That power gets through a 10-speed automatic transmission shared with the rest of the lineup. We've talked about it enough at this point, so here are the details: a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 putting out 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque gives the ST its motivation. Trying to get a FWD platform up this level of performance would require a budget that the bean counters would waste no time refuting. Ford, for its part, has transitioned the Explorer back to a rear-wheel-drive platform – a rare move in today's overwhelmingly front-wheel-drive environment – and the return to such an inherently sporty layout opens the doors to such a performance model as the ST. Dare we hope that the Explorer ST might trigger a Honda Pilot Type R or Toyota Highlander TRD? Last year, the Explorer showed up with new looks, more tech, and a fierce new ST model. Practicality and personality remain the two cornerstones to the Explorer's success.īoth are present and accounted for in the 2021 Ford Explorer, which sees no notable changes from last year's full-on redesign.

Since the first models rolled off the line over 30 years ago, there's been some revisions – from body-on-frame to unibody, from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive once again – but its overall mission hasn't changed. Ford didn't invent the SUV genus, but they did set the spark to it with the original Explorer. Simply does not deserve to be on the road.

Get Custom Price Quoteġ-Star: Poor vehicle. Not recommended, and lacking attributes a car buyer would come to expect for the price.ġ-Star: Poor vehicle. Often affordable, but lacking key features found in vehicles of the same class.Ģ-Star: Below average vehicle. Very good and close to being the best vehicle in its class.ģ-Star: Good vehicle. Only the most exceptional vehicles achieve this rating.Ĥ-Star: Very Good vehicle. You can interpret our ratings in the following way:ĥ-Star: Outstanding vehicle. For example, a compact car cannot be compared to a SUV-They are different vehicles altogether. When comparing vehicles using our Rating System, it's important to note that the rating earned by each vehicle correlates only to the models within its class. Unlike other websites and magazines, our ratings are not based solely on a singular road test, but rather a more encompassing batch of criteria: quality, safety, comfort, performance, fuel economy, reliability history and value.

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