Ford has released details about the 2020 Explorer ST. The performance SUV will be powered by a little donkey. The donkey we refer to is the 3.0-liter V6 EcoBoost engine. The donkey allows the Explorer ST produce a 400bhp punch and 525Nm torque uppercut. It is, say Ford, the most powerful Ford SUV ever… We shouldn’t be celebrating this… milestone. The statistics sound good however the donkey seems rather outdated these days. When you factor in hybrid and electrified powertrains the donkey appears to be a little sacrificial donkey… on a dusty road. For example, the Volvo XC90 Twin Engine is way better. The 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder hybrid-powered SUV also offers 402bhp and 640Nm of torque. The combination of supercharging and the electric motors deliver power with no mercy. By comparison, Ford has glued itself to a powertrain setup that is positively old-school. Yes, it has EcoBoost technology but that is a marketing ploy. Ford developed their EcoBoost range of engines with a $6bn loan from the US DOE. It was 2009 and Ford was verging on collapse. Part of the loan was used to develop the EcoBoost range of engines. Why EcoBoost? because it’s cheaper than developing hybrid powertrains. So what is EcoBoost all about. In simple terms, broadly speaking, an EcoBoost engine utilizes direct injection turbocharged technology. Not groundbreaking by any means, but for the McDonalds of the automotive world EcoBoost represents a way of looking more “Apple Store”. But there is now a shift towards hybrid and pure electric drivetrains. And yet Ford is sticking to the mantra of the “fastest SUV” it has ever created using nothing more than a little donkey. We are sure it will be fast, but it’s kind of like saying steam trains are way better than diesel trains, or electric trains or even magnetic levitating trains. The hybrid-ICE convergence is happening now. It has been for some time. The Ford Explorer ST with its EcoBoost engine is a species extinction event. Ford knows this, and for that reason, the Ford Explorer EcoBoost ST SUV is the worst – little donkey – car of the week.  

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