2020 Ford Explorer | Who Is Responsible For This? 

Engineer on the Explorer program here. All I can say about this entire vehicle is “Look how they massacred my girl.” I expected nothing less coming into this review, but it hurts to hear nonetheless as an engineer who takes pride in his work. Your final thoughts nutshell what’s wrong with U625 perfectly, although as with any nutshell, it doesn’t give a good sense of the scale of the issue. It wasn’t just the plant, or the engineers, or the designers, or the management, or the workers. This program has suffered so many cock-ups that literally everyone involved has made a contribution to this end result. The Fields administration wasted far too much time and money switching the Explorer back to RWD for “platform synergies.” The CD6 platform’s cost ballooned out of control and became hopelessly delayed as they tried to develop an architecture that would be able to underpin nearly 10 different cars - that failed so badly that most the vehicles whose future relied on CD6 were outright canceled or stayed on older platforms, with the Explorer and Aviator being the only two left. The platform was then re-optimized for the SUVs at the insistence of project leads, who wanted to sell it on performance and supposedly had research to back up their claims it would sell better if it handled better. It definitely does, but they were dead wrong about most consumers noticing, never mind caring, about the engine layout and primary driving wheels. Engineering was too worried about the new architecture and engines to devote adequate time to pretty much anything else. The F-150 program requires about 120-200 test mules per new generation, spanning all trims and powertrain combinations. The Explorer program built over 300, and Aviator tacked on a more reasonable but still significant number. We ended up building nearly twice the number of test mules as the 2021 F-150 program did, and because of the need to keep building testers, the PP cars were delayed, meaning that the process of engineering that new assembly line had to be compacted down to meet the deadlines. Can’t make a line to build the cars without knowing how the car is built, after all. Chicago Assembly being its typical shithole self (engineers and management alike were practically dragged kicking and screaming into choosing Chicago) finished off any hope of this launch being anything short of disastrous. I’m still a firm believer in the Blue Oval, and, flawed as she is, I proudly stand by the Explorer, enough to order an ST for myself - it arrives later this year. The sad truth is that this has been happening ever since Fields took the reins and focused on sucking up to Wall Street instead of running a car company. Nearly ever program started under him and inheriting his bullshit attitude if salutary neglect has stumbled. The 2020 Escape/Corsair are the only ones that haven’t, and that’s at least in part due to getting a free troubleshooting extension after Explorer pillaged a big chunk of staff to help out with fixing its own shitstorm. Hackett has not done anywhere near enough to fix this, but some effort towards a better culture is better than actively destroying it. Ford will learn; the question is how long until it forgets again.

Finally, a car reviewer who doesn't mince words and isn't afraid to insult manufacturers when they deserve it. Good job. Glad I found ya.

The inhouse audio testing done here: WOW! Nowhere else do you get this kind of review. This is real objective frequency response shlt, not subjective opinion bullshlt. Well played, SG. Well played.

Well I kept the $1,000 I was going to spend on the upgraded sound system. Your first back waxing appointment is this Friday. Would you like me to pick you up in the Explorer?

I thought the title was a little too harsh until you got to the transmission section. Looks like Ford messed up another one. Your Ford rep probably won't be happy, but this deserves to see the light of day.

As a ford technician myself. I couldn’t agree more with everything you said. It’s UNREAL how much they charge vs what you actually get.

The driver's seat leather is already looking like crap

This dash, this center screen, are enough for me to skip this car

Picturing Ford’s UI design team as a bunch of folks who use “the facebook” and take videos in portrait mode

4:25 The backup camera display is utterly moronic. This is not nuclear science. No one at Ford was bothered by it? If not, that sets off a warning flag for me about other possible items they were not bothered by.

Wooow! This man throws Down The Gauntlet and doesn't mince words I love it. This is exactly how Kia and Hyundai was able to undercut car manufacturers like this. Like the Kia Telluride I bought 10 months ago. Is still selling like hotcakes! By the way I have absolutely NO problems with it. Attention to detail God bless!

For the record, I bought an ST that now has about 7000 miles on it. The transmission was rough, as stated - in the beginning. I now thoroughly enjoy the way it drives. I think it took a bit to understand the idiosyncrasies of its shift patterns and possibly its worked out a bit of its own kinks. As a young guy with a family (dying to buy a sports car again) this thing is a lot of fun and certainly helping to satisfy the enthusiast in me. Also, I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the competition looks like absolute dog shit compared to the ST... it’s not even close.

