Ford blazing a trail in 2020
Big things ahead for Escape, Explorer.
SKAMANIA COUNTY, Washington – Hypesters and hucksters have drained the term “clean sheet of paper” of much meaning when it comes to new products, but it applies to the 2020 Ford Explorer SUV.
Ford has scrapped the formula that made the three-row, family-carrying Explorer one of its most popular models for a decade and created an SUV whose engineering has more in common with vehicles from BMW and Mercedes than traditional competitors from Chevrolet, Honda and Toyota.
Based on a couple of days’ driving onand off-road in Oregon and Washington, the result is a comfortable interior, strong performance and appealing features.
The 2020 Explorer should be on sale any day now. Ford’s assembly plant in Chicago is shipping them to dealers, but Ford can’t sell them until it gets a certified fuel economy rating from the EPA.
A change in direction
The new Explorer has a rear-wheel-drive-based architecture and optional all-wheel drive. That’s a major change from the outgoing model, which had base models that were front-wheeldrive and optional AWD.
That means the 2020 model’s engine lines up in the same direction as the vehicle, while the 2010-19 Explorer engines sat crosswise, on the line between the front wheels.
In engineering terms, the 2020’s engine is called “longitudinal” or “northsouth,” while the old Explorer had a transverse or east-west engine.
Pickups, and most luxury and performance vehicles, tend to have longitudinal engines because the layout lends itself to more power, better handling and towing.
Power and handling haven’t been a big deal to Explorer owners, but Ford is betting that’ll change as more and more SUVs crowd the market and automakers look for every advantage they can claim when they say theirs is different and better.
While Ford’s F-series and Ranger pickups also have rear-wheel drive with optional 4WD, they don’t use the same platform or architecture as the Explorer. The Explorer’s architecture also will underpin the Lincoln Aviator luxury SUV that goes on sale this year.
Features and prices
Here’s some of what you can expect from the 2020 Ford Explorer:
❚ Seating for six or seven.
❚ Prices from $32,765 to $58,250. The base model isn’t expected to go on sale until December, though. At launch, price will start at $36,675, excluding destination charges.
❚ Up to 5,600 pounds towing.
❚ A base 300-horsepower, 2.3L turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
❚ 360- and 400-hp twin-turbo V6s in the Platinum and ST, respectively.
❚ A hybrid with 310 hp and a battery under its floor to preserve passenger and cargo space. There’s no immediate plan for a plug-in hybrid.
❚ A 10-speed automatic transmission.
Not much from earlier models
The 2020 Explorer barely shares a part with the old model, but its size hasn’t changed much. To fit standard garages, it grew only a tenth of an inch, to 198.8 inches, despite the wheelbase – the distance between the front and rear wheels – increasing by a whopping 6.3 inches.
Ford won’t provide figures comparing passenger space, but front seat room was excellent and then second-row captain’s seats and the third-row bench were comfortable in the vehicles I tested. Cargo space has decreased behind the third row. It’s bigger than the 2019 model when the second-row seats are folded.
The mid-row seats slide forward to get into the rear, but kids probably will walk between the captain’s chairs that are standard on all models but the base.
The Explorer’s competition includes the Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Durango, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe SL, Kia Telluride, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas.