Ford: The Explorer shows the Stromer future 🎥
IT CONTINUES The new one has a familiar name, and yet it is completely different. The new Ford Explorer has nothing in common with its American namesake, it is the brand's entry into the European electric market.
With a length of 4.45 meters, it undercuts the SUV, which is particularly popular with the U.S. police, by more than half a meter, but bears unmistakable design elements of the large Explorer, which was offered in Europe as a plug-in hybrid. In its move into electromobility, Ford allowed itself some help from Volkswagen and uses the MEB platform from Wolfsburg.
Borrowing from its American brother
Christian Weingärtner, head of marketing at Ford's Cologne plant, says: "The Explorer is a genuine Ford that borrows from its big American brother. On the outside and in the interior, the Explorer is clearly different from the Wolfsburg products. The design was created in Cologne."
Even the entry-level variant will roll on alloy wheels. In addition to the basic version, a premium variant is planned. The first models are to be delivered to customers before Christmas.
Electric models as pioneers of the series
While Ford is saying goodbye to the volume market for combustion models - the Fiesta will soon be discontinued, and the Focus will also be cancelled when production in Saarlouis ends in two years - new electric models are to take on the role of series pioneer.
The Explorer will be followed by the electric Puma in 2024 as the brand's smallest model and one more model produced in Cologne. Ford is investing around two billion dollars (about 1.86 billion Swiss francs) to transform the Cologne plant into the "Cologne EV Center". In 2026, Ford aims to sell more than 600,000 electric models in Europe.
Pleasant comfort already from the base
In terms of design, the creatives took their cue from the SUV elements typical of the brand, citing details from the US model. Thanks to the Sync Move connectivity system, the cockpit can be customized, and the 14.6-inch touch-sensitive screen, which can be adjusted by more than 30 degrees, conceals a storage space known as My Private Locker.
In the interior, the outfitters chose heated front seats with integrated headrests and massage function, which are already standard equipment in the basic version. The person behind the steering wheel can choose between five driving settings: Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual and, on the all-wheel-drive model, Traction.
Depending on the equipment, the Explorer rolls on 19-, 20- or 21-inch wheels. Ford will not reveal the Explorer's technical specifications until shortly before it goes on sale. So far, all that is known is that the battery can be charged from ten to 80 percent in 25 minutes.
Assistance systems offer a great deal of safety
The electric Explorer also features new assistance systems that use twelve ultrasonic sensors, five cameras and three radars. These include, for the first time at Ford, lane-keeping technology that can automatically take over lane changes. In addition, the Explorer can automatically brake to a stop even in gridlocked traffic. An exit warning system reacts to approaching cyclists.
Influencer Lexie Limitless on World TourÂ
Later this year, the Explorer will embark on a tour designed to highlight its travel and long-haul qualities: Adventure travel influencer Lexie Alford (gallery below left) - also known to her followers as Lexie Limitless and, at 21 at the time, the youngest person to visit every country in the world - is leading a global expedition in the all-electric crossover model. In doing so, Lexie also commemorates the Ford-supported expeditions of Canadian explorer and adventurer Aloha Wanderwell n(gallery below right) who, almost exactly 100 years ago, became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in an automobile, setting a record in the process.
Source: Car Media Portal
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