream YouTube, Amazon Prime, and access the internet through the Vivaldi browser or through Google Chrome in the near future. They can even play games via a connected Bluetooth-enabled controller.
Allen Sun, a Ford product manager for the company’s Digital Experience, said the new system keeps users from pulling out their phones by integrating the digital services customers want into the vehicle. The automaker will also include its BlueCruise technology on the model.
Unlike rival GM, Ford continues to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to provide people with options and choices. That’s why the company’s new Digital Experience can display maps from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
On the outside, Ford gives the SUV an updated face and redesigned taillights, each trim featuring a unique grille. The entry-level Active comes with a black mesh grille and chrome bars, while the Platinum has a wing design finished in satin chrome. The ST-Line and ST have honeycomb grilles with a mesh insert, but the ST stands out with its unique badge. Also new for this year is the Vapor Blue Metallic exterior paint that’s available for the Active, ST-Line, and ST models.
Ford has reduced the Explorer lineup from eight trims to just four, at least for now. The automaker is teasing a rugged version that’ll launch later. The four trims that will be available are Active, ST-Line, ST, and Platinum. Gone are the XLT, Timberline, Limited, and King Ranch variants.
The 2025 Explorer comes packed with a decent amount of standard equipment. Buyers will get heated front seats, a 10-way power driver’s seat, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, eight USB ports with two in the third row, three 12-volt ports, a power liftgate, Ford Co-Pilot 360, and LED headlights.
The Explorer’s powertrain lineup remains unchanged. The Blue Oval’s 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine makes 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, and it’s the standard engine in the Active, ST-Line, and Platinum trims.
The 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 is available once again as standard full-fat ST model, and optional on the Platinum trim. The engine makes the same 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of twist as it did in the outgoing model. A recalibrated 10-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive are standard across the range. All-wheel drive is available on every trim.
The order book opens today for the 2025 Explorer. It'll start at $41,220, including the destination charge, with Ford expecting the SUV to begin arriving at dealers in the second quarter of 2024. That's a bit more than the previous 2024 Explorer, which started at $38,485.
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