Ford Unveils Electric Explorer SUV
Ford have just revealed the new Explorer electric vehicle, and it’s a pretty impressive SUV.
Electric Explorer SUV Pricing in Europe
Europe’s sub €40,000 Ford Explorer is actually cheaper in Europe than a Tesla Model Y. It’s a pretty decent-sized car, too.
The Explorer costs €39,875 that’s standard, though it doesn’t come with many features. You got to pay more for the extended range version, €45,875.
But that version, well, that gives you 374 miles of range. That’s about 600 kilometers that’s an incredibly good range.
Delayed Launch in Europe
The Europe-only Ford Explorer, unfortunately, Europe only, has gone on sale months after it was meant to go on sale.
Now, this is a Volkswagen ID4. But yeah, obviously, it looks a lot different to an ID4. I think it’s significantly nicer than an ID4.
But yeah, it’s built on Volkswagen’s MEV platform, and it starts at what I think is a pretty decent price. It means around US$50,000.
It’s more affordable than the Volkswagen ID4 and it’s also more affordable than the Tesla Model Y.
It could sell quite well. The question is, how many to Ford really want to sell? They definitely wouldn’t be making any profit on this vehicle because Ford have to pay essentially Volkswagen.
I believe Volkswagen is, to some degree, a contract manufacturer with this vehicle for Ford.
It is like a joint venture scenario, but I think that actually Volkswagen is doing the work. what do you get for your €39,875, you get one moto it has 168 horsepower and a quite small 52 kilowatt-hour battery.
It’s going to give you only 230 miles of range, that’s 370 kilometers. Now, I don’t think too many people would want that version, 52 kilowatt hour battery in a car this big.
Comparison with Skoda Enyaq 60
You might not even get 230 miles, I don’t think that was going to sell all that well. But the long-range version for €45,000, That’s a real good choice.
I think for a lot of people, that would make sense. The only real competitor to this Ford in this price segment is actually the Skoda Enyaq 60.
It uses the same battery, same platform. It’s actually a relatively similar-sized EV as well.
Standard vs. Extended Range Versions
The Tesla Model Y actually starts at $45,000, but it has significantly better performance than this car.
It’s got a lot more power, a fair bit more range. It’s got 283 miles of range, 455 kilometers. It does zero to 106.6 seconds.
The Ford Explorer does it in about, I believe, nine seconds. But either way, if you don’t need a fast car and you want plenty of range, this is actually a pretty good option.
The extended range Explorer, that has the 77 kilowatt-hour battery pack, 282 horsepower, and a single motor.
Performance Comparison with Tesla Model Y
It can do 0 to 62 miles an hour in about the same time as the Tesla Model Y, 6.4 seconds.
But it does have a pretty surprisingly long range of 374 miles, 602 kilometers. Now, Ford do have an all-wheel drive version that’s a single motor version.
Variants and Pricing Details
There’s an all-wheel drive version, which is Ford’s version of the Volkswagen ID4 GTX.
It actually has newer battery technology, and it has two motors, 335 horsepower, meaning it can do 0 to 62 miles an hour in around 5.3 seconds.
The battery in the all-wheel drive version is 79 kilowatt-hour, so it’s a bit bigger than the battery in the long-range version.
So three models that model is going to be a bit more expensive. That model is just over $50,000 .
Electric Explorer SUV Charging speed
Charging speed is actually 185 kilowatt. Charging speed is pretty good. You can charge the battery pack from 10 to 80% in around 26 to 28 minutes.
The all-wheel drive version of the car it has a bit less range, it has 329 miles or 530 kilometers, so pretty good range. It’s got about the same range as a Tesla Model Y long range.
But the Tesla Model Y long range is a little bit faster. It does zero to 100 in around about 4.9 seconds.
Market Availability and Limitations
Now, getting back to that model, it’s $53,000 that’s around $67,000 US. Now, unfortunately, Ford aren’t going to be selling this vehicle outside of the UK or outside of Europe.
It’s just for those regions I guess it makes sense. I mean, if you’re not manufacturing a car in the United States, it’s pretty hard for Ford to ship these cars from Europe all the way to America, not get the EV incentives, not get the battery incentives, and then try to compete on price after you’re having to pay those shipping costs and not getting any incentives.
It really doesn’t make sense. But it also doesn’t make sense that Ford aren’t selling a vehicle like this in the United States.
I think this would probably appeal to a lot more people than the Mustang Mach-E does, especially considering it’s more conventional looks.
Potential Appeal in the US Market
It’s probably got more interior space, I think it’s a really nice car. Now, hopefully, Ford do make something similar to this in America.
I’ve heard the version they’re going to be making in the US is meant to be cheaper and have lithium-ion phosphate batteries, but it’s a couple of years away.