2025 Ford Explorer (Exploder) ST

[Dr Smith]

Basically the Edge/Endura was offered to the UK and so was built in RHD from Ford Canada which meant we could also get it...they dropped two versions of the 2.0L diesel engine into the RHD version and for some dumb reason Australia took the lower powered version. And no-one thought the V6 petrol might be a great hipo option (relatively speaking) for here that apart from some hipo opposition like euro etc had no real competitor...

It's been mentioned many times that US management just doesn't know or care about what markets exist outside continental US....and yes production complexities can cause problems but that's why engineers exist...to solve problems when someone controlling the purse-strings allows them to...I still fall over after I learnt in the old days Ford US would create some ridiculous number of dashboard mock-ups for a new F-150 model, I think it was 25....how many dashboard mock-ups for every Australian designed Falcon do you think Ford Aust built, lol......

We all take the easy option at some time for something, however if you always take the easy option and one day doing so instead of taking the longer term, more involved, more complex option can result in no market because you have no vehicle a buyer wants to give you the privilege of taking their money....and it should be that mentality....not you're lucky we give you this but rather, we're lucky you chose us...

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by smoo

The state of motoring journalism now, they don’t even bother to list performance times, braking etc. These guys pretty much just throw all the info from a sales brochure into a few paragraphs.

Is a ‘multi clutch’ trans, another term for CVT?

Journos at risk of being made redundant through lack of audience or AI doing the work for them could think outside the box and give us some technical deep dives on what they’re suppose to be reviewing.

I think the multi clutch in the Mazda is a form of DSG - personal preference is vastly in favour of a torque converter like a ZF.

As for the Journo's, reading Wheels or Modern Motor issues from the late 1960s, they had decent recorded data. Sarah in that video is ahead of most of the new car reviews in Australia on youtube, they don't go into the mechanicals or the build of the car but just drive it around a bit and go gnnnnnnghnggh about the soft touch plastics (some even measure how soft the plastics are). It's worse than Letterkenny's Super Soft Birthday episode.

On the other hand, there are performance specs channels like Performance Drive, and then guys who exist to take mechanical tours like speedkar who are very valuable, they give us the information we want to see.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

MG, GWM, LDV, BYD, Haval and Chery seem to be able to make cars in RHD for Australia's low volumes too.

Funny that,

With so much Japanese car manufacturing going on in China now and Japan still being RHD as well as building cars to suit other RHD markets worldwide, I would imaging China would follow suit to sell RHD cars to Japan and other easy RHD markets like us.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

What aspect(s) were inadequate, and by how much?

my understanding is that the pedal intrusion on a rhd was excessive due to lack of clearances around the exhaust when the steering changes side

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

for some dumb reason Australia took the lower powered version. .

and this is the thing - even when we do get a new rhd offering, marketing get it all wrong so it doesn't sell, and then next time around the manufacturers don't bother :(

sometimes we get the leftovers too....

[kevino]

Was Endura a left over?

[CyberWasp]

There should be a case to make any of the American Fords in RHD, if they can match or exceed the sales numbers of Mustang in Australia.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

There should be a case to make any of the American Fords in RHD, if they can match or exceed the sales numbers of Mustang in Australia.

Surprised we even got that to be honest,

Though mind you Transit Bus puts in a decent effort of 0 sales most months

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by kevino

Was Endura a left over?

Not so much a left over but this was the model chosen to build in RHD in North America and exported to the UK, OZ/NZ and anyone else interested.
I think Explorer was deemed too big for UK where they wanted to go diesel only whereas here it would have been a much better fit, offer 7 seats but had no diesel option. The irony is diesels are being dropped around the world and as Explorer continues in the US you would have had continuous updates and new power plants.

[Sprintey]

When they introduced the Focus wagon they specified ST line trim which is upper spec, and put the most powerful 1.5 in it - made for a highly spec'd product and I think 30 or just above was the ask?

Anyway they discontinued it, pity.