2012 Ford Explorer Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Ford Explorer overview explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 Explorer, and includes Ford Explorer safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

Last year, Ford redesigned the Explorer, switching it from a traditional SUV to a family-friendly crossover vehicle. The Explorer can carry up to seven passengers, and is sized at the upper end of the midsize crossover SUV class. It is the largest and most capable crossover SUV Ford sells.

The main update to the Explorer for 2012 is the addition of an optional turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that is expected to provide the power of a V6 engine combined with the fuel economy of a four-cylinder engine. Ford also offers the 2012 Explorer in a greater variety of colors, adding Black, Ginger Ale Metallic, Dark Blue Pearl Metallic, and Cinnamon Metallic paint choices.

Three versions of the 2012 Ford Explorer are on sale: Base, XLT, and Limited. Each one comes standard with a V6 engine and a third-row seat for seven-passenger capacity. Base models have air conditioning, cruise control, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, power blind-spot mirrors, power windows, and power door locks with remote keyless entry. MyKey programmable features, basic MyFord technology, a six-speaker stereo with a CD player and a Media Hub with an auxiliary audio input jack are also included on every Explorer. The Base model also features 17-inch steel wheels with plastic wheel covers, dark tinted rear privacy glass, LED taillights, and Ford’s Easy Fuel capless fuel filling system.

The Explorer XLT is the most popular model. A shiny chrome grille, heated side mirrors with LED turn signal indicators and puddle lamps, fog lights, and 18-inch alloy wheels give the XLT model a more upscale exterior appearance. There are also several more colors from which to choose. Inside, the XLT includes nicer fabric for the seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and satellite radio. A SelectShift version of the standard six-speed automatic transmission allows manual shift control, and this iteration of the Explorer comes with automatic headlights, a perimeter alarm system, a reverse sensing system, and a SecuriCode keyless entry keypad system.

The Explorer Limited is the luxury model. As expected, it has leather upholstery and dual-zone automatic climate control on the inside, and is dressed up on the outside with body-color PowerFold side mirrors, a body-color grille, and attractive 20-inch alloy wheels. Heated front seats, a 10-way power driver’s seat, Sony premium audio with HD Radio and iTunes song tagging capability, and a reversing camera are also standard, along with Intelligent Access keyless entry and push-button ignition, remote engine starting, a HomeLink programmable universal remote, and power adjustable pedals. The cabin features ambient lighting, and the Explorer Limited is equipped with technology including the MyFord Touch vehicle system integration, Sync hands-free communication and entertainment, and a Media Hub that includes USB ports, an SD card reader, audio/video input jacks, and a 110-volt power outlet.

A Towing Package is optional on any Explorer, and comes with trailer sway control technology, a transmission tow/haul mode, and a trailer brake controller. To help hook a trailer up in the first place, the reversing camera available on the XLT and Limited models includes a zoom function. Each model is also available with all-wheel drive.

To gain access to most options, you’ll need to buy the Explorer XLT, which can be improved with most, but not all, of the features that come standard on the Limited model. Extra-cost items include leather, heated front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a dual-panel sunroof, a reversing camera, a power tailgate, and a set of 20-inch alloy wheels. Several technology upgrades are also available for the XLT, including a Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert, MyFord Touch, Sync, a premium sound system, a navigation system, and a rear-seat entertainment system.

The Limited model comes very well equipped in standard format, and can be upgraded with the dual-panel sunroof, power tailgate, navigation system, and rear-seat entertainment system. Exclusive options for the Limited are perforated leather, ventilated front seats, a 10-way power adjustable front passenger’s seat, second-row bucket seats, a PowerFold third-row seat, rain-sensing wipers, and HID headlights. Additional technology reserved for the Limited model includes Active Park Assist, which can steer the Explorer into a parallel parking space while the driver operates other controls, and an Adaptive Cruise Control system that includes Collision Warning with Brake Support.

A 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 is standard on the 2012 Ford Explorer. Thanks to 255 lb-ft. of torque, this V6 is good to tow up to 5,000 pounds. A six-speed automatic transmission, with SelectShift manual gear selection on XLT and Limited models, delivers the power to the front or all four wheels. As this review is published, the EPA has not rated the Explorer. Last year, this V6 was rated to get 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway with front-wheel drive, and 17 city/23 highway with all-wheel drive.

Originally, Ford planned to offer an optional 2.0-liter, turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder EcoBoost engine in the Explorer. That never happened, but the company says the boosted four-banger will arrive for 2012. With an expected 237 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 250 lb-ft. of torque from 1,700 to 4,000 rpm, the EcoBoost engine should combined the power of a small V6 with the fuel economy of a big four-cylinder. The EPA has not rated this engine for fuel economy as this review is written.

All 2012 Explorer models with the standard V6 engine can be equipped with an Intelligent 4WD system that includes terrain management technology. This means the driver can manually adjust the system and tailor it for snow, sand, mud, hill descent, and normal driving conditions.

The 2012 Explorer is equipped with a now typical package of airbags, traction and stability control, and antilock brakes. It also comes with a feature called Curve Control, which senses when a driver has entered a turn too fast and automatically applies the brakes to stabilize the vehicle. A standard SOS Post Crash Alert system automatically unlocks the Explorer’s doors and activates the flashers in the event of a collision, blind-spot mirrors help the driver see vehicles in adjacent lanes, and MyKey technology allows parents to program lower maximum vehicle speed, lower maximum stereo volume, and adjust other safety-related settings. Ford also engineers the Explorer with what it calls the Trinity front impact structure to contribute to “a safety cage of strength” for occupants.

Additional safety features include reversing sensors (standard on XLT and Limited), a reversing camera (optional on XLT and standard on Limited), a Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert (optional on XLT and Limited) and Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning (optional on Limited) that helps the driver avoid an accident in the first place. Explorer XLT and Limited models are also available with a world-first inflatable rear seatbelt system, which Ford says is more comfortable to wear and can spread impact energy across more than five times the area of a normal seatbelt.

Given the Explorer’s popularity with families, you would assume the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) might be in a hurry to crash-test it. Evidently not. As this review is written, the Explorer’s crashworthiness by the NHTSA yardstick remains a mystery.

Good thing the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has taken the time to run an Explorer through its battery of tests. The result? It was a Top Safety Pick for 2011, achieving the highest possible ratings in the offset frontal-, side-, and rear-impact assessments as well as for its roof strength in a rollover accident.

As this review is written, neither Consumer Reports nor J.D. Power and Associates are offering predictions for the 2012 Explorer’s reliability. Last year, J.D. Power predicted that reliability would be slightly better than average, but results from the firm’s 2011 Initial Quality Study indicate that owners are dissatisfied with the quality of their new Explorers.

Early quality reports have us a bit concerned, even if they are mainly related to the technology Ford is installing on many of its new models. We’re also a bit confused as to why Ford sells the Edge, Flex, and Explorer when they overlap one another to great degree. Nevertheless, the 2012 Ford Explorer is definitely worth consideration if you’re searching for a family-friendly crossover SUV.

By Christian Wardlaw