Start with what the Ford Explorer is: a 3-door SUV / 5-door SUV with 4.0 L OHV Cologne V6, built from 1990, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. What it meant takes a little longer.
The story
The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Bronco II. As with the Ford Ranger, the model line derives its name from a trim package previously offered on Ford F-Series pickup trucks. In 2020, the Explorer became the best-selling SUV in the American market. Currently in its sixth generation, the Explorer has featured a five-door wagon body style since its 1991 introduction. During the first two generations, the model line included a three-door wagon (directly replacing the Bronco II). The Ford Explorer Sport Trac is a crew-cab mid-size pickup truck derived from the second-generation Explorer.
The fifth and sixth generations of the Explorer have been produced as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility (replacing both the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan). The Explorer is slotted between the Ford Edge and Ford Expedition within North America's current Ford SUV range. The model line has undergone rebadging several times, with Mazda, Mercury, and Lincoln each selling derivative variants. Currently, Lincoln markets a luxury version of the Explorer as the Lincoln Aviator. For the North American market, the first four generations of the Explorer were produced by Ford at its Louisville Assembly Plant (Louisville, Kentucky) and its now-closed St. Louis Assembly Plant (Hazelwood, Missouri). Ford currently assembles the Explorer alongside the Lincoln Aviator and the Police Interceptor
What is underneath
The engine is 4.0 L OHV Cologne V6; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Drive goes through a 5-speed M5OD-R1 manual / 4-speed A4LD automatic. The wheelbase is 3-door: 102.1 in / 5-door: 111.9 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
In the Ford line-up the Ford Explorer has a clear place: it replaced the Ford Bronco II; it handed the line to the Ford Territory (Oceania); the factory was Louisville, Kentucky. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Renault Clio, the Honda NSX, the Dodge Viper. Nearby in the Ford catalogue sit the Ford 021C and the Ford Escort.
Owning one today
Buying one now means $9,800–$48,200 for a typical example, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,664–$11,971 a year. Insurance sits around $1,120–$2,490 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.