Sitting between the electric Mustang Mach-E & Capri, Ford’s Explorer is arguably the most sensible choice if you’re looking for an electric SUV. Cheaper than a Capri & with a better driving range than the Mach-E, one landed at CC&V Towers so we could pit it trout its paces. Here’s how we got on.
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As with the Capri, the Explorer shares Volkswagens MEB platform & like the Capri rides bette than the Volkswagen electric models, thanks to a clever Ford suspension set-up.
Model choice
Mirroring the Capri you can choose from a 52kWh Standard Range rear-wheel drive model, a 77kWh Extended Range rear-wheel drive car or a 79kWh Extended Range four-wheel drive version.
Trims & range
Three, Style at just over £39,000 gets you into the Explorer & is offered with the 52kWh & a range of 233 miles. Next up is Select starting at £45,995. This is also offered with the larger 77kWh battery so is good for 374 miles or in Premium trim 354 miles. Four-wheel drive courtesy of the 79kWh battery is only available in Premium trim with two motors & a range of 354 miles, costing £6000 more than the Select model.
Specs
The Style trim is offered with 19″ alloys wheels, front & rear LED lights, rear privacy glass & the movable 14.6″ portrait touchscreen. Select trim adds heated Sensico front seats, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings & a massage function, plus wireless phone charging. We were testing the Premium which sits on larger 20” wheels, comes with matrix-LED headlights, a hands-free electric tailgate, a panoramic glass roof, a B&O sound system & full Sensico interior trim.
Warranty
3yrs/60,000 miles (manufacturer), 8yrs/100,000 miles (battery & electric motor)
Performance
The 52kWh battery offers 168bhp & 310Nm of torque, a limited top speed of 99mph & a 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds. The 77kWh version comes with 282bhp & 545Nm of torque, & will hit 62mph in 6.4 seconds & has a top speed of 112mph. Go for the four-wheel-drive 79kWh version & this increases these to 335bhp with 679Nm of torque & will take just 5.3 seconds on the 0-62mph sprint.
Charging
Speeds differ dependant on which model you choose. So the 52kWh battery can charge at up to 145kW, so a 10-80% charge will take 25 minutes, while the 77kWh battery charges at a lower rate of 135kW so dos the same charge in 28 minutes. The 79kWh version changes at up to 185kW, so takes 26 minutes for a 10-80% charge. Ford do offer a heat pump but it’s a £1000 extra when others include one for free. As ever plug in at home overnight to save money. We use a Rolec charger http://www.rolecserv.com/home-charging
Trims
The Style trim is offered with 19″ alloys wheels, front & rear LED lights, rear privacy glass & the movable 14.6″ portrait touchscreen. Select trim adds heated Sensico front seats, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings & a massage function, plus wireless phone charging. We were testing the Premium which sits on larger 20” wheels, comes with matrix-LED headlights, a hands-free electric tailgate, a panoramic glass roof, a B&O sound system & full Sensico interior trim.
Exterior
Where the Capri’s roof line has been subtly lowered & the side windows are narrow, the Explorers a more conventional boxy SUV shape. The front features corner T shaped LED lights & a flat front grille with EXPLORER lettering. The sides are smooth with funky C pillar heading to the rear where there’s a roof spoiler, a rear wiper hurrah with mid-height LED tail lights.
Interior
In effect it’s almost identical to the Capri save a different steering wheel bar, with the 14.6” portrait touchscreen dominating proceedings. Almost all of the cars functions are accessed via this although there are some haptic short cut buttons beneath for the volume, with more haptic switches on the steering wheel front. These are for the infotainment, phone, media & cruise control.
The gear lever & indicator stalks are VW through & through. Our range topping Premium trimmed model also comes with a cool dash-top sound bar with a fabric finish adding some depth to the otherwise all-plastic dashboard.
Quality wise it’s good, in fact nicer in places than the VW ID finishes, but as ever there are some cheaper looking plastics dotted here & there. The seat finishes are synthetic leather & these look & feel sturdy. Ford have also foregone dash & seat stitching which is no bad thing, although the hues of grey, more grey & black aren’t very exciting.
Practicality
The cabins spacious enough for five adults as the sloping roofline doesn’t reduce headroom in the back & the flat rear floor means room for six legs too. The front door pockets are stylish rather than practical & the small glove box won’t take much either. Better are the under armrest storage bin, hidden compartment behind the infotainment that locks & a cubby under the touchscreen.
The boot comes with 470 litres of space with all seats in place, increasing when you fold the 60:40 split rear ones down to an impressive 1,460 litres. ( Premium versions are smaller with 445 litres/1.417 litres respectively. ) You also get a height adjustable floor, some edge divides & a storage box plus a cable bag for your charging cable.
Infotainment
Ford’s portrait touchscreen runs the Ford Sync software package, one we’ve come across before. Compared to many it’s quite easy to use with large icons & screen swipes getting you where you want quickly. At the top of the screen there are some short cut icons including for safety. These enable you to access the more popular functions faster & turn off some of the over fussy safety features for example, each time you set off. And the screen slides up or down so that you can get the perfect angle of screen as well. Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto are included as is a wireless 2-phone charger in the centre console.
Safety
Plenty of standard safety is included so you get Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, a Lane Keeping Aid, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition with Navigation & Wrong Way Alert. An optional Driver Assistance package adds Driver Alert, Lane Centring, Lane Change Assist ,a 360-degree parking camera & a head-up display.
Driving Modes
All versions feature four driving modes; Normal, Sport, Eco & a configurable Individual mode. Plus a Traction setting on AWD models. As ever we spent most of the week in Eco but when we did select Normal & Sport, the Capri’s handling & feel don’t alter noticeably. In all modes the chassis is very good & the suspension handles poor tarmac especially well. Light accurate steering aids in town & when parking.
Driving
Ford’s engineers have as with the Capri, done a splendid job with the way the Explorer handles. It feels remarkably agile for a car that weighs in at 2.1 tonnes. In D mode, acceleration is brisk & quiet & even when you’ve selected the B regeneration mode in the gears it still moves quickly. Our test model was the range topping AWD Premium model & it grips the road particularly well whilst still offering great start line acceleration. No surprise really with a whopping 679 Nm of torque being offered.
In town we found that it’s a very easy car to drive & to park. The cabins well insulated so road noise is kept a minimum.On the motorway you get up to speed easily & can then select the Adaptive Cruise Control, sit back & relax. Autonomous driving is also offered on Premium specced Capri’s. Wirelsss CarPlay connected easily & worked well, our only issue being a temperamental charge pad, which sometimes did & sometimes didn’t charge our phone.
Range
While the boxy-looking Explorer doesn’t seem aerodynamic, it’s actually efficient when compared with rivals. In our week in the Premium trimmed version we recorded 3.8 miles per kWh which with mostly motorway driving was impressive. Our test car also had the heat pump fitted which always helps. At 80% full there range indicated was 223 miles so we’d guess that 270 is probably a good full charge range.
ProsVerdict
Having just driven the Capri we’d conclude that the Explorer is very, very closely related to it, featuring an almost identical drive, trims, cabin & driving range. Perhaps Explorers more conventional to look at than there Capri & it’s also marginally cheaper, but otherwise & certainly in Premium trim it’s difficult to separate them. Both do drive better than most similar sized electric SUV’s such as the Renault Scenic, but neither will go as far as the Peugeot E-3008. We’d say the Explorers the safer choice & would choose a mid-specced Select RWD with the 77kWh battery which offers the best balance of cost, goodies & driving range.
