Ford Explorer Van (2026 - ) review

The Explorer Van’s base vehicle is a comfortable SUV and it therefore drives very much like a modern electric car. The comfortable two front seats flank the big 14.6-inch touch-screen infotainment system that can be raised and lowered to reveal storage space. It’s crisp and clear, although it is angled straight out into the vehicle’s interior rather than towards the driver which caused a bit too much head turning for our liking. Also, the glass covering the screen is highly reflective and the sunny days were not conducive to good screen reading. The steering wheel is covered in touch controls, which are fiddly to use but responsive, and behind that is a 5.3-inch driver information display which is very easy to read. There’s no escaping the fact that the covered side door glass restricts your blind spots and makes the interior feel dark, but it’s not a deal breaker. You just have to adapt, but it’s not hard when the interior is so comfortable. It’s a good thing the rear window is so big because rear visibility is key. 

The van’s quoted range nearly hits 400 miles, but we’d reckon on 300 miles as a top figure in the real world, less when under load and in under cold weather. But that still puts it at the top of most lists of electric vans ranked by range, including ours. Charging costs will be dictated by where you do it – cheaper at home where you take advantage of your own energy supply, or more expensive in public where you’re at the mercy of the company who owns it. The van itself will cost over £40K ex VAT, which is high, but will work for fleet operators who can take advantage of good lease deals and break the big cost down into more manageable monthly payments. 

The Explorer Van is covered by Ford’s standard three-year warranty for the vehicle and an eight-year warranty for the battery pack. Ford’s reputation for building reliable vans should be trusted here and we experienced no issues during our short time with it. Other manufacturers do offer better warranties on electric vans – Kia’s PV5 Cargo, for example, comes with a seven year warranty – but it is what it is and very much in line with many other warranty packages you’ll see from companies like Vauxhall and Citroen. 

The van performs its duties well as a small, heavy load carrier despite a few quibbles. These include the blind spots being much larger due to covered glass in the rear side doors and the infotainment screen being angled straight into the vehicle rather than towards the driver. For the right professional, this van will do its job well. As long as you go into it knowing it’s not going to outperform a ‘normal’ small electric van on stats you’ll find it a very capable workhorse. 

The Ford Explorer base vehicle has a five-star NCAP safety rating scoring highly across the board for things like its tough frame, strong crash test performance and occupant safety. Ford has a good reputation for its robust safety systems and the Explorer Van is a poster child for good safety levels in light commercial vehicles that once were cars. 

The Explorer Van is available with a raft of standard equipment such as a reversing camera, sensors, the infotainment systems, great seats and more. There are also various equipment packs available to enhance the vehicle for specific use cases, such as sanitation stations, beacons, lamps, and cargo nets. There’s even a wheel pack to replace the alloy wheels from the car version with steel wheels featuring torque indicators on the nuts to give it a more commercial and durable look… which we really like. 

You’ll buy the Ford Explorer Van because you’re a professional who drives long distances while carrying small but heavy loads and you want to do it in comfort, style and without range anxiety. There are some quibbles, but we’re confident they’re the kind of quibbles you can overcome with some minor adaptation. It’s a cracking drive, very comfortable and capable, but if you need a bigger ‘normal’ van then you’ll find one in Ford’s own range of light commercial vehicles. And that’s where it shines… as a strong addition to Ford’s range at the smallest end of the light commercial vehicle market.