2025 Ford Explorer Review: Prices, Specs, and Photos
The 2025 Explorer gets a bonus point for its infotainment and tech, and another for the plethora of options, for a 7 here.
Standard equipment on the base Active model includes a power tailgate, power heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, eight USB ports, and 18-inch wheels. ST-Line adds the 360-degree camera system, Bang & Olufsen audio, showy 20-inch machined aluminum wheels, mixed-material cloth-and-synthetic seats with red stitching, and other trim upgrades. Platinum models pile on the luxury features with leather upholstery, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated second-row seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a twin-panel sunroof. Top ST models step up to the 400-hp turbo V-6, corresponding suspension and brake upgrades, and other trim and feature additions.
Beware, adding some options to the Explorer may have a series of prerequisites. For instance, adding the twin-panel sunroof to the base Active model means also adding 4WD and a wheel upgrade—to the tune of $8,450 in all.
Ford includes a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty plus 5-year/60,000-mile coverage on powertrain items. That’s pretty much standard for the market and gets no bonus points or demerits.
Ford Explorer infotainment shifts to Google, without shunning iPhone users
The big news is that Ford has replaced the Explorer’s previous underwhelming infotainment systems with a bright, clear 13.2-inch touchscreen system, mounted in landscape orientation and edging up above the rest of the dashboard. Built on Android Automotive OS, it can tap directly into apps on the Google ecosystem—like Google Maps, or various audio streaming apps—but it’s also compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All models also get a complementary 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster that can directly display Apple Maps navigation.
To help keep those apps running and enable over-the-air updates, the Explorer includes a 5G cellular connection. Ford hasn’t yet at the time of writing determined pricing beyond an introductory year, and it says much or all of that functionality could be accessed with a phone’s hotspot shared to the system.
Another tech-feature decision Explorer drivers will need to make is whether or not to add/enable Ford’s BlueCruise 1.2 with improved lane placement and semi-automated lane changes. You can add a 1-year subscription to BlueCruise as a $700 factory option. Otherwise, Explorer buyers will get a 90-day free trial, then the feature set will cost $800 per year or piecemeal $80 per month.
Which Ford Explorer should I buy?
We’d go with the base 2025 Ford Explorer ST-Line, costing $46,110. For another $2,995, it gets AWD plus a so-called Street Package with 21-inch painted wheels, performance brakes, and red brake calipers—essentially echoing the look of the performance ST version but keeping the price tag under $50,000.
How much is a fully loaded Ford Explorer?
The performance-oriented ST, with its turbocharged V-6, adding all-wheel drive, a power-folding third row, the black-painted roof option ($4,895), entry keypad, premium paint, and performance graphics, altogether runs nearly $67,000.
You can also add the V-6 to the Platinum, but it requires the Ultimate Package and its quilted leather upholstery and 21-inch polished alloy wheels. That combination tops $60,000 and approaches the price of the ST.