I work for Ford Oakville...we build the Edge....and what you said at the end was so true. We build amazing vehicles that are designed to fast and to easy and without care. ... it's going to end badly unless this company puts a little more care in the product and a little less in their bottom line. Keep up the good work. Cheers

I hate the trend of let’s just stick a iPad in the dash then we’re done.

WHO would think of doing a vertical screen???? It makes literally no sense at all. It doesn’t even work well. This is literally a mess.

That screen looks absolutely ridiculous lmao

I could hear the pain in your voice as you were going over your final thoughts. Thanks for having the courage to just straight up tell the truth. Much appreciated 👍🏾

61k... y'all gotta stop taking out these loans.

No one is as honest, makes it hard to watch the other guys

Awful car. Everywhere you look it screams MEDIOCRE! A great nameplate ruined.

You are hands down the most entertaining car reviewer on RU-vid. Keep it up!

Pay 65 grand OTD, drive two years, get 28 grand. DEAL!!

I had one of these as a rental and really liked it but you’re right about the transmission, it literally feels like a highschool kid doing a clutch dump downshift on his Honda civic

What goes through a persons head when they get an email from “savage geese” to borrow a car for review lmaoo

Please do in depth reviews of Oreos with your usual outstanding cinematography going forward.

The garbage infotainment on a lot of new makes and models is going to make the used market a risky place in 5-10 years

I work on these things every day. You guys aren't even scratching the surface. This new Explorer may go down as the worst vehicle Ford ever made. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from one of the engineers in Dearborn asking me why I'm fixing so many water leaks, and putting so many hours into fixing them. I asked them why they needed to drill 6 holes on each side of the vehicle to mount the roof racks from the bottom up? They didn't even seal the holes. All they put is a tiny piece of foam the size of a dime, as a seal. It does nothing. On top of that, every time you need to do something with the roof rack, you have to drop the headliner. They also didn't design the cowl trim right. If it doesn't sit perfectly, water goes right into the hole on the firewall for the evap box. And you have to remove that to replace the battery. Now, 90% of the time on a battery install, you end up with a swimming pool in your RF seat. The motors suck, the transmissions suck. You even pointed out that some of the suspension is aluminum, and the hub assembly is steel. You're not supposed to do that because when you have AL and steel touching, it corrodes. I need a 20 ton press just to separate suspension parts that should fall apart when you unbolt them. These cars are less than a year old. Then there was the headlight disaster.....

Glued on tablet. I'm out.

I initially started watching this channel from your days building a dd'er/track FRS. Now as a father with a family of four I really appreciate your no BS reviews of family haulers. Likely one of the reasons I'll be getting a used 2017 CX5 to replace one of vehicles. Keep it up!

What’s the link to the back waxing gofundme?

I really like your reviews. No one else highlights the overall build quality and engineering like you do. What a vehicle looks like up on the lift is very telling. And your the only one who shows that. Good job.

We have a 2020 Limited. Of course it doesn't have near the features as this Platinum, but it was also about 15K less. I'm sure the 3.0 V6 runs like crazy, but so does the 2.3 4 cylinder. It makes 300 hp and does just fine. The lower trim levels have the center display horizontal, rather than vertical like that one. It's not as big, but you get a full back up camera display instead of just one corner.

Another RU-vidr said recently. "Cars that are designed by engineers emailing each other." Each engineer has their own project team and each team is focused on different components. A car designed by email

I'm more so surprised Ford is still sending you vehicles to review

"Better off spending a thousand dollars getting my back waxed for six months". CLASSIC! LOL

I agree. My ford explorer st 2020 has been in dealer for over a month. Multiple issues, and because of this they will buy vehicle back.

The Ford Explorer Platinum trim starts at $58,525... comparably equipped competitors below: Toyota Highlander Platinum: $46,850 Hyundai Palisade Limited:$44,925 Kia Telluride SX: $41,790 Honda Pilot Elite: $48,220 VW Atlas SEL Premium: $48,395 Furthermore base luxury 3-row SUVs, Lexus RXL base: $48,325 Acura MDX base: $44,500 Audi Q7 Premium: $53,550 GMC Yukon XL base: $52,400 The list goes on. Can someone PLEASE explain to me how the Explorer Platinum is $6,000-11,000 more than comparably equipped competition, AND the luxury competition?

