The New Ford Explorer Might Just Be the Ultimate All-Around SUV

The last time I sat behind the wheel of the Ford Explorer, it was right before the pandemic and I was in the U.S. taking it for a ride across the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles, California. The drive was the realization of a lifelong dream to traverse what some call one of the most scenic and beautiful highways in the world.

Driving the Ford Explorer 2024

I wrote about that drive before, but, in a nutshell, I found the Explorer to be a quick study—powerful, roomy, and incredibly capable. Maybe a convertible with the top down would have been the ultimate carriage on a drive down the PCH, but a mid-sized American SUV that got us safe and sound to our destination wasn’t bad, too., and that’s what the Explorer provided. Besides, the Explorer does have a sunroof, so maybe that counts? 

Fast forward five years, and Ford has unveiled a new iteration of the Explorer, which I had the chance to drive over the holidays. I can’t exactly give a fair and direct comparison between the two models because the one I drove in the U.S. was a hybrid—it combined a 3.3-liter V6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission with a 35-kilowatt electric motor and 1.5-kilowatt hour lithium ion battery pack—while this new one called the Explorer Limited 2024 still has a full IC engine: a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder with 300 hp and 420 Nm of torque. But it’s still an Explorer, and because I enjoyed it so much the last time, I was eager to experience driving it all over again right here in my home country. 

ALSO READ

A Drive Through South Africa's Bush Country in the Ford Everest

What Happens When Ford Unleashes the Mustang and Bronco on a Race Track?

As a mid-sized SUV, the Explorer is the ideal size for leisurely out-of-town drives, which is exactly what I did. I went to one of my favorite places—La Union. The Explorer is a three-row seven-seater, but the third row can fold neatly to allow for more cargo space, which was more than enough for someone traveling to Elyu for a few days with just the bare necessities—clothes, toiletries, a laptop and not much else. Space would definitely come in handy for anybody traveling in a group, like with friends and family, but the Explorer performs just as well for travelers going solo or with a partner. 

Because it’s an SUV, I kept an eye on the mileage counter. Along expressways like SCTEX and TPLEX, the Explorer recorded an average of around 13 to 14 kilometers per hour, but on regular city roads, especially on La Union towns like Agoo, Bauang, and San Fernando that have started to reach Manila-levels of congestion, it went down to around 6.5 to 7.5 kph. Put another way: I left Manila with a full tank of gas and reached San Juan with less than half still in the tank. The return trip was about the same.

All the things that I loved about the Explorer the first time around was thankfully carried over in this new iteration. These include things like easy connectivity to my phone (it automatically plays my music precisely where I left off each time I set off on a new drive), intuitive headlights that automatically adjusts when it senses approaching cars, multiple phone charging ports, and storage units for things like my phone, wallet, keys, water tumbler, and other things. 

Other premium features in the Explorer I like include seats that could be heated or cooled depending on your preference, parking sensors and a rearview camera for added safety, and climate control that benefits not just front row occupants but everybody inside the vehicle. All the controls are easy to find and reach as they’re lined up in the center dashboard around an infotainment screen as well as a few essential buttons on the steering wheel. Even the gear selector is a rotary dial which could be picked up quickly and easily by even novice drivers.

Drivers will also be pleased to know that just like its sister model the Everest, the Explorer also comes with a terrain management system that offers a rear locking differential. This feature comes in handy when you drive over sand and there’s a possibility of getting stuck, but thankfully, I didn’t need to use it. Even though I drove to the beach, I stayed mostly on highways and paved roads and only occasionally accessed smaller country roads and dirt paths. 

I also appreciated features like Lane Assist, which alerted me to adjust when I would inadvertently veer a bit too much right or left; and adaptive cruise control for highway driving. Keyless entry made sure I was ready to go each and every time; I didn’t even have to take the key out of my pocket as the vehicle automatically detects it when I’m near. As for locking it after I get off, I only had to tap a small area in either the driver or front passenger door handle and the car is securely locked.

In Elyu, I made short trips from my Airbnb to the beach and to restaurants and cafes for lunch and snacks. One thing I can say about the Explorer is that I never got tired of looking at it. There’s been a noticeable trend as of late toward SUVs going for more boxy, angular lines, but the Explorer kept its smooth, refined look in this version, which I appreciated.

Because I had good memories with it back then, driving the Explorer for a few days this time around brought back feelings I had five years ago; feelings like familiarity, confidence, and satisfaction. It was also a cinch to operate, so there were no anxieties or jitters about driving it to and around Surf Town. For anybody who spends as much time driving out of Metro Manila as they do within it, I can’t help but think that the Ford Explorer is exactly the kind of vehicle they need.

The SRP of the 2024 Ford Explorer starts at P3.498 million. For more information, visit the Ford Philippines website.