The 2025 Ford Explorer ST Delivers Big Power and Bigger Value

Ford’s ST badge first crossed the Atlantic 12 years ago to transform the Focus economy car into a corner-carving hot hatchback. When the smaller Fiesta ST followed a year later, American car enthusiasts got a taste of what it’s like to live and drive in Europe without leaving home.

But the only ST you can buy here today is as American as a French fry dunked in ranch. The 2025 Ford Explorer ST takes a typical suburban-spec three-row kid schlepper and turns it into something much tastier by drowning it in horsepower.

Originally introduced in 2020, the Explorer ST gets the same midcycle makeover for 2025 as the rest of the Explorer lineup. Those changes are largely focused on cosmetic exterior tweaks and interior upgrades, though, and since no one buys an Explorer ST just for the 13.2-inch infotainment screen, we’ll punt that discussion to the bottom of the story.

Big SUV, Big Power, Not-So-Big Price

You buy an Explorer ST for its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 and the 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque it cranks out. Boot the throttle, and the rear squats down, the nose tips up, and the all-wheel-drive ST charges to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds on its way to 13.8-second quarter mile at 100.8 mph. The accompanying snort is almost too loud, but we love that it’s as American as an engine can sound without an eight-cylinder ensemble.

Sure, the 710-hp Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (0–60 mph in 3.4 seconds) or an EV like the Kia EV9 GT-Line (0–60 mph in 4.4 seconds) will get a family of six to church quicker, but the Explorer ST carves out its niche by delivering its performance at an almost trivial cost. At $58,960 as tested, it’s priced in line with a fully loaded (but significantly slower) Toyota or Chevy three-row SUV. And the 20-mpg EPA combined fuel economy is an impressive feat whether you compare it to the 265-hp Toyota Grand Highlander’s 22 mpg or the Durango Hellcat’s pathetic 13 mpg.

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And It Corners, Too!

The ST isn’t just a straight-line showboat, either. Thanks to a sport-tuned suspension and some special sauce in the calibrations, it stops shorter, corners harder, and accelerates quicker than the 2025 Explorer Platinum with the same 400-hp engine and 21-inch Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season tires.

In MotorTrend testing, the ST hung onto the skidpad with 0.86 g of grip and stopped from 60 mph in just 108 feet. Those are fantastic numbers for a 4,654-pound high-riding SUV on all-season tires. Demonstrating all of its talents in one test, the ST lapped our figure-eight circuit in 26.0 seconds, a 0.7-second improvement over the Explorer Limited.

While it’s no hot hatch, the Explorer corners with enough verve to unlock wistful memories of the Focus and Fiesta ST. It turns in willingly and obediently abides small midcorner throttle and brake inputs meant to subtly adjust its trajectory. And this is all in the Explorer ST with the no-cost optional all-wheel drive. Having genuinely enjoyed driving it at the proving ground and on the local back roads, we’re intrigued by the idea of how the rear-drive ST might drive.

The only wrinkle in the whole package is the ride quality. On Michigan roads, the Explorer ST drives like an F-150 with an empty bed. There’s lots of vertical movement—some of it jarring—and a sense that the only thing that might calm the suspension is several hundred pounds of mulch over the rear axle.

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What’s Inside the Box

ST models carry the sport theme into the cabin with suedelike seat inserts, red stitching, and a sculpted steering wheel. New for 2025, the top of the Explorer’s dash has been trimmed to look like a sound bar (there’s a tweeter on each end), and the old model’s awkward vertical infotainment screen has been replaced with a 13.2-incher in landscape orientation. It runs the new Ford Digital Experience infotainment software, which is functional, not flashy. The system is so basic that you’re unlikely to love it or hate it. The upside of this simplicity is that there’s almost no learning curve to using it.

The hardware for BlueCruise hands-free highway driving comes standard along with a 90-day trial to tempt you into a $50-a-month subscription. While Ford’s system still isn’t as capable or confident as GM’s Super Cruise, it’s moving in the right direction with regular over-the-air updates that have unlocked new features and more roads. We just wish Ford could move even faster, both figuratively and literally. BlueCruise doesn’t work above 80 mph, which makes it obsolete in some parts of the country.

Used as a basic box for hauling people and their stuff, the Explorer ST gets the essentials right. The seats are comfortable, and there’s ample space in the first two rows. The third row isn’t as roomy as what you get in the Chevy Traverse or the Kia Telluride, but it will easily accommodate elementary-school-age kids or short-haul use by larger passengers.

If You Love to Drive and Love Your Kids …

In a class of vehicles that prioritizes cupholder count far above driving dynamics, the 2025 Ford Explorer ST manages to be both practical and fun to drive. Its powerful engine, impressive braking, and spirited handling create a driving experience that’s wildly different than what you get in most three-row SUVs. If you love to drive and love your kids, the Ford Explorer ST allows you to cater to both without having to choose one.