Ford has announced its seven-seat Explorer plug-in hybrid will now be available to customers across Europe.
The latest addition to Ford’s eco-line up is the fourth plug-in hybrid in the range, joining the Kuga and two Transits – in passenger and commercial guise, as well as sitting alongside the Mondeo hybrid, Puma mild-hybrid and Mustang Mach-E all electric.
The Explorer, which is claimed to achieve close to 30 miles on electric charge alone, is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 EcoBoost petrol engine twinned with an electric motor and generator to deliver 450bhp and 825Nm of torque. That makes it good for 0-60mph in around six seconds and a top speed of 142mph.
Because of the hybrid nature of the Explorer, it now means running costs are low with emissions of just 71 g/km of CO2.
The standard four-wheel drive system will make it good for towing and the various driving modes mean that drivers can set the car up depending on the conditions, including Normal, Sport, Trail, Slippery and Deep Snow/Sand. A 10-speed automatic gearbox also comes as standard too as well as heated and cooled electric front seats, heated second-row seats, wireless phone charging as well as a touchscreen infotainment system that controls DAB radio, satellite navigation and in-car set up.
The cabin of Ford’s flagship SUV is extremely spacious. With all seven seats in place it offers 330 litres of space, which expands to 1,137 litres with the third row folded down, and with all the rear seats collapsed it offers an impressive 2,274 litres.
While the Explorer is coming to Europe, there are no plans for it to come to the UK just yet, with sales starting in Germany and prices starting at €68,790 (£61,000).
