Ford explores new direction

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Ford explores new direction

The Ford Explorer is part of the fabric of American life, but Ford is weaving a new type of SUV with its Explorer America that uses smaller, cleaner engines than the large capacity V6 and V8 engines US customers have been used to.

The new engines are part of Ford's EcoBoost range of petrol-powered engines that use direct injection to make them more economical and lower their emissions. The biggest engine for the next generation of Explorer will be a 3.5-litre V6 engine, though it still produces a healthy 340bhp and 340lb.ft of shove so the Explorer America will be no slouch.

A more radical choice for Explorer buyers will be the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which is the smallest engine ever fitted to Ford's SUV. With 275bhp and 280lb.ft of torque, this engine uses a six-speed automatic gearbox and will deliver 30% better economy than the current V6 model. The auto 'box allows the driver to select and hold it in a lower gear with Ford's new auto shift control that will help the car when driving off-road.

However, the Explorer America has been designed mostly for on-road driving and to acknowledge this Ford has ditched the separate chassis and body design of the current Explorer. In their place, the Explorer America uses a single body frame, just like a modern saloon car. Adopting this type of construction has helped Ford save considerable weight in the Explorer America to make it more fuel efficient.

The Explorer America is expected to go on sale in the USA in 2010 with prices much the same as for the current model. It will be a six-seat SUV, with three rows of two seats, and Ford says features from the Detroit show car such as the sliding rear side doors could well make it into the final production version.

Alisdair Suttie