This is the Explorer, Ford’s first Euro-centric electric car – and it’s a Volkswagen ID.4 beneath the skin.
The midsize e-SUV is the first fruit of the firms’ 2019 tech alliance, and the Explorer is a bit smaller than the ID.4: a similarly sized rival is Kia’s Niro Electric. Ford will open the order books in spring 2023, with the first cars due in the UK around the turn of the year. Expect a starting price near to £40,000.The Explorer name dates back to 1991, and the big American SUV has grown to 5m in its latest iteration.
The Ford and VW are much the same width and share the same wheelbase, because their battery packs are identical: boosting differentiation would suck up big investment. So while the batteries, motors, suspension and key dimensions are shared, Ford has designed a unique ‘top hat’ for the MEB platform. The proportions and glasshouse betray the VW underpinnings, even though Ford says it’s pushed back the windscreen.
There are three electric motor options, with either rear-wheel drive or part-time four-wheel drive in the flagship version. Here’s how the specs break down:• 82kWh installed battery, 210kW e-motor , rear-wheel drive, 335-mile rangeThe 250kW flagship Explorer splits its power across both axles, with an asynchronous motor added up front to supply torque during hard driving or on slippery surfaces.
And can the VW-with-a-new-top-hat drive like a Ford? ‘The springs, dampers and anti-roll bar are all tuned to the Ford philosophy,’ promises engineering manager Thomas Riehm. ‘There’s been a lot of adaptation: the steering and brakes are tailored to the Fordness people are used to.’ The car also gets bespoke Continental tyres. The autumn test drive will reveal if Ford can soup up MEB’s solid but hardly enthralling dynamics.
There are a few parts shared with VW, including the twist-action gear selector , and the fiddly pair of window switches where you have a ‘shift’ key to toggle between front and rear operation.The main events are the massive touchscreen and voluminous stowage. The 15-inch screen is mounted in portrait configuration, and gives max real estate for its nav map and widgets. Ford reckons its CarPlay display is the biggest around, which should make it easy to jab on the move.
Ford has struggled for profitability on this continent for years, though it’s resisted the General Motors option of pulling out of Europe. But that’s why Ford, with its far smaller scale than mega-car groups such as Volkswagen or Stellantis, has been forced to do a short-term EV technology deal. A second model, expected to be a coupe version of the Explorer similar to the ID.5’s relationship to the ID.4, will follow in 2024.
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