The 2025 Ford Explorer is a versatile vehicle. It can transport a family, handle a bit of light to moderate offroading, and carry a good amount of cargo. But can it handle an amateur racing event? Ford claims it’s the fastest SUV you can get for less than $60,000, and the pace is a bonus, but you may need more than raw speed to post a respectable time.
Autocross is a great way to get into motorsport. You can usually compete in your own car, entry costs are low, and expensive modifications like roll cages tend to be unnecessary. It’s also pretty safe, as the only likely casualties will be a rubber cone or two, and nobody takes it that seriously. An autocross personal best is like a golf handicap, you’re probably going to tell everyone about it even if nobody really cares.
Anything will get around an autocross course if you’re not particularly bothered about your time. So we’re judging this on two key points. Can you have fun? And is it something you could be competitive in long term?
It’s also worth pointing out that many Autocross events don’t have an SUV “class” and actively ban larger vehicles with an increased rollover risk. So stock variants of the Explorer, along with other SUVs and pickup trucks, are a no-no. Lowered versions of the vehicles may pass, and certain events may give larger vehicles a thumbs up either way. But by default, the likes of the Explorer won’t “autocross” at all. Rules aside, let’s see how it actually performs in a cone-strewn parking lot.
Will it Autocross?
During a first-drive event hosted by Ford, a reasonably sized autocross course was set up and a few AWD-configured vehicles were made available for those that wanted to head round it. The course featured plenty of tight turns and few long straights, as is often the case with Autocross. The idea is to make it all as technical as possible while preventing those on the course from building up too much speed. Because carrying too much speed is how accidents tend to happen.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t really play to the Explorer’s strengths and really highlights the vehicle’s shortcomings. It’s very understeer prone, and any throttle input in a curve will result in an ear-splitting screech and a few damaged cones.
I did have fun, and the additional challenge that came with shaving a few seconds off my time in an AWD SUV was oddly appreciated. However, it’s not something you would enjoy competing in every week. This is also more of a me problem than an Explorer problem, but one of my later attempts to post a time of 21-anything resulted in me coming into the box a little hot and carrying out what can only be described as a cone massacre.
So, if you have a recent Explorer and want to try Autocross as a one-off, then you’ll likely have a good time. If you want a daily driver that can easily be turned into a weekend warrior, you should probably look elsewhere. However, I didn’t come close to rolling it so the SCAA might be a bit overzealous with their regulations. Free the SUV!
