Review: Ford Explorer Electric.
Our full review · Specs & price Belgium 2026
Real-world range = WLTP × 0.78 (Belgian winter conditions, motorway 130 km/h). Official BE configurator price, .
Our review of the Ford Explorer Electric
The Ford Explorer is a Volkswagen ID.4 assembled in Cologne, with better bodywork and less accomplished software. The MEB platform gives it remarkable efficiency (under 15 kWh/100 km recorded on secondary roads by Automobile Propre over 1,800 km) and up to 2,000 kg of braked towing capacity, a rare figure in this class. What lets it down is the cabin, which does not justify the €47,950 of the Extended Range version. In Style trim at €42,750, it makes far more sense.
Driving & comfort
On the motorway the Explorer is excellent. Supple suspension, serious sound insulation, a 2,767 mm wheelbase: Brussels to Luxembourg goes by without a thought. It falls apart as soon as you push. The steering is vague and the two axles feel poorly connected; on a greasy November back road the rear end speaks up earlier than you'd like, and Sport mode fixes nothing since it sharpens the accelerator rather than the chassis. Inside, the contrast is brutal. The design works, rear legroom is decent (916 mm), the boot quotes 472 L below the parcel shelf and 1,460 L with the seats folded, and the 17-litre MegaConsole swallows a 1.5-litre bottle standing up. But the plastics are hard everywhere, and on Automobile Propre's test car the gap between the dashboard and the closed door was wide enough to slip a finger into. On a car that passes €47,000 in Extended Range trim, you notice that every morning. Add the drive selector moved onto the right-hand stalk — which pushes the wipers over to the left, alongside the lights — plus haptic touch buttons on the steering wheel, and allow a good fortnight before you stop reaching for the wrong one. The 9.7 m turning circle buys back some of that in Brussels car parks.
Daily charging
Two batteries, two logics. The 58 kWh Standard Range is an LFP (lithium iron phosphate) pack: charge it to 100% every night without guilt, that's what the chemistry prefers, and it takes 105 kW on DC for a 10-80% in 26 minutes. The 79 kWh Extended Range is NMC, so 80% day to day and 100% the night before a long run. It peaks at a claimed 183 kW, 29 minutes on the same exercise. The charging curve starts badly and finishes well, which is the opposite of most of the market. Automobile Propre observed power that doesn't climb immediately on plugging in, a peak reached only between 35 and 40% state of charge, still over 100 kW at 65%, and close to 80 kW at 80%. In practice, on the E411 motorway a half-hour stop genuinely fills the battery instead of half-filling it. At home the onboard charger takes 11 kW three-phase as standard, so roughly six hours for a 10-80% on the 79 kWh pack. The three-phase 16 A Type 2 public charging cable is included from Style trim, and bidirectional V2L (vehicle-to-load) charging is standard: two things other brands invoice for. The Belgian trap lies elsewhere. The heat pump is a €1,200 option including VAT on the Ford Belgium price list. In a country where it is below 10 °C five months a year, skipping it costs more than ticking it. And if your Brussels supply is still 3×230 V without neutral, have the installation checked by an approved electrician before ordering an 11 kW wallbox: inspection by an approved body is mandatory and cannot be sorted out over the phone.
Total cost of ownership
This is where the Explorer springs its best surprise, and nobody writes it down. The 2026 ATN scale (benefit in kind, the tax on company car private use) imposes a minimum of €1,690 a year whatever the calculation gives. For an EV the formula is catalogue value × 6/7 × 4%, so that floor is only cleared above a catalogue value of €49,292. Both the Style at €42,750 (€1,466) and the Select Extended Range at €47,950 (€1,644) fall below it. They cost exactly the same benefit in kind: €1,690 a year, €140.83 a month, around €76 net a month at a 50% marginal rate. Five thousand two hundred euros of catalogue value and 158 km of WLTP range more, for zero extra taxable benefit. The corollary is more useful still, because options count towards catalogue value. On the Select Extended Range you have €1,341 of options left before crossing the threshold. The €1,200 heat pump just squeezes in. Add the €1,100 retractable towbar and you move to €1,723 a year. It isn't ruinous, €33 a year, but no brochure will show you that trade-off. Then the electricity. At the 15 kWh/100 km recorded on secondary roads, the Q3 2026 CREG caps (CREG is the Belgian federal energy regulator) give €4.83 per 100 km in Flanders (32.22 c€/kWh), €5.58 in Brussels (37.19 c€) and €5.67 in Wallonia (37.83 c€). Over 20,000 km the Flanders-Wallonia gap reaches €168 a year for strictly identical driving. The rest fits in one line: 100% tax deductibility for any order placed before 1 January 2027, a CO₂ solidarity contribution of around €42 a month, a flat Flemish TMC (one-off registration tax) of €61.50, Walloon annual road tax of roughly €107, and the minimum of the scale in Brussels. One serious black mark: the Ford Belgium vehicle warranty stops at 2 years. The battery is covered for 8 years or 160,000 km down to 70% capacity, which is the market norm, but Kia gives 7 years on the whole car.
