Time was that Ford was regularly the biggest selling car brand in Ireland, vying with Volkswagen and Toyota for turns in that top spot, writes Brian Byrne. Last year the blue oval sold less than half the cars here than it did in 2014, and only scraped into the top ten at ninth place. You have to wonder what the company has been at?
Three years ago they announced that their strongest nameplate, Focus, would end production this coming November. They also dropped their seven generations winning supermini Fiesta in 2023. The consensus among longtime loyal Ford owners was that US Ford had decreed only SUVs in future because there's a higher profit margin. In its last full year, 2024, the Focus in Ireland still managed a tight third place against top model crossover Puma and number two seller Kuga. Showing the Ford bosses — though they're possibly not seeing it — that there's still a strong appetite for a compact hatchback. The recent plethora of small EVs from Renault, Citroen, Hyundai et al, and upcoming Cupra Raval and ID.2 also highlight that Ford is well behind in that race, a pace it once dominated with combustion engined Fiesta.
It's also true to say that the company hasn't shone in the EV stakes generally, the US-focused Mustang Mach-E and the more recent Explorer launched in Ireland last autumn so far not making much impact. The slightly larger Capri EV just arrived here is in the same size and price bracket as a raft of competitors from Europe and a tidal wave of Chinese offerings already making initial landfall. There's an electric Puma imminent and a vague promise of electric 'replacements' for Focus and Fiesta, but both are down the road.
So, back to the Explorer which I took for a full review a while back. Sized between VW's ID.3 and ID.4 whose platform it is built on, the Ford is styled pleasantly, doesn't look or feel bulky, and makes a good fist of presenting as its own car. In the black I thought it lost a little, the design really showing itself better in lighter colours. That said, from the rear three-quarter viewpoint it looked swell.
The inside finish impressed, not as a luxury car but one which suggests quality and good finish that at the same time will stand up to a busy family's wear and tear efforts. A proper Ford, in other words. The instrumentation, the vertical aspect centre screen — which is adjustable — and the steering wheel buttons are all easily seen and understood. Even though climate controls are virtual on the screen, they can be reasonably managed, though they're at the bottom of the screen so one does have to look way down to operate them. The inbuilt navigation doesn't compare to using Google via CarPlay, but does give you an EV trip planning ability to make the best of the charging network on a long journey. The fingertip-slide volume control is an annoying version of the VW system's that is equally so. The transmission selector on the steering column is also the VW twist type, which I like.
The car is roomy for five adults — it's lower but wider than a VW ID.4 — and I found through my time with it to be a really comfortable drive. Especially on one of my occasional long 450km day return trips to the west. That also allowed me to evaluate the accuracy of the range, nominally 602km in my Extended Range review car but in reality 460km or so which over a variety of driving conditions proved to be quite consistent, and adequate. A short coffee stop at Kinnegad on the way home showed a good charging speed.
In my short first time with Explorer last October it had felt good. With more time and distance travelled, it became one that I feel is even better. Much better. But with only one in ten Ford sales so far this year being an Explorer, there's a long and bumpy road to travel before the company finds its way back to where it used to be.
PRICE: From €42,120; review car €43,591. WHAT I LIKED: It is more Ford than I expected.
