2016 Ford Explorer

The 2011 model year brought the fifth-generation Ford Explorer, the redesign that ended the Explorer's body-on-frame era. Instead of the body-on-frame ladder chassis used since 1991, the 2011 Explorer was a unibody crossover built on Ford's front-wheel-drive-based D4 platform, with front-wheel drive standard and all-wheel drive optional. The fifth-generation Explorer kept three rows of seating and introduced EcoBoost turbocharged engines to the model. The base engine was a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6; a turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost four was added for the 2012 model year for fuel economy, and from 2013 the Explorer Sport used a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 rated at 365 horsepower, also fitted to the Platinum trim added later. For 2016 Ford gave the Explorer a facelift with revised styling and replaced the 2.0-liter EcoBoost with a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four. This generation also introduced the Police Interceptor Utility, a fleet-and-law-enforcement version of the Explorer that became a common police vehicle. The fifth-generation Explorer ran through the 2019 model year and was replaced by the rear-drive-based sixth generation for 2020.