I love that you guys do the audio testing and have actual numbers to back up your observations about the audio. But to be frank, looking at those graphs, I don't know what I'm looking at. I have no idea what to look for. You said the Explorer's audio is bad and that the graphs back it up, but it really doesn't show me anything because I don't know how to read it.

I just bought a 2020 Explorer Limited 2.3L and I absolutely love it!👍

Ok so I bought a 2021 Explorer on my way to report to a new unit in Alaska from Florida. Now I test drove a platinum and loved it except for the exact things you mentioned. I ended up buying the XLT because quite frankly the $60K for it was too much for me. The thing I will say is the infotainment on the XLT it horizontal not straight up and down and works much better. Also the ride in the XLT is much better and I think it’s due to the smaller rims and tires with more sidewall and I’ll say it soaks up bumps pretty we’ll definitely better than the Platinum. Now the interior yes is a bit unfinished and could be better and the base sound system isn’t as bad ass what you described with the premium sound system but it could be better. Also the transmission yes I 100% agree with you. They screwed up something with the transmission. I’ve driven my in laws F-150s a ton and they shift WAY smoother than this thing does which is what gets me. I think it’s a tuning/software problem. There’s no in between the smooth and hard shifts and it will just slam into a lower gear when all you need is the torque converter to unlock or maybe down shift one gear not 4. I will say driving it 4,000 miles from Florida to Washington it was a smooth comfortable ride and had no issues and I didn’t experience any bad vibrations or noises coming from the car rattling or the engine or trans making weird noises. I hope a software update comes out for this car soon for the transmission but I think it’s a pretty good car overall it does have its issues but I honestly love my explorer. I think the lower trim levels are the ones to go with honestly.

Must be an interesting meeting when Ford Execs realize that Hyundai and Kia out did them.

Who is the customer for this at 60k? Even if you are a Ford fanatic, why would you not upgrade to a Lincoln at that price?

Ford’s fit n’finish in their already overpriced Explorer has always been disappointingly half assed 👎🏽

You perfectly described my relative. He has owned 5 Explorers in a row, and is getting a new ST. He won’t look at anything else. So sad.

Ford: "the sexy soccer mom next door is not gonna care about any of this"

Having owned domestic vehicles, I am continually amazed at how much domestic manufacturers insult their customers. It’s junk from the beginning and will not last. They just don’t seem to give a shit.

I guess I'm one of those Ford guys that will overlook minor issues and not stress over things that at the end of the day don't make the vehicle perform any better or worse. I like the styling, the comfort of the seats, the audio system is good and I particularly like how much better the infotainment screen is. Something that I would consider an issue is the left foot space in the older models. I had a 17 Platinum and felt like the driving space was completely out of sync. That's something worth complaining about.

I bought a ‘21 Explorer xlt. I may be biased because I drive semi trucks all day, but I believe the base 2.3 is more than enough to get you down the road and gets great fuel economy. Haven’t had any transmission issues yet in 6,000 miles. It feels solid and comfortable. The smaller wheels with thicker sidewalls probably help. Not a big audio guy but I do miss the Harman Kardon in the last Dodge I had. Excited to feel how it handles poor weather, if we ever get rain in California again.

By far the best automotive review channel on the Internet. I love how genuine and honest you are with your reviews. So many RU-vid channels kiss the ass of every manufacturer just to get a free ride for a week and a bunch of views but their material is so surface level and generic. Keep up the good fight with bringing unbiased reviews to the masses. Thanks brother!

That will be the last time Ford loans him a vehicle to review lmao.

Idgaf about the Explorer, but this review is hilarious.

“Ohh I gotta wait for the stop start to kick in!!”

ford must have spent 95% of their budget trying to make this RWD and the 5% was the rest of the car

Before my wife decided on the Palisade we looked at this. We spent maybe 5 minutes sitting inside this mess of an interior before we walked out of the dealership. Not even in the same league as the Kia/Hyundai.

Got myself a 2018 Mustang GT PP1 with 10spd auto...new custom order two years ago. After the nightmare experience with dealers with inability to find and fix a blow strut, and no support from Ford Corporate (yeah, I wrote letters), I dumped the Mustang and Ford for me for a long time. I was a Ford guy and that was my 9th new Mustang in 17 years. No more. Everything hit on in this video is a big problem with Ford Corporate and their awful dealership experience!

