Test Drive: The 2025 Ford Explorer is much improved and better to drive

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

When it comes to family SUVs, no other name plate has been as successful as the Ford Explorer. Since its debut in 1990, Ford has sold more than 8 million of them, and in the years since the Explorer has become synonymous with family hauling, road trips, hardware store runs and everything in between. For a time it seemed like everyone had an Explorer.

And then came the competitors, and boy, there are so many of them.

Companies like Kia, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and almost every other manufacturer threw their hat in mid-size, three-row SUV ring — many of which landed some solid hits. Seeing the competition starting to encroach on their territory, the sixth generation Explorer, which debuted in 2019, returned to its rear-wheel drive-based roots and resurrected the feel and allure that buyers had loved about the Explorer for so long.

And now, for 2025, Ford has significantly refreshed the sixth-generation Explorer into something truly impressive. With very pleasing exterior, interior and technology updates, the Explorer steps back into the ring, confident and capable of taking the marketplace head-on.

Here are just a few reasons the 2025 Ford Explorer should be on your shortlist for your next SUV.

The best aspects remain excellent

I've driven the sixth-generation Explorer quite extensively and I can tell you, there's a lot about it that didn't need improving. The interior is roomy, the seats are comfortable, the third row is easy to access, outward visibility is excellent and it's genuinely good-looking.

It's also capable of towing 5,000 pounds and comes standard with an intuitive 10-speed automatic transmission. Couple all that with the still available — but optional on all trims except the ST where it is standard — twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter, 400 horsepower V6 and you've got yourself a pretty impressive SUV.

All of those attractive qualities remain in the refreshed 2025 Explorer — and everything else just got better.

Dashboard and center stack are more usable and refined

I didn't love the infotainment screen in the pre-refresh Explorer. Its vertical orientation was hard to look at, and it came across as almost an afterthought in the interior design. All of that has been changed for the 2025 model year. The new 13.2-inch horizontally oriented display is much easier to read and navigate.

The screen is also part of a beautifully redesigned dash and center stack, which looks and feels modern and upscale. There's a myriad of soft-touch materials and textures up front, including a cloth "speaker bar" which looks great and adds variety to what used to be a very ordinary interior. It's wonderful to look at and a welcome break from the hard, black plastic interiors of years past.

My favorite part of the new center stack is the phone shelf. It's super useful and can easily accommodate two phones — the left of which will enjoy wireless charging.

New and improved tech

Going along with the new infotainment screen is Ford's debut of the Ford Digital Experience software. Think of it as Ford's attempt to make your favorite apps on your phone — and even your TV — available in your car. This includes Google Apps, the Google Play store, WebEx functionality, Amazon Alexa and the ability to watch movies and play video games while parked. I, personally, am not all that interested in making my car into a living room, but for those that are, you will be very pleased.

What did excite and impress me was the availability of Ford's BlueCruise 1.2 hands-free driving assist system available on the ST-Line, Platinum and ST trims. Upon first impressions, BlueCruise is really, really cool. For commuting, bumper-to-bumper traffic and especially road trips, I can see the feature being a game changer for those who pile on miles. If I owned an Explorer and was driving to St.George, California or really anywhere else for several hours, BlueCruise would be a must-have.

Erik Markus of Motor Trend explained the system well when he wrote, "As we've found in other Ford and Lincoln vehicles, it's one of the better systems on the market, and although you need to maintain your focus on the road ahead, it can really take the fatigue out of long highway slogs. Compared with before, 1.2 adds hands-free lane changes — just tap the turn signal, and the Explorer will move to the new lane for you — and in-lane repositioning, which will nudge the vehicle to one side or the other to make more room for, say, a semi on your right that's too close for comfort."

Unfortunately, it's not free. You can pay monthly, annually or as a one-time purchase that's good for at least seven years. I wish it was included as a free feature, but regardless, it's so good that I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it, especially for the travel-heavy summer months.

It's comfortable and good to drive

We loaded up our two kids for a weekend trip up to Snowbird, and we were very pleased with how comfortable it was. The front seats are soft and supportive, as are the second-row captain's chairs. Surprisingly, the third row only has room for two and sits oddly close to the floor. Small children only should be relegated there. Regardless, the Explorer coddled the four of us just fine as we made our way from Bountiful up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

It's nice to drive, too. The Platinum tester was equipped with the optional twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that cranks out 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, and holy cow, this thing can move when you want it to. It is also very quiet and offers an overall serene driving experience. This engine is a $4,615 option on the Platinum trim. If you want to save money, you don't lose much by sticking with the base 300-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine. That's still plenty of power for this SUV, if you're not towing, and shouldn't leave you feeling a lack in most driving situations.

Final thoughts

The mid-size, three-row SUV segment is as hot as your grandmother's house in the summer. There's a lot of stiff competition, and for 2025, Ford has confidently stepped up to the plate. The tech is excellent, the engine(s) are robust, the interior is much improved and the exterior is only an improvement on what was an already athletic and attractive body.

In conclusion, I agree with Erik Johnson of Motor Trend when he wrote, "Overall, Ford has meaningfully updated the Explorer and brought it more in line with the expectations of the segment. We'll have to wait until a fresh comparison test to see if the 2025 model has surpassed the competition, but longtime Explorer … fans should be pleased."

My tester priced out at just over $61,000 — not cheap and a little more than some of the competition. But, as John Snyder of Autoblog wrote, "... if you want a good-looking, known-quantity SUV that now has a far more competitive interior, Ford's got it for you in the new Explorer."

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Jason Bell