Currently in its fifth iteration, the Ford Explorer is
one of Ford’s hottest-selling nameplates domestically – behind only the smaller
Escape crossover and the F-150 pickup. That means that Dearborn will likely be
throwing the benefit of its entire weight behind the new model, and this is our
best look at it yet.
Sent to us by Carscoops reader Brett
Borgard, these spy shots show what appears to be an entirely fresh Explorer. It’s expected to make greater use of aluminum in its
construction, but unlike the Blue Oval’s latest pickups, we’re expecting the
bodywork to still be made out of steel. It ought to offer more space and
better packaging inside – something which buyers have naturally come to expect
of big crossovers like the Explorer, and which the current model has not quite
delivered as it should.
The bigger change with the forthcoming next-gen
Explorer is the switch in layout. Sources tell us to expect a
longitudinal engine driving the rear wheels, with the option of all-wheel
drive. Ford’s penchant for turbocharged engines will be evident in the new
model, likely starting with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost inline-four. The 2.7-liter
twin-turbo V6 will also likely be available, but the model we’re looking
forward to most, of course, is the new Explorer ST.
Taking the place of the current Explorer Sport, the
new ST model will pack Ford’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 producing somewhere in
the neighborhood of 400 horsepower. That’ll make it not only more potent than
the smaller, 335-horse Edge ST, but also the current, 365-horse Explorer Sport
as well. Don’t expect it to come quite up to the level of the SRT versions of the
Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee, though, with their big 6.4-liter Hemi
V8s churning out 475 hp.
