Ford Explorer - Reliability & safety
The Explorer has plenty of safety kit as standard, while five years of free servicing is available
A five-star Euro NCAP rating should offer peace of mind, although if you’d prefer to deactivate some of the electronic driver aids, this involves entering sub-menus on the central touchscreen. There is a shortcut in the top right for the main driver-assistance menu, but it’s still fiddly when compared with a simple button press, and you’ll need to do this every time you start the car, too.
Various electronic sensors help to keep the Explorer on the straight and narrow, with lane assistance and forward-traffic detection able to adjust the car’s position and speed without any input from the driver. Even the compulsory speed-limit warning isn’t as intrusive as some systems, courtesy of the gentle chime that Ford has equipped it with. However, if you’d rather not use these systems at all, you can deactivate them via a menu that’s a couple of button presses away from the main touchscreen.
Standard safety equipment is good, with both trim levels getting lane-keep aid, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and cross-traffic and exit warning systems. But it is a shame that the only options package is the one for driver assistance, which for almost £2,000 (£500 less on the higher Premium trim level as you already get the powered tailgate that’s part of the pack) adds a head-up display, lane centring with lane-change assist, active park assist and a 360-degree camera.
The platform for the ID.4 has been around for a few years, so any issues will hopefully have been ironed out. We hope that Ford is working to improve upon its disappointing score of 30th place out of 32 manufacturers in the best brands category of the 2024 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey - one position below Volkswagen in 29th position.
| Key standard safety features | Euro NCAP safety ratings |
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Warranty
A basic three-year/60,000-mile warranty is standard, and there’s only 12 months of roadside assistance, too. The Explorer’s drive battery is covered for eight years/100k miles.
Servicing
Ford is offering five years of complimentary servicing with the Explorer to retail buyers, and it also includes roadside assistance for the same period. That should give added peace of mind, while long two-year/unlimited-mileage service intervals demonstrate the low-maintenance nature of EVs such as the Explorer.
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