We all know there’s no shortage of SUVs on the market these days. Every company makes them, and typically, they make multiple options in different sizes and styles. With so many models on the road, it can be tricky to try to keep track of everything out there and what they each have to offer. This is even truer when companies like Ford update and change major features about their vehicles, so it’s easy to end up with no idea of what you might find at a Ford dealer these days. The perfect example of this is the 2025 Ford Explorer, which has been significantly updated for the new model year. This isn’t a full redesign or the launch of a new generation, but these improvements are substantial and worth keeping in mind, especially if you like having your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the auto industry, so let’s take a closer look.
New Looks on the Outside
The first thing I noticed when I saw the 2025 Explorer was how Ford revamped its exterior, giving it new looks that immediately grabbed my attention. Many might prefer to check the interior first, but I take things as they come, so I start from the outside. This isn’t a fully redesigned model, so it’s not wildly different from last year’s Explorer in overall shape and size. And yet, there’s enough new here to make it stand out from the 2024 version.
In particular, the front end has been restyled with bold new looks that lend the Explorer a stronger and more adventurous vibe, which seems appropriate given its name. If you live somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of streetlights, then you’re probably like me and a big fan of LED lighting on the exterior of vehicles. The updated Explorer has LED headlamps and taillamps, allowing for excellent illumination in all kinds of conditions to ensure drivers can see around them at night.
One thing I particularly like is how many options there are now for the exterior of the Explorer, so it can be customized in all kinds of ways. Every trim has a unique grille: the Active model features a saw-tooth design and a black mesh, while the ST has a honeycomb gloss black grille, and the Platinum features a satin chrome and Ebony grille. Add to this the fact that there are seven different wheel designs available—ranging from 18-inch options to 21-inch wheels on high-end models—and you have an exterior that’s perfect for customization.
Impressive Comfort Features Inside
Once we get past the exterior updates for the 2025 Explorer, we can quickly see a number of new features and upgrades for the interior, too. Honestly, these are more impressive than the exterior updates, particularly since someone driving is going to get more enjoyment from them than from an eye-catching front fascia. For starters, Ford has redesigned the interior by pushing the front dashboard forward to create a more open front row. Along with this, wrap-and-stitch soft-touch surfaces make for a more sophisticated interior that’s aggressively comfortable.
Heated front seats are standard inside every Ford Explorer—as someone who lives in the Midwest, that’s always welcome in my book. There are also a whole host of available options and packages to take things further: the Active Comfort Package, for example, adds a heated steering wheel and ActiveX seating. Different trim levels have different options: the ST-Line Premium Package adds heated second-row seats, power-folding side mirrors, and PowerFold third-row seats that are easier to adjust and reposition. The Platinum Lux Leather Package adds Premium Sanctuary Leather seating surface with Tri-Diamond Micro-Perforated inserts featuring accent stitching, quilting, and more to create an incredibly comfortable interior.
Ford Goes Further With New Tech Features
I won’t lie; I’m a fan of comfort features, but at the end of the day, I’m also a giant nerd, so innovative tech will always be my top priority. I like what Ford is doing with the 2025 Explorer: they’re taking things to the next level and showing me what they’ve got. For starters, there’s a big ol’ 13.2-inch LCD Ford Digital Experience infotainment display along with a 12.3-inch color LCD digital cluster screen to go with it. I know that big screens in cars aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re here to stay. If you’re going to have a display, it should be large and of high quality so that it’s easy to read and use, which is exactly what we see here.
There are eight USB ports and three 12-volt outlets across the three rows inside the Explorer, creating lots of opportunities for device charging and such. Wireless support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, along with a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and four-way power front-passenger seat—a power liftgate is also standard, which is nice because you can still find a lot of manual liftgates on SUVs out there for some reason. As you’d expect, available features and higher trims take things further with navigation functionality, customizable interior ambient lighting, and Ford’s signature BlueCruise hands-free driving system, but even the standard features are solid.
The Explorer ST Keeps Going Hard
One of the things I like about the Ford lineup and their approach to vehicles is how they’ll make something unexpected that stands out among their other trim levels. The perfect example of this is the Explorer ST, which is still a big SUV that’s perfect for families, but it’s been engineered by Ford Performance to create something powerful and thrilling on the road. This experience comes from the heart of the ST model: a 3.0L EcoBoost V6 engine that delivers 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, which comes standard on the ST but is also available for the Platinum. By comparison, the standard engine on the other Explorer models is a four-cylinder 2.3L that provides 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. You can see that’s a significant difference for the ST model.
This isn’t the first year the ST has been available, but some people wondered if it would go away along with numerous other trims that Ford cut from the Explorer’s offerings. I’m happy to see that it has returned with some new options, like a Vapor Blue Metallic exterior color and a black-painted roof. One of the most fun aspects of the ST model also returns: buying this beauty gets you a complimentary lesson at the Ford Performance Racing School ST SUV Experience with multiple locations across the US that can teach drivers to “get the most out of their Explorer ST.” Yeah, it’s a bit of a gimmick, but I don’t mind; it’s something different.
Ford Knows What It’s Doing with the Explorer
I’m not someone who thinks that Ford never makes mistakes. Every company has wins and losses, hits and misses. What I can see, however, is that the 2025 Explorer is a sure hit, and Ford has gone all-in with fabulous new looks, impressive tech, interior comfort features, and a streamlined selection of trims designed to make it easier for drivers to get just what they want. In particular, I like the big screens that are standard in the Explorer, along with things like power-adjustable front seats and the power rear liftgate. These kinds of tech features tend to be seen as extras that people have to pay more to get, but at this point, I see them as things that should be standard in every SUV out there. If Ford keeps going this way with the rest of their lineup, then it’s going to be easy for their fans to get a great vehicle.
