Fourth-gen Ford Explorer improves but doesn't meet customer needs
With each successive generation, the Explorer became more car-like, but this iteration proved it needed to be car-based in order to provide fuel economy to make it succeed.
The 2006 Explorer brought about a more powerful 4.6-liter V8 engine with 292 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque channeled through a new six-speed automatic transmission.
The fourth-gen Explorer also boasted a tougher frame, improved suspension and a refreshed interior.
The Explorer was still a body-on-frame SUV.
This generation of Explorer also had a more luxurious (sort of) Mercury Mountaineer cousin.
The Explorer's all-time low of 52,190 sales came in 2009 -- roughly a tenth of what sales were at their peak nine years earlier.
This was the last generation of the Explorer to feature traditional, body-on-frame construction.
For the base Explorer, the previous generation's 4.0-liter V6 carried on as the standard engine paired with a five-speed automatic, also from the previous generation.
Later model years added more tech and convenience features.
Unfortunately, this Explorer was simply outdone by its more modern, car-based rivals.
Keep scrolling for more photos of the fourth-gen Ford Explorer.
2006 Ford Explorer: The 2006 Ford Explorer features a new, 4.6-liter, 3-valve V-8 with variable cam timing, delivering 292 hp and 300 ft.-lbs. of torque
2006 Ford Explorer technical illustration: The 2006 Explorer shares the three-valve, single-overhead-cam heads used on the 4.6-liter Mustang GT and 5.4-liter Ford F-150.
SAN DIEGO, CA., March 30. 2006--All new 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
SAN DIEGO, CA., March 30. 2006--All new 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
2007 Ford Explorer: Limited
2008 Ford Explorer
2008 Ford Explorer: Eddie Bauer
2008 Ford Explorer: Eddie Bauer
2008 Ford Explorer
2008 Ford Explorer
2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac: LTD