Excellent review. Ford if you’re watching this is the kind of review that is determining my next car purchase. Was considering the Explorer and now will be considering competitors. Current C-Max and F150 owner too.

Exterior: looks like a Rav4 and an Equinox did a drunken face swap selfie Interior: "crap we forgot the touch screen, just glue an ipad somewhere"

Test drove a 3.0 Platinum 4 days ago with a $55k dealer tag in the window with 51 miles on the odometer. 100% agree with this review; it felt like I was driving a 3/4 baked prototype. Strong engine (fast), felt planted on the road, sharp exterior styling...thunky suspension on heavy hits, terrible execution of the interior fit and finish. You could tell the leather upper dash had been apart and the A pillar trim on both sides had been off to fix something- probably one of the vehicles shipped from Chicago to Detroit for repair. Really disappointing...I have been in Fords for about the last 15 years and on my 3rd F150. This thing is overpriced around 10 grand and wasn't finished. Nice idea for a package that missed the mark.

It’s kind of like the crown Victoria of suvs, super plasticky, basic interior layout. All pieces are designed to be swapped out for Lincoln parts

13:59 Am the only one who noticed this? lol

Everyone: nobody can make a transmission worse than cvts Ford: hold my 10 speed

Did a solar flare hit there during your left turn? lol

Every car review should include comments about how the car is built underneath!!! Happy to subscribe!!

The other trim models have landscape screen. That said I have a 2021 Limited an love it. I test drove a 2020 Telluride and Palisade and think that this surpasses those in regard to platform. It feels more like my Flex (Car-like) than a SUV / Truck. And, at least for 2021, the 2.3L Ecoboost is faaaaast. It beat my 2019 Explorer sport that I just dumped. Anyway, I respect the viewpoint, but I'm satisfied so far.

They just bought a Chinese Tablet from Wish and just shove it up right there damn it looks like is an afterthought, It sabotage the interior looks

The goose is on fire with this one. Dang. Personally, I really hate the way the new giant headlights intrude on the grille. Weird look. The previous generation actually looks better from almost every angle.

Now THAT was an honest review. Thanks for skipping the normally obligatory hype.

He was spot on with the first part about fit and finish. Where I work, we built a lot of the molds for the IP. When I saw the grained parts, I was like...yeessshh...I don't know who came up with that. There were so many issues with fit and assembly. We kept making changes but they could not figure out where the deviations are. It was not all cars but how the IP is assembled creates many issues. We are already working on the mid-cycle refresh, which usually happens a couple years after release, they are already doing it months after release. This is a big deal at Ford and a lot of resources are directed to make this right. It's a nice looking SUV, I just hope they get it right. They nailed the expidition/navigator, they screwed up royally on this one.

If EA made vehicles, this would be it.

Palisade is 10k cheaper for 10k more features.

What happened to that front driver's seat? It already looks stretched, creased, and worn out. That is terrible.

All the puckers/folds/creases in the leather seats are unreal... I don't think that car reviewers for a minute are nice to press cars. But Jesus. If it looks that bad in 5000 miles, how is anyone supposed to keep it for at least 50,000?

They literally double-sided taped an Amazon tablet to the dashboard 😂

When he complained about the the strips of “fake wood” in the interior of the car, I thought he was nit picking honestly. I didn’t really see what the big deal was, but then I saw the infotainment system on this thing and it pissed me off because of how stupid of a design that was

These are absolutely the best reviews on RU-vid

The center screen looks like they got a deal on those Amazon fire tablets from 5 or 6 years ago. Even has the monster sized bezels.

What happened at 20:38? Did the traction control kick in and ruin the fun? Thanks for the honest reviews. Keep 'em coming!

I hate new vehicles with huge tablet display on the dashboard making the interior space looks tacky and add on cheap.

Well I must say these guys are on point. My 2017 Ford Explorer lease was expiring. I went in to look at and test drive the 2020 Ford Explorer Limited. It felt cheap and unfinished compared to my 2017 Explorer. I hated it and decided just to buy and keep my 2017 model (20,000 miles) which I like alot.

They should have kept a NA V6 option. A cheap thing I noticed since it saved me from a crash, is Ford didn't put in rear side marker lights, yet retained the overly huge side profile of the lights.

