THE VIRTUAL DRIVER
By Christopher A. Sawyer

(March 19, 2013) The Ford Explorer is built on a shortened version of the same platform as the Flex, a vehicle designed to replace both the Freestyle/Taurus X crossovers and the Freestar minivan with a single vehicle built off a stretched version of Volvo’s D4 platform. That is, the same platform used by the unloved Freestyle/Taurus X.

At the time that made sense, Ford needed something to bridge the gap between the Edge and the outgoing Freestar, and the Freestyle/Taurus X wasn’t it. Too much like a Taurus wagon, it didn’t have the SUV look and feel buyers had come to expect. Plus, Ford still had its truck-like body-on-frame Explorer, despite the fact that—in light of the Firestone tire/rollover scandal—sales for this vehicle had dropped dramatically. The market was covered.

Or at least it was until fuel prices began to rise, and Ford found itself out of step with buyers turning away from traditional SUVs. Rather than stretch the Edge, Ford decided to take a step back and resurrect the short-wheelbase D4 platform in order to create a new, lighter, more efficient Explorer.



In doing so, it gave the crossover the burly off-road design cues the Freestyle and Taurus X lacked, increased the available content, and gave it a name with which buyers were intimately familiar. The plan worked.

Each time it has pulled a variant off this platform, Ford has improved its looks and amenities. Thus, the Explorer has many of the same features as the Flex, but puts them in a sleeker package. As a result, the interior of the Explorer feels younger and fresher than that of the Flex, as well as a bit more upscale, even if many of the pieces are the same. For example, you get global one touch up/down windows instead of just the driver’s as on the Flex.

If you drove them back-to-back, you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart, but then that’s to be expected when so many of the mechanical pieces are the same. The ride is firm but supple, the steering a touch heavy but with good feel, and it tracks reasonably well through the corners as long as you don’t push much past the onset of understeer.

Doing so only slows things down, and eventually brings the electronic controllers into play in order to keep everything under control. Better to keep corner entry tidy, sneak up on the point where torque is shuffled to the back wheels to balance things out, and go no further. It’s the cleanest, quickest way through the turns.

The sad fact is that most SUVs never get their tires and undercarriage muddy, venturing off-road far less than 20% of the time. This makes the Terrain Management control switch on the center console seem a bit redundant, though I was able to use it on dirt and in snow, and was happy to leave the decisions to the computer on most occasions. Just like most owners, I never tried any serious off-roading with the Explorer Sport.

In this light, putting P255/50R-20 Hankook Optimo tires on massive alloy wheels, adding stiffer bushings, upgraded front strut tower support and 32-mm front and 22-mm rear anti-roll bars makes some sense. Better to bias it toward on-road agility than off-road ability, and the 5.3-in shorter wheelbase makes the Explorer more maneuverable, though you’re probably not going to run the local gymkhana with one. That’s because, even though the designation says “Sport” and the Explorer has steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, it would have been more exact a description if Ford had used the word “Sportier”.

The leather-trimmed interior is inviting, and there is seating for seven. Front seat passengers are coddled in 10-way power adjustable seats, and have access to Sync with MyFord Touch, a 390-watt Sony audio system with 12 speakers, and plenty of storage space. As on the Flex, the giant control for the Sony audio unit is hard to use when wearing winter gloves, and the optional power tilt/telescope steering wheel is slower than a tax refund—and noisy.

Detail changes were made to the gauge package (the speedometer has a metallic ring, makes room for the shift indicator and is rotated to the left), but the layout is otherwise the same as in any other Ford or Lincoln vehicle so-equipped.

Comfort begins to decline as you move rearward, with the middle row seats the place you want to be if you’re not riding up front. These chairs recline, fold and tilt, as well as slide back and forth. Order Equipment Group 402A and, along with a laundry list of other items, you get inflatable rear seatbelts. These are designed to spread crash forces over a larger area, lessening injury.

Those in the third row, which includes adults six feet tall or less (if the middle row occupants cooperate a little), sit a bit more upright on a higher perch. If you’re going to use these seats often and for larger passengers, do them a favor and order a Flex.

The sportiest part of the Explorer Sport sits under the hood; an EcoBoost V6 engine with 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Stomp on it, and the Explorer Sport accelerates briskly, gathering speed with relative ease. Just wait to do so once the car is warmed up. The six-speed automatic is a bit reluctant to shift smoothly from cold, taking time to shift into the next highest gear. 

Fuel economy is good, not great, and little better than the old truck-based Explorer which worked mightily, and often failed, to break 20 mpg highway. The Explorer Sport is rated at 16 city/22 highway/18 combined, but I found these numbers to be 1 mpg high in all cases in real-world use.

That’s when I decided to take a look at the spec sheet and compare the Explorer Sport to the Flex I recently drove. I was shocked to discover that the Explorer is 82 pounds heavier, 1.4 inches wider, 2.0 inches taller, and just 4.7 inches shorter overall on a 5.3-inch shorter wheelbase. Cargo space is nearly the same. The biggest difference is in the dimensions for the second and third rows. It’s enough to make you wonder if Ford shouldn’t add a stretched wheelbase Explorer to the lineup, and either kill off the Flex or return it to its original mission.

The Virtual Driver rating: 3 out of 4.

If you are looking for a domestic competitor for Jeeps Grand Cherokee SRT, the Explorer Sport isn’t it. Except for the EcoBoost V6, upgraded suspension and some trim items, you get almost everything else this crossover has to offer in the normal Explorer lineup. It is surprisingly large, thirsty, and similar to most every other vehicle built off this platform. It is not special, uniquely capable or even particularly stylish enough to justify its higher price. Though dressed in new clothes, it feels much like the Freestyle/Taurus X that started it all, or a tall Taurus sedan with greater seating capacity.

Brimming with available technology, it nonetheless feels old and cynical; a crossover created by marking the appropriate boxes on a checklist. But whereas the larger Flex can gobble highway miles while transporting driver and passengers in comfort, the Explorer Sport feels unsure of its purpose. It needs a rethink and a new platform.