2006
With the demise of all the in-between trims, the 2006 lineup was reduced to four; XLS, XLT, Eddie Bauer and Limited. The 2006 XLS packaged air conditioning, cruise control, and an MP3-compatible CD player with keyless entry, power windows, mirrors and door locks.
A six-way power driver’s seat, sixteen-inch alloy wheels, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and rear ventilation ducts were added to the XLS Explorer’s features to make the XLT.
To all of that, Eddie Bauer models added two-tone paint, seventeen-inch wheels, all-terrain tires, running boards, wood-grain interior accents, heated leather seats, a ten-way power adjustable driver’s seat with memory, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
The Limited went with chrome wheels, a dual-zone automatic climate control system, a power-operated front-passenger seat, heated mirrors, and an upgraded audio system with steering wheel controls and an in-dash CD changer.
Optional features included a third-row seat, a navigation system, rear A/C, a DVD video-based rear entertainment system, a sunroof, eighteen-inch wheels, and second-row bucket seats.
Safety gear for the 2006 model year included antilock disc brakes, tire pressure monitoring, front-seat side airbags, the Advance Track stability control system, and Roll Stability Control. Optional for all 2006 Explorers was Ford’s Safety Canopy system, which incorporated first- and second-row side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor to keep the air bags inflated longer in a roll over. The 2006 Ford also offered a reverse-sensing system, which could be added to all Explorer models except the XLS.