I took my wife and 16 year old daughter to see the Explorer and the Telluride. I wanted the Explorer. I'm a long time Cherokee guy and I never had an Explorer . I was excited about the purchase. The Telluride was my second choise. My wife felt the Explorer was very plasticky. When my kid sat in the front passenger seat, she thought it was to narrow. Then when my wife tried to get into the third row, it was to tight. Additionally, the monkey handle to pull the second row chair forward to get into the third row was to difficult to lift. I knew it was over when my wife broke her nail trying to lift the handle. She didn't even want to talk about the iPad on the dash. It looked like lazy designing. She wouldn't even speak to the sales person once she exited the vehicle. Needless to say, I have a Telluride SX on order for February delivery.

When will we get the 5 part documentary of the 6 month back body wax adventure?

Yes it has its positive and negative factors but it’s still compatible in today’s market based on my test drive

I think you should have tested one of the trim levels with the four cylinder turbo (though you mentioned the 4 cyl without testing it). Most of the reviews I have read about the four cylinder turbo have been positive, and most people who will buy the Explorer will purchase the XLT 2002a pkg or Limited versions which both have the four cyl turbo. Therefore, your review has primarily excluded the Explorer's base audience as most consumers can't afford the ST and Platinum versions which come with the 3.0L V6, and cost roughly about 60k. I would steer consumers away from the explorer because of the recent press about its transmission problems, and not this review because I think this review was a miss.

Best car review I’ve seen on anything , in a long time! Going to send this to a friend of mine who is all about that Explorer ST to give him something to ponder before he pulls the trigger

$60 grand!!?? That's CRIMINAL!

It's funny how all the American reviewer don't like Ford auto. As an Asian family owns 3 Honda before, I picked up my first Ford this year, absolute love it!

transmission same as Expedition and same issues with harshness

This is the video I was waiting for lol. I'm an explorer driver now and a Ford fan, but I just put my factory order in for my Telluride SX. This video confirmed my choice. Thanks Mark for your Telluride review, that was a huge factor in my choice

I grew up a die hard Ford guy who has had dozens of them but after years of unreliable vehicles built with poor quality materials, especially the interiors where you spend so much of your time in, I have reached a limit. I finally had enough in 2008 with my brand new twin turbo diesel F-250 which in less than 6 weeks had to go in for service twice with check engine lights, I left it at that dealership & walked away from it buying a new Hemi Ram which I had for 11 years without a single problem, done with Ford & their highly questionable choices & poorly made vehicles with lackluster styling on top of it.

We have a few of the 2020 Explorer police utilities in our department fleet, and while it's comfortable, handles well and has good tech, the power train is complete shit. The older Explorers have the standard six speed and the torquey 3.7L that made it quick enough for most uses. The base 3.3 non hybrid and the 10 speed combo is horrible. It has no power, the transmission sounds and feels bad, and doesn't get any better fuel economy than the previous Explorer police vehicles.

I agree totally on your take of the interior. This is what happens when Ford's CEO comes up with "aplan to turn Ford Motor Co around" involves cutting $10 billion out of the cost of their vehicles. First the Ranger had tons of areas where cost-cutting was painfully obvious. Then the new Escape was horribly cheap all around. Now their previously solid Explorer is death by a thousand papercuts. No way should the seats look like have 100k miles on them after just a few thousand. I've heard similar shift quality complaints with the 10R80 in the Mustang GT and F-150. Some shift great, while others sound like they're dying and will shift like crap depending on your driving-style. It's similar to the complaints GM's 6-speed and 8-speed got for clunky shifts. Though I've been in a couple 2020 Toyota Rav4's that clunked and banged like this too.

Wow. You made Fords upper management sound like the coronavirus. Where would they be without the F150? Being bought out by Fiat?

As always one of my favorite car analysts. These cars are mass produced and I ofter remind myself the explorer is now designed for police cruiser fleets. I think Ford has lost the war in this segment. I definitely agree on the repeatable Ford buyer not even knowing the difference between model years. Those cars are now part of the recyclable car programs.

Explorers are horribly unreliable. Have 16 Explorer and has been in shop constantly since bought it new in 2016. Dealers are the biggest problem however

The most underrated part of your videos is Jack’s sporadic expression of frustration with the tech in the b roll🤣

I don't even see how this could be a fleet or rental car with seats wearing out at 4000 miles. The trim fit is hideous but that can be overlooked with fleet and rental but seat wear is something even rental car companies won't accept.

This review absolutely proves how you’re one of the best doing this on RU-vid.

The best and most honest review I have ever seen. I have a 2018 Platinum explorer and I approve this message!!!!