- Under 15 kWh/100 km recorded on secondary roads by Automobile Propre, i.e. around 520 km of real-world range on the Extended Range battery
- 2,000 kg of braked towing in Extended Range RWD and 2,200 kg in AWD: very few electric rivals do better
- 183 kW on DC and a charging curve still holding close to 80 kW at 80% state of charge
- Motorway comfort and packaging: 2,767 mm wheelbase, 472 L boot, 1,460 L with the seats folded
- Three-phase 16 A Type 2 cable and bidirectional V2L charging standard from entry-level trim
- Volkswagen infotainment under a Ford skin: convoluted menus, relentless alerts, bugs recorded over an 1,800 km test
- Perceived quality unworthy of the price: hard plastics throughout, uneven fit between dashboard and door
- Heat pump a €1,200 option and a front boot available only through the €300 Travel Pack (Ford Belgium price list)
- Vehicle warranty limited to 2 years at Ford Belgium, against 7 years at Kia
Our verdictThe Extended Range Explorer is an excellent long-distance car and a very good tow car, spoilt by software Ford never managed to make its own and by a dashboard that gives away its price. On the Belgian market the real bargain is the Style at €42,750: the same floor-level benefit in kind as the Select, budget left to tick the heat pump, and 444 km WLTP that covers 90% of use. If you tow, take the Extended Range and forget what I just wrote.
A company car driver covering 25,000 km a year, much of it on motorways; a family towing a caravan or a trailer up to two tonnes; a buyer who wants a 4.47 m SUV without paying the German premium brands' entry ticket.
A driver who cares about perceived quality and control ergonomics, someone looking for a playful chassis, or a buyer counting on a long manufacturer warranty.
Full specifications
Ford Explorer Electric in Belgium — what you need to know
Typical Belgian trips
With 436 real km, the Explorer Electric covers Brussels–Ardennes (≈ 260 km return) without charging, Brussels–Coast (≈ 220 km return) without charging.
Tax benefit
For self-employed and companies, this model is 100% tax-deductible in 2026 (last year at this rate). No direct purchase grant for individuals. Road tax is greatly reduced for this EV.
Home charging
With 11 kW AC, a full charge from 20% takes approximately 6 hours on an 11 kW wallbox. On a 230V plug (2.3 kW): about 27 hours. Overnight charging easily covers the average 50–80 km/day.
Frequently asked questions — Ford Explorer Electric
Which Ford Explorer version should you choose in Belgium?
The Style at €42,750 (58 kWh, 190 hp, 444 km WLTP) is the best value-per-tax version of the range: it sits at the legal minimum of €1,690 a year of ATN (benefit in kind), exactly like the Select Extended Range at €47,950. If you don't tow and your daily runs stay under 250 km, the Style is plenty, and there's room left to tick the €1,200 heat pump. Move up to the 79 kWh Extended Range (602 km WLTP, 286 hp) if you do motorway miles every week or if you tow.
What is the Ford Explorer's real-world range in a Belgian winter?
Over its 1,800 km test, Automobile Propre came in just under 15 kWh/100 km on secondary roads, i.e. around 520 km of real range with the Extended Range battery. On the motorway consumption climbs to a little over 22 kWh/100 km, and close to 23 kWh on the coldest days: reckon on 300 to 350 km between charges then. Since the heat pump is a €1,200 option in Belgium, an Explorer without one will use noticeably more between December and March.
Can the electric Ford Explorer tow a caravan?
Yes, and it's one of its strongest arguments. The Belgian technical sheet quotes 2,000 kg braked in Extended Range RWD, 2,200 kg in Extended Range AWD and 1,800 kg in Standard Range, with 750 kg unbraked and 90 kg of vertical noseweight in every case. The retractable 13-pin towbar is a €1,100 option including VAT, standard on Collection trim. Expect consumption to rise sharply: towing routinely halves range.
Is the electric Ford Explorer really a Volkswagen?
Technically, yes. It sits on Volkswagen's MEB platform, the one under the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5, and carries over the motor, the battery and the electronic architecture. Ford redesigned the body, reworked the battery's thermal management (which shows in the efficiency) and layered its own software over the Volkswagen system. That layer is what causes trouble day to day. The car is built in Cologne and scored 5 stars at Euro NCAP in September 2024.
How much benefit-in-kind tax does the Ford Explorer cost as a company car?
For both the Style (€42,750) and the Select Extended Range (€47,950), the 2026 ATN is €1,690 a year, i.e. €140.83 a month, because the EV formula (catalogue value × 6/7 × 4%) lands below the legal minimum. Net, reckon on around €76 a month at a 50% marginal rate plus municipal surcharges. You cross the floor at a catalogue value of €49,292, options included: a Collection or Premium Extended Range at €52,650 costs €1,805 a year.
Does the Ford Explorer have a front boot?
Not as standard. The frunk is an accessory supplied in the Travel Pack, priced at €300 including VAT (along with the anchor points and the load net), and it is only standard on Collection trim. That's a direct consequence of the MEB platform, which houses the power electronics up front. The rear boot partly makes up for it: 472 L below the parcel shelf, 532 L loaded to seatback height and 1,460 L with the seats folded.
How much does a full home charge of the Ford Explorer cost in Belgium?
For the 79 kWh Extended Range battery, at the Q3 2026 CREG caps: around €25 in Flanders (32.22 c€/kWh), €29 in Brussels (37.19 c€) and €30 in Wallonia (37.83 c€), for 500 km of real-world range on secondary roads. On a public rapid charger at €0.55/kWh, the same charge passes €43. Over a year, the gap between home and public charging easily exceeds €700 for someone covering 20,000 km.