Yahoo Autos 2025 Ford Explorer makes its public debut in Chicago
The 2025 Ford Explorer is this generation’s first big refresh, and it brings changes to the exterior design, big tech upgrades and some familiar powertrain options.
From the outside, the 2025 Explorer differentiates itself with a much larger grille (each trim gets its own style), sleeker LED headlights and wider air curtains in the front bumper. The rear liftgate is redesigned, too, featuring sharp new LED taillights and a horizontal “Explorer” badge that sprawls across the rear. New wheel designs in 18-21-inch options are added to the roster, and Vapor Blue Metallic paint pictured first in the gallery above is added to the available color options.
Powertrain options look the same on paper as in 2024. However, Ford says the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that comes standard is largely new and is nearly the same powertrain as what finds its way under the hood of the Mustang, though it has the same output as before at 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The upgrade 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 is paired with the sporty ST model or optional on the top-line Platinum trim, and its output is also the same as before at 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. Ford says the 10-speed automatic transmission is re-tuned for 2025 to be smoother than before, and while rear-wheel drive is standard on every trim, all-wheel drive is available across the board. One powertrain option missing for 2025 is the Hybrid model, which Ford actually canceled for 2024. Ford tells us that it’s reserving the Explorer Hybrid for its police Interceptor cars because it’s so popular with law enforcement. And as for the chassis and suspension, Ford says it’s largely carryover but tells us that it’s made small refinement changes.
Also on the topic of what’s missing for 2025 are some of the Explorer’s unique trim offerings like the King Ranch and Timberline. The XLT is also gone, leaving us with just these four as the trims available for 2025: Active (new base), ST-Line, ST and Platinum. That said, Ford teased us with a photo of a wheel featuring yellow-gold accents that looks a whole lot like the color used on its Tremor off-road models. That would explain the absence of the Timberline trim and would likely mean even better off-road capability than before. We’re told to sit tight and wait for news on this model later in the year.
Where Ford put most of its attention for this refresh is the Explorer’s interior. Instead of two different dash layouts – one with a portrait screen and the other a landscape – it’s redesigned the whole dash and center stack for just one single look. Now, every 2025 Explorer will come with a 13.2-inch wide-format touchscreen infotainment that can run wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and uses Google Built-In software. Ford is calling it the “Ford Digital Experience,” and first impressions are good.
