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The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. As the first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford SUV range in North America, the Explorer is slotted between the Ford Edge and Ford Expedition. As with the Ford Ranger, the Explorer derives its name from a trim package previously offered on the Ford F-Series pickup trucks. The Explorer has been offered in multiple chassis and powertrain layouts. The first two generations were directly derived from the Ford Ranger, switching to a model-specific chassis for the third and fourth generations. The fifth generation was repackaged as a crossover SUV, adopting a variant of the Ford Taurus chassis architecture. Alongside the five-door Explorer wagon, a three-door Explorer wagon was offered from 1991 to 2003, officially referred to as the Explorer Sport after 1999, serving as the direct replacement of the Bronco II; the 2001–2010 Ford Explorer Sport Trac was a crew-cab pickup derived from the model line. For police use, the Ford Police Interceptor Utility has been derived from the fifth and sixth-generation Explorer to replace the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (and the later Taurus-based Police Interceptor Sedan). Through rebranding, Mazda, Mercury, and Lincoln have sold versions of the Explorer; Lincoln currently markets the sixth-generation model line as the Lincoln Aviator. For the North American market, the first four generations of the Explorer were produced by Ford at its Louisville Assembly Plant (Louisville, Kentucky) and at its now-closed St. Louis Assembly Plant (Hazelwood, Missouri); the model line is currently produced at Chicago Assembly Plant (Chicago, Illinois). In 2020, CNBC reported the Ford Explorer range as the best-selling SUV of all time in America. First generation (UN46; 1991) The first-generation Ford Explorer was introduced in March 1990 as a 1991 model-year vehicle. While again sharing a visual commonality with the Ford Ranger, the Explorer differed significantly from its Bronco II predecessor, becoming a family-oriented vehicle with off-road capability. In a significant design change, a five-door body style joined the model line, competing against the Jeep Cherokee and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer (the Explorer and five-door S-10 Blazer were introduced within a month of each other). To further attract family buyers, Ford aerodynamically optimized the passenger compartment of the Explorer, adopting flush-mounted glass and wraparound doors; a wider body allowed for three-across rear seating. To optimize cargo space, the traditional swing-away spare tire carrier was deleted in favor of an underfloor location. Similar to the Ford Taurus station wagon, the rear liftgate was fitted with a flip-up rear window. Chassis As with the Bronco II, the first-generation Explorer (design code UN46) shares its chassis underpinnings with the 1983–1992 Ford Ranger. The three-door version uses a 102.1-inch wheelbase (8.1 inches longer than the Bronco II); the five-door uses a 111.9 wheelbase (17.9 inches longer). Powertrain The Explorer was introduced with a 155 hp 4.0 L Cologne V6, replacing the 2.9L V6 of the Bronco II; the engine was shared with the Ford Aerostar and the Ranger. A Mazda M5OD 5-speed manual was the standard transmission offering, with the option of the Ford 4-speed A4LD overdrive automatic transmission. For 1993, the engine output was increased to 160 hp (119 kW). Along with the standard rear-wheel drive powertrain, at its launch, the Explorer was also offered with various configurations of part-time four-wheel drive, powered by a Borg Warner 13–54 transfer case. The "Touch Drive" electric-shift transfer case was standard (shared with the Ranger and the previous Bronco II); it allowed the vehicle to be shifted from two-wheel drive into high-range 4x4 drive (at any speed) and into low-range 4x4 (when stopped). As an option, the Explorer was also offered with a manual-shift transfer case (the option was paired with manual-locking hubs). All Explorers were equipped with the Ford 8.8 axle in either a limited-slip differential or open version; multiple rear-axle ratios could be specified. Four-wheel-drive front axles were the TTB ("Twin Traction Beam") Dana 35 with some Dana 44-spec components; 4x2 models shared Twin I-Beam components with the Ranger. Body Shifting into the midsize SUV size class, the Explorer is far larger than the Bronco II. In comparison to its predecessor, the three-door Explorer is 12.6 inches longer and 2.2 inches wider; a five-door Explorer is 22.4 inches longer and 730 pounds heavier than the Bronco II. Again sharing a front fascia with the Ford Ranger (including front bumper, fenders, headlamps, wheels, and grille), the passenger compartment of the Explorer underwent major upgrades over its predecessor. Alongside the addition of a five-door body style, the body underwent multiple aerodynamic upgrades; the Explorer received its own door stampings, eliminating exterior drip rails (wrapping the doors onto the roof) and bracket-mount side-view mirrors (replaced by ones integrated onto the doors). In what would become a design feature of the model line, the B-pillar and D-pillars were blacked out. The interior of the Explorer shared its dashboard with the Ranger in its entirety. In line with its own door stampings, the Explorer received model-specific door panels and interior trim. Five passenger seating was standard; on five-door versions, a front split-bench seat was offered as an option, expanding seating to six. On three-door vehicles, four-passenger seating was standard, with front bucket seats and a split-folding rear bench. Trim In line with other Ford light trucks, the five-door Explorer offered two primary trim levels. The XL served as the base-level trim, with XLT serving as the higher-range trim. Sharing the features of the XLT, the outdoors-themed Eddie Bauer was the highest-range trim. The XL was distinguished by a black grille (chrome optional) with steel wheels, while the XLT offered a chrome grille and alloy wheels; the Eddie Bauer offered alloy wheels and two-tone paintwork. Alongside its five-door counterpart, the three-door Explorer offered the XL trim and Eddie Bauer trims. In place of the XLT trim, the three-door offered the Sport trim, distinguished by its black lower bodywork, grille, and standard alloy wheels. From 1991 to 1994, the Sport-trim three-door Explorer was rebranded as the Mazda Navajo (see below); the 1991 Navajo became the first SUV to win the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award. For 1993, Ford introduced the Explorer Limited as a luxury-trim version of the model line, slotted above the Eddie Bauer. Largely intended as a competitor for the Oldsmobile Bravada, the Limited was a five-door vehicle that equipped with nearly every available feature of the model line (the only available options were .... Discover the Carol Trim popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Carol Trim books.