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Ford Explorer PHEV 2021.

Ford Explorer PHEV 2021: the world’s most powerful hybrid SUV.

At the end of spring 2020, the first sales of a new hybrid crossover, the Ford Explorer 2021, equipped with a PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid) hybrid unit, began on the European market.

The reviewed frame SUV model, or rather its power unit, attracts attention primarily by making the Ford Explorer one of the most powerful modern hybrid crossovers on the planet.

The power plant includes a new 3.0-liter six-cylinder gasoline engine “Ecoboost” and a high-performance electric motor.

To date, the car in question is officially sold only in the United States (Canada) and some European countries (Germany, France, Italy and Spain). The hybrid version of the Ford Explorer 3.0 PHEV is sold in two fixed trim levels: ST-Line (77,000 euros or 7,200,000 Russian rubles) and Platinum (82,000 euros or 7,700,000 Russian rubles).

According to the automaker, Russian dealers will have a Ford SUV with a hybrid installation in the summer of 2021, and prices will be slightly higher (by about 4-6%) than in European countries.

The body of the new hybrid Ford Explorer 2021 looks modern, stylish and a little brutal. On the front, on a large false radiator grille, painted in matt black or silver, the corporate oval “Ford” emblem flaunts.

The headlight shades received an original design, under which long LED beams of the running lights are visible from above, and the lighting elements of the head optics from below.

The high bumper, which has a complex relief architecture, is equipped with rectangular sections of LED foglights and a black plastic body kit.

On the side of the car’s body, you can see a stylish design of large light-alloy wheels, above which there are arched wheel arches protected from below by black plastic.

The wide doors are decorated with charismatic ribs and embossings. The roof railed is supported by powerful stern racks.

The aft part of the body demonstrates the original shades of the overall lighting technology, through which the volumetric pattern of the glowing LED filling is visible.

The wide fifth door, giving access to the spacious trunk compartment, is decorated with a chrome strip, on which a large corporate lettering is visible.

A solid wide spoiler is installed above the rectangular glass, in which a redundant brake light strip is integrated. The high bumper also contains strips of additional brake lights and four round pseudo-pipe nozzles of the exhaust system (two nozzles on each edge of the bumper).

For reference, we note that in comparison with the previous 5th generation, the length and width of the new, 6th generation Ford Explorer, increased by 40 and 20 millimeters, respectively, and the height decreased by 7 millimeters.

However, the wheelbase indicator has changed the most, which became more than 165 millimeters. In turn, we note that the volume of the luggage compartment of the car is 515 liters in standard condition, 1360 liters with the 3rd row seats folded and an impressive 2490 liters when the 2nd and 3rd rows are fully folded.

The seven-seater interior with leather-trimmed seats (all seats are heated and ventilated) of the Ford Explorer PHEV hybrid crossover is decorated in a modern, fashionable style for cars of this class.

Only high quality and expensive materials are used in the interior decoration of the hybrid model. The crossover cabin can comfortably accommodate seven adults: two in the first row, three in the second and two in the third.

Both configurations of the ST-Line and Platinum hybrid are very richly saturated with modern equipment, which includes a stylish multifunctional steering wheel, a 12-inch display on which a digital virtual instrument panel is displayed, a proprietary innovative SYNC 3rd generation multimedia complex, paired with a vertical ten-inch touchscreen (the multimedia system includes: Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi).

In addition, the model is nominally equipped with a 3-zone climate control, a premium Bang & Olufsen audio system with 14 powerful speakers, an electrically controlled panoramic roof, a luggage door and seats of the 3rd row with an electric drive (the trunk lid is equipped with a contactless opening function).

The SUV in question is equipped with a complex of electronic assistants and security systems that ensure the detection of obstacles in the path of movement and, if necessary, carry out automatic emergency braking, simplify movement in a dense traffic flow (adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go function, tracking the lane markings), and will make their own parking and facilitate the start on the slope.

Under the hood of the new sixth generation Ford Explorer 2021, three turbocharged engines of the EcoBoost family are installed — two gasoline and one hybrid.

The basic turbo engine includes a modernized 4-cylinder 16-valve 2.3-liter unit (YVDA factory series: power — 300 hp, torque — 420 Nm).

More expensive versions of the American crossover are equipped with a completely new 3.0-liter petrol V6 (365 hp / 514 Nm) and a hybrid PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid, aka «soft» hybrid), built on the basis of the same six-cylinder engine «Ecoboost»

The American hybrid SUV Ford Explorer 2021 has the following technical indicators:

ground clearance — 215 mm;
the minimum turning radius is 5.95 meters;
trunk volume — 515/1360/2490 liters;
carrying capacity — 850 kilograms;
the maximum mass of the towed trailer is 2540 kilograms; fuel tank volume — 70 liters;
curb weight — 2010 kilograms.

Model dimensions:
wheelbase — 3025 mm,
length — 5050 mm,
width — 2002 mm and height — 1783 mm.

For reference, we note that the assembly of the hybrid modification of the crossover is carried out in the USA at the head plant of the «Ford Motor Company» in Detroit.