Ford’s SUV offerings are vast and continue to grow. Its list of SUVs now numbers six, ranging from the tiny EcoSport to the gargantuan Expedition, and now the company has completely redesigned its most popular SUV: the Ford Explorer. Over the last three decades, the mid-size Ford Explorer has become America’s best-selling SUV of all time. It was first introduced in 1991 and quickly became popular with families as well as weekend adventurers. It originally used a ladder-type frame borrowed from the company’s pickup trucks until it began sharing a new front-wheel drive architecture with the Ford Flex in 2011.
For its new sixth generation, Ford has completely redesigned the SUV’s chassis once again, creating the best-driving Explorer ever. With unibody construction and a rear-wheel drive layout, the 2020 Ford Explorer is now mechanically similar to SUVs from Europe like the Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, and Porsche Cayenne. However, it continues to compete in the SUV mainstream against such popular rivals as the Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander, and Honda Pilot.