The Ford Explorer has long been a go-to for those who want a reliable SUV at a reasonable price, and for good reason. The 2025 Ford Explorer has a relatively handsome design, three rows of seating, and more, all starting at $40,050.
Of course, while the price point is solid, there’s still a fair bit of competition, most notably from the Kia Telluride, which has quickly become a major hit for medium and large families. Can the Ford Explorer do enough to take out the Telluride? I’ve been driving the 2025 Ford Explorer Platinum for a while to find out.
Pros
- Relatively powerful.
- Spacious interior.
- New display layout is nice.
- Inexpensive.
Cons
- Not as premium-feeling as some others.
- Third row is a little cramped.
Exterior Design
The 2025 Ford Explorer probably won’t turn heads like some of the more expensive SUVs out there, but it’s still a good-looking vehicle. Thanks to touches like the slim headlines and taillights, sculpted body it still has a modern look.
The Explorer has similar dimensions and design features as other SUVs in its price range. Its roofline is slightly sloped, but the design is aimed at optimizing interior space, which it does relatively well.
The base Explorer model has a relatively standard grille design at the front, but upgrade to any of the other models and you’ll get a more premium look. You’ll also get larger wheels, and if you go for the Explorer ST, black accents instead of chrome ones. My review car had the 21-inch Dark Alloy wheels, which I quite like the look of.
Again, even the Platinum that I drove is understated, especially compared to some of Ford’s other recent models, like the Mach-E. But plenty of people, myself included, like an understated car at times. It’s not designed to colmmand too much attention. When I’m driving with my family, I don’t necessarily want much attention.
Interior Design
The interior is also understated, but it’s also comfortable and relatively premium-feeling. The Explorer features cloth seats in the base model, but upgrade to another trim and you’ll get a more luxurious-feeling covering. Our Platinum model offers leather seat covers, for instance. It felt comfortable, and premium — which is helpful for a family vehicle that’s built to withstand the abuse that kids can dish out to back seats.
The Explorer has three rows of seats; whether you get six or seven seats depends on your trim. A seven seat layout is standard in the Explorer thanks to a second-row bench seat. On some trims, like the Platinum, you’ll get captain’s chairs in the second row, which reduces the number of seats to six, but makes the second row more comfortable and easier to navigate.
The third row in the vehicle is a little snug. It’ll work for kids; others may find that it’s a passable backup if need the extra seats, but otherwise it’s better kept down for additional cargo space.
The Explorer offers 16.3 cu-ft of cargo space behind the third row, which is fine, but a little limited. Put the third row down and you’ll increase the cargo space to 46 cu-ft, which is much more reasonable for things like strollers, luggage, and so on.
Tech
The 2025 model gets a new display layout, made up of a 13.2-inch infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Powering the infotainment is Ford’s home-built software, which isn’t bad. It’s easy to jump between important interfaces, including the CarPlay or Android Auto interface. The vehicle does have digital climate controls instead of physical ones, but the good news is that you get a persistent fan speed control on the display at all times, so at least you don’t have to go digging through menus to change them.
Other tech is pretty standard. The loaner model I drove had a bird’s eye camera view, which is only available in premium trim levels. It’s a feature I rely on, not necessarily to be able to park, but to be able to park straight the first time, every time.
Performance
Under the hood of the Explorer can be found a 2.3-liter inline-four engine, except in the highest-end trim, the Explorer ST, which has a 3.0-liter V6 engine. This engine is also available as an option on the Explorer Platinum, and indeed, we were able to test one with the higher-performance engine. That engine is rated at 400 horsepower, up from the 300 horsepower base-model engine.
All Explorer models come standard as rear-wheel drive, however they’re all also available as all-wheel drive vehicles. Ours was a rear-wheel drive vehicle.
The vehicle felt generally responsive to both power and steering, and I had no trouble getting up to speed for overtaking, or getting onto a highway. The vehicle is able to reach 60 miles per hour in a little over five seconds, which is pretty impressive for a vehicle in this class. And, again, the steering felt smooth and easy despite the vehicle’s heavier and larger build.
In My Expert Opinion
The 2025 Ford Explorer is an excellent vehicle with only one drawback — the Kia Telluride exists. Many will find the styling of the Telluride to be more modern, plus it has a lower starting price.
That said, the Explorer has a little more room and a slightly higher-performance engine in the base models or a much higher-performance engine if you pay for it. If you’re just looking for a reliable, modern family SUV, you may find that the Kia Telluride is worth saving the cash for, but if you want that extra performance, the Explorer is worth considering.
