On the road in Laois - Test drive of the new Ford Explorer EV

Ford’s first foray into the EV market was the Mustang Mach E.  This then is Ford’s second EV and they hope it will have broader appeal than the somewhat lacklustre sales of the Mustang Mach E. Mind you EV sales are way down not just here but globally with the realities of EV ownership such as a dreadful charging infrastructure, range not as advertised and huge depreciation changing the view of the buying public in favour of petrol hybrids over EVs.

The recent Storm Darragh brought further woes for EV owners who lost power at home due to the storm and were left stranded as they could not charge their EV.

Quite a serious situation particularly if you depended on that car or a medical emergency emerged at home!
So I digress. Let's look at the new Ford Explorer EV.

First Impressions
This is a compact and rather good looking SUV. Ford has managed to make the Explorer a stylish and attractive looking car. The front boasts a big Ford oval badge with no grille obviously as its not needed in an EV but yet that managed to avoid that stereotypical EV Look and give this car some personality. I really like its looks!

Behind The Wheel
Jump inside and you are greeted by a very welcoming well finished cabin. Sure you don’t have to look too hard to find some hard scratchy plastics but on the whole it all looks and feels pretty good.
The model I am road testing is not the base model but the Premium version which adds nice extras such as heated steering wheel, heated and massage front seats, panoramic glass roof, a HUD and lovely ambient lighting to name but a few.
The driving position is perfect though I was not a fan of some of the controls for the wipers (flick switches rather than the more common stalk controls) and the fact that the front window switches double for rear window switches via a “rear” button. It all smacks of cost saving. Speaking of which, the Explorer is built on the VW chassis and powertrain used in the ID 3. So VW owners will also notice the shared switchgear.
There is plenty of storage space including a neat secure area behind the tilting portrait central touchscreen. Overall this cabin is a nice place in which to travel. It feels well put together and looks rather nice too.
Accommodation is good both front and rear and the boot offers 450 litres of space as well as an underfloor storage area.

What’s under the bonnet?
Two batteries are offered, a 77kWh for the single motor 286bhp version or a 79kWh battery for the dual motor version.
Ford claims a range of 570Km for the single motor RWD version. Unfortunately as with all EVs this was not attainable. From an 80% charge its predicted range was 390km (that equates to about 490km from 100% charge). Sure it's cold, it's winter but the consumption of 20kWh per 100km backs this up. Therefore expect a useful range of 390km or so from 80% in winter.

How does it drive?
Very well actually. It rides and handles better than most EVs out there proving surefooted no matter what the road conditions but also the suspension is very well sorted soaking up the road imperfections with ease.There is a bit more tyre noise than I expected but otherwise this new Explorer is quiet and refined.

Hugh’s Verdict.
Prices start at €43,591 after grants. The Premium version on test here costs €48,006.
Overall then the new Ford Explorer is in my opinion one of the better EVs on the market offering an attractive style, good specification and a decent EV driving experience.