2025 Ford Explorer: A refreshed interior

Ford has freshened the nation's all-time bestselling utility vehicle, the Explorer, with a focus on comfort and productivity for their customers.

The 2025 Ford Explorer prioritizes comfort with a refined interior. The automaker also brings productivity to the interior, making the use of the 12.3-inch driver-information cluster. The navigation route can be displayed across the entirety of the cluster while maintaining other important indicators, such as BlueCruise activation and speed and fuel level.

The Explorer will remain on the same rear-wheel-drive unibody platform, this time with two engine options; the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and the optional 3-liter turbocharged V-6. The Explorer will be offered in four trims, Active, ST, ST-Line and Platinum, excluding the hybrid option featured in the 2020 version.

Features that were previously add-ons now come with the base trim of the Explorer. Ford standardized adaptive cruise control, heated seats and the trailer-tow package to simplify its production line.

The 2025 refresh will start at $41,220 including shipping. Automotive News has collected some reviews of the vehicle that former Ford CEO Jim Hackett once called the "heart and soul" of the brand:

"Climate controls are clearly labeled and always present at the bottom of the center display, and the whole system is crisply rendered and highly intuitive to operate. Based on the Android Automotive operating system, its features are many: Google Maps–based navigation can run on either display, and there's access to the Google Play store, allowing numerous apps, from Waze to YouTube, to be directly downloaded. When parked, you can surf the web via the Vivaldi browser (and eventually Google Chrome), play games and videos, and even host meetings through Webex. Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa can be used for voice control, and the system fully supports over-the-air updates; a Ford Premium Connectivity subscription, the first year of which is free, includes a 5G connection and a Wi-Fi hot spot. And for those who'd rather just mirror their phone, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard.

"All this is housed in a redesigned six- or seven-passenger environment that enriches the Explorer's ambiance with cleaner styling, nicer materials, and greater attention to detail. You won't mistake it for a Lincoln, but it is a pronounced step up from before, particularly in the front row. The new dashboard's highlight is a fabric-covered section that mimics a soundbar and integrates the front speakers, and we appreciate the handy center tray that doubles as an optional wireless charging pad. There's good storage in the deep cubbies of the new center console, now flanked by softly padded rails. Again, features abound, from numerous power outlets and USB ports to available ambient lighting and heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats."

– Mike Sutton, Car and Driver

"For me, the primary mission of an SUV is to carry groups of people and things in comfort over varying terrain. It doesn't have to be interesting or exciting to be good, but between the new Digital Experience system and the emphasis on performance, I suspect Ford wants the Explorer to be very interesting and exciting. But I wonder … how many Explorer buyers will actually join (or God forbid, host) a video conference from the driver's seat? How many will pay $700 a year for hands-free highway driving? How many will nab an ST and sign up for a Sports Car Club of America membership?

"Performance SUVs aren't uncommon. And technology in vehicles is expanding like crazy. But perhaps Ford is trying to do a bit too much with the Explorer. This is the SUV that started the SUV craze. It should focus on the SUV's primary mission, but instead, it feels distracted. The ST is neat but not a must-have trim for thrill seekers. The tech is impressive but not packaged well. And oh yeah, if you want the entirety of that new Digital Experience, it becomes another subscription after the first year.

"Take those away, and you're left with an SUV that doesn't do average as good as competitors like the Honda Pilot. But, you can autocross it without looking silly, and afterward, you can do a video call with your pals to compare times. If that's what you really need in an SUV, then Ford has you covered."

– Christopher Smith, Motor1.com

"The Explorer's somewhat scattershot and unrefined driving manners seem to have been tamed in the 2025 model. An accelerator that we've criticized as too jumpy feels more appropriately matched to a three-row family SUV, even if it is still eager. In past sixth-generation Explorers, we also noted grabby brakes and uneven ride quality, but during our afternoon of driving the 2025 model, the brakes never called attention to themselves. Among four examples we drove, all but one rode just fine even over rutted and pockmarked dirt roads. The exception was the base Active model; it was acceptable, too, but demonstrated more wheel flutter and patter.

"The Explorer is easy to place in your lane and to park, and the steering is accurate and not too heavy. There are, of course, multiple drive modes that few if any owners will ever use, including Off-Road and Sport, though these do meaningfully alter the Explorer's responses. We did some light off-roading on sloppy two-tracks, and it's clear that even in Normal mode, the new Explorer is perfectly capable of getting you and your kin to that cabin in the woods."

– Erik Johnson, MotorTrend

"Ford continues to roll out its advanced hands-free driver-assistance system, BlueCruise, and the 2025 Ford Explorer is the latest recipient. This is the first time BlueCruise is available on the Explorer. The ST-Line, Platinum, and ST trims come standard with a 90-day trial of BlueCruise; buyers can opt for a one-year subscription for around $700. BlueCruise is not available on the base-level Explorer Active.

"I drove my Explorer Platinum test vehicle from Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Chelsea, Michigan — about 25 miles on I-94. Once on the interstate, I set the vehicle speed to 70 mph, and the driver display turned blue with the message that BlueCruise was operating and it was OK to take my hands off the wheel.

"The system smoothly kept the Explorer centered in the lane while maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. When I came upon a slower car, I activated the left turn signal and the Explorer automatically changed lanes and resumed the set speed.

"BlueCruise can handle most bends in the road, but there are a couple of places on this route where the curves are sharper, and the system needed help to negotiate these locations. I was alerted to take over the driving as BlueCruise disengaged until I was back on the straight road.

"While BlueCruise operates hands-free, it still requires the driver to pay attention to the road. A driver-facing camera ensures that attention doesn't stray, and a warning came up after I looked away for only a few seconds.

"Every 2025 Ford Explorer also comes standard with a long list of advanced driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, lane-centering assistance, forward and reverse automatic emergency braking, and blind-spot warning with trailer coverage."

-Perry Stern, J.D. Power

"Ford dubs the new infotainment system the 'Ford Digital Experience.' In the '25 Explorer, the 13.2-inch touchscreen does the usual car stuff, but incorporates more of the features and apps many use on their phone, or even TV, every day. It includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Built-In (with Google Assistant). The Google Play app offers various music streaming services, and even video streaming platforms like YouTube, Peacock and Prime Video, allowing you to make the most of your downtime. We were even able to play the racing video game 'Asphalt Nitro 2' using a Bluetooth-connected game controller. Lounge-like, indeed. If you need more work in your work-life balance, you can even use the Webex app for conference calls — video is enabled while stationary, and it goes audio-only if you take a meeting while driving. It might be just a tad too digital in some respects, with things like HVAC controlled through the touchscreen rather than with physical buttons, though the controls remain docked at the bottom of the screen most of the time (though they were hidden while we played 'Asphalt')."

– John Beltz Snyder, AutoBlog