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The Ford Explorer has been around since 1991 in some form or another.
We've seen it as a truck with a sport-track.
Heck, we've even seen it as a rugged fashionista with the Eddie Bauer edition but We've never seen it like this.
This one is a hybrid, and I got the keys to the 2020 Ford Explorer hybrid, So come right check in with me as we see if this fuel sipper can live up to its hybrid moniker.
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Core hybrid is powered by a 3.3 liter naturally aspirated V six in conjunction with a 35 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery.
You can do a total power output of 318 horsepower and 322 pounds of torque Now for those of you keeping score that is in between the base 2.3 eco boost and the larger three liter eco boost V6, so it should be a pretty good compromise between the two, especially when you consider that Ford says you can go over 500 miles between fill ups.
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It tends to be the automatic transmission gets powered down To an optional all wheel drive system.
But get this, you can get the Explorer in rear wheel drive.
I know, it's so weird there's not a lot of unit Audi SUV is that our rear wheel drive.
Most of them are front wheel drive and Ford says that they did that to provide a better writing vehicle overall.
And I mean I got to agree with that.
The hybrids not gonna win any speed contest, but it's got a satisfying punch off the line and you can very easily keep up with traffic.
I've always liked Ford's 10 speed automatic transmissions and I like it here to sure it's been tuned for the hybrid but it's still really smooth, it doesn't hunt around for gears and it will skip gears when it needs to.
I mean, I can even operate from the paddle shifters if I want to However it will say that sometimes when I'm slowing down decelerating and might dunk into a lower year but by and large, it does this job in the background and no muss no fuss.
No EPA ratings have not been released yet.
But Ford says that I can go 500 miles between Philips I've got an 18 gallon tank, so the power of math told me that I'm getting about 27, 28 miles per gallon.
However, we won't know for sure until we get this guy in for a full week of testing.
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What I really like is that I don't have to sacrifice cargo space For fuel efficiency the battery is located underneath the second row seat.
So I've got the same amount of overall cargo space as I do in the other models about 88 cubic feet.
For its co-pilot 360 suite of 88 features.
Is here.
And I really like the adaptive cruise control with the lane centering.
I mean it's just a little bit more human like it's a little bit more aggressive, now it's not too much It's just that you're not frustrated saying get on the gas sooner.
And yes I keep my hands on the steering wheel all of the time and so should, you but lane centering this guy bang straight dead on one on the highway
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Infotanmentwise I've got the same three as I've always had, but its got a little bit of a redesign but it still works the same way.
On the home page here I've got the naviagtion, my audio as well as my phone and then got a series of shortcut buttons along the bottom.
But what I do like is this new feature.
I can go in here into settings and then display and And I can get a calm screen.
So if I don't want to be disturbed and distracted, it's all about calm.
But the real question, can you still explore in your Explorer?
Well, I think that there is probably an off road course around here in Oregon somewhere.
So lets go see what we can find.
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Well, I found me an off road course and Ford has given me an all wheel drive hybrid Explorer.
Now I talked earlier about having that longer wheel base and what that's real;y good for is I've got better geometry, right?
I've got a better approach and departure angle.
We're looking at 20 degrees of approach angle and about 22 in departure.
Plus 17 degrees of break over angle and it can tell five thousand pounds.
Not bad for a hybrid.
Right.
And I can also forward up to 18 inches of water.
I mean is this thing going to get you like through the king of hammers cause we know.
Of course not.
It's a family SUV but it is certainly going to get you to your cabin.
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Well after spending a day in the 2020 Ford Explorer hybrid I gotta say I really like it.
It's a very solid vehicle.
The only problem might be the price.
I mean this one starts at about fifty two thousand dollars.
If you look at the competition 2020 Toyota Highlander.
Well I don't have 20 20 pricing but last year about thirty seven thousand dollars and I don't think they're going to raise it 15k now.
That being said it's more up until five thousand pounds and it handled this off road course with ease.
Plus I've got plenty of room and that awesome 10 speed automatic transmission.
So my advise to you is drive them both, and see what you think.
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