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If the endless stream of Facebook teasers aren’t enough for you, let us offer up a fresh spy video of the 2011 Ford Explorer caught only a few miles from our Ann Arbor, MI headquarters. Though the footage is a bit short and a little shaky, it’s very obvious this is Ford’s newest people mover going out for a late development drive.
Ford’s plan for the 2011 Explorer is more crossover than SUV, which will help improve fuel economy and handling. Power will come from a range of EcoBoost engines — so far, Ford has confirmed its new turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 will be offered, but it’s widely expected the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 found in its Taurus SHO platform-mate will also be offered. The 306-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 is also under consideration, but a V-8 is highly unlikely. Look for the 2011 Ford Explorer to be built in Chicago later this year.
Despite the move to a unibody platform, Ford is adamant the Explorer will still be classified as an SUV by consumers. In order to give some credence to those claims Ford is offering a Terrain Management System, which is similar to the idea behind Land Rover’s Terrain Response System, to improve on the vehicle’s limited off-road capabilities. If Ford wants the Explorer to be more SUV than crossover, it will certainly have to tow more than the Flex, which is currently rated at 4500 lbs maximum towing. With the unibody underpinnings in mind, we also don’t see the 2011 Explorer coming close to the 7100 lb maximum rating of the current Explorer.
Watch our spy video HERE.
Do these new angles of the 2011 Ford Explorer make you think it will be a sales success? Is Ford crazy for calling the new Explorer an SUV instead of a crossover? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: YouTube
I live about an hour or so north of Detroit in a small little town. and about a week ago driving home from work i seen two of these driving together. then about a mile down the same road i seen a group of three of these together!I’ve also seen the chevy cruze multiple times, and i see the chevy volt quite often.
If this is based on Taurus (aka Volvo S80) as is the Flex, then it is just an upright Flex. :shocked: I think Ford blew the opportunity with the Freestyle/Taurus X, when they should have called it Explorer, and not used the CVT, made it more HD to up the towing capacity. Jeep GC and Commander are basically Unibody, are considered SUV, and can tow 7500. If Jeep can do this, why can’t Ford? But then again, the S80 was only developed to be a car, not a SUV/truck. I had two Explorers before I started buying Jeeps. I loved both of them, but I feel the Jeeps are more refined as well as more capable.