2025 Ford Explorer vs the Competition

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L sees the Jeep brand step back into the world three-row SUVs. While not as opulent or expensive as the Wagoneer, the Grand Cherokee L is meant to bridge the gap between the two-row-only Grand Cherokee and the ultra-luxurious Grand Wagoneer models. For 2025 Jeep has dropped the ability to get a V8 and gives owners the famous Pentastar V6 that produces 293 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Buyers can choose between a large number of trim levels including the Laredo A, Laredo, Laredo X, Altitude, Altitude X, Limited, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve.  

• Buyers looking for power will not find it with the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. Where the Explorer has 300 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque from its standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, the Grand Cherokee L has a V6 that puts out 7 less horsepower and 50 fewer torque. This will become evident once you start towing or need to get up to speed quickly when merging onto a highway.  

• The Jeep has a 10.25-inch touchscreen display that only offers so much to be seen at once. The Ford Explorer on the other hand features a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen display as standard. With 3 inches of extra real estate both the driver and passengers will be able to see relevant information, including media, directions, settings, and the like.  

• Jeep customers may be dismayed by the 8-speed automatic transmission and its need to hunt for the right gear. The Ford, however, features a quick-shifting 10-speed automatic that can also have performance-oriented paddle shifters in the case of the ST. The Ford 10-speed always knows what gear to be in.  

• The Explorer is 4,303 lbs versus the Grand Cherokee L’s base weight of 4,524 lbs (higher trim levels can weigh as much as 5.068 lbs). While 221 lbs may not seem like a lot at first glance, you will notice that weight savings when you are trying to build speed quickly, especially since the Jeep develops so much less power and torque than the Explorer.  

• Turning circle is important with larger, three-row SUVs. A high turning circle becomes frustrating in tight parking lots of smaller roads where you need to make u-turns. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L needs 39.6 feet for its turning circle, whereas the Explorer only needs 38.7 feet. That foot can be the difference in narrowly avoiding a curb when turning around or fumbling to put the vehicle in reverse to back up a little bit before being able to drive off.  

• The Jeep Grand Cherokee L features 159.1 cubic feet of interior volume, with 141.9 cu.ft. of overall passenger volume. While this may be good when compared to some vehicles, the Ford Explorer has 10.1 extra cubic feet of interior volume and 11 more cubic feet of passenger volume.  

• In nearly every way, no matter where you are sitting, the Grand Cherokee L just has less space for passengers than the Explorer. Below is a chart that shows how much extra room in inches the Explorer has in various areas: 

• • Headroom Front / 2nd / 3rd – .9 / .6 / 1.6 
• • Legroom F / 3rd – 1.7 / 1.9 
  • Shoulder room – 2.9 / 3.9 / 2.7 
  • Hip room F / 2nd – 1.8 / 2.8  

• The Jeep has no driver assistance technology like Ford BlueCruise that is available on the all-new Explorer. With more than 130,000 miles of roads throughout the United States and Canada mapped, drivers are able to take their hands off the wheel and relax as the car does the driving for them.

The Toyota Grand Highlander is the newest kid on the three-row block. It is a step up from the popular Highlander and is Toyota’s answer to vehicles like the Ford Explorer that continue to have lots of success with consumers. The Grand Highlander starts from $45,080 with a mix of gas and hybrid powertrains and is available in XLE, Hybrid XLE, Limited, Hybrid Limited, Hybrid Nightshade, Platinum, Hybrid Max Limited, and Hybrid Max Platinum.  

• With a starting price of $45,080 for the Grand Highlander it comes in at a staggering $3,035 more expensive than the Ford Explorer and its base price of $42,045. In a world where everything seems to be getting more expensive by the day, it’s nice to see a company like Ford keep such an important family-oriented vehicle priced modestly for consumers.  

• The Grand Highlander’s gas engine matches the standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost’s torque output of 310, the 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder in the Toyota is down on power by 35 horsepower compared to the Explorer.  

• The Grand Highlander Hybrid Max engine has 362 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, which is a bit shy of the Explorer and its 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 with 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque.  

• The 2025 Explorer has an extra 3.9 cubic feet of total passenger volume over the Grand Highlander’s 149 cubic feet.  

• The Grand Highlander’s driver and front passenger have a little less room to wiggle your toes with only 41.7 inches of legroom compared to 43 inches in the Explorer.  

• In the front and second row seats, the Explorer has quite a bit more shoulder and hip room than the Grand Highlander with an extra 1.9 inches and 3.1 inches of extra shoulder room for front and second row passengers. When it comes to hip room, the Explorer features an extra 2.7 inches for front passengers and 2.1 inches for second row passengers.   

• The Explorer features BlueCruise, a revolutionary driver assistance technology that allows for actual hands-free driving. With more than 130,000 miles of roads mapped between America and Canada, drivers love how useful BlueCruise is to their long commutes.

The Chevrolet Traverse was all-new for 2024 and carries over pretty much unchanged for ‘25. With a new turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, the Chevy is more powerful than before while also being more capable. It still lags behind some of the other vehicles in the segment, like the Explorer, in terms of fit and finish. The Traverse is available in four trim levels, including LT, Z71, High Country, and RS.  

• The only engine offered in the Traverse is a 2.5-liter turbo-4 that produces 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque, which is a far cry from the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 in the Explorer that puts out 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque.  

• The Traverse and Explorer both get an EPA-estimated 20 mpg in the city, however the Explorer takes the edge on the highway with 29 miles per gallon compared to the Chevy’s 27 mpg.  

• Chevrolet’s latest Traverse has base weight of 4,504 lbs, which is 201 lbs heftier than the Ford Explorer. This may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but that’s the kind of weight you will feel when you’re towing, hitting the brakes in a panic stop, and even driving through tight parking lots or even on back roads.  

• All Traverse models have an okay amount of ground clearance at 6.8 inches. But when the weather gets really bad and you need to drive through large puddles of water, mud, dirty, over debris, etc. the Explorer is going to be just that much better with its 7.6 inches of ground clearance.  

• The driver, front passenger, and second row passengers will appreciate the extra half inch of hip room compared to the Traverse.  

The 2025 Kia Telluride has been something of a fan favorite since arriving on the scene as a 2020 model that had never been seen before. The Telluride is available in 10 confusing trim levels ranging from LX, S, EX, SX, EX X-Line, EX X-Pro, SX X-Line, SX Prestige, SX Prestige X-Line, and SX Prestige X-Pro. 

• The only engine available to customers is a 3.8-liter V6 that has 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. The standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the Ford Explorer has 300 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torue, or an extra 9 ponies and 58 torque.  

• When pitting the higher SX Prestige trim levels up against the Exlorer ST and Platinum trims, the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 in the Ford offers an extra 109 horsepower and 153 lb-ft of torque over the Telluride’s non-turbo V6. 

• The Explorer offers owners extra front leg, hip, and shoulder room over the Telluride with an extra 1.6, .3, and .5 inches.  

• Third row passengers will appreciate the 32.2 inches of legroom in the Explorer compared to the slightly more cramped third row occupants in the Telluride with 31.4 inches.  

• The Kia Telluride gets a respectable 26 miles to the gallon when driving down the highway. Sadly, that isn’t quite enough to keep up with the Explorer with its 29 mpg. This means that in pure highway driving, the Explorer will have a range of 520 miles to the Telluride’s 488.  

• The Telluride’s combined average of fuel economy between city and highway driving is 21 mpg. The Ford Explorer achieves 24 mpg on the combined cycle.  

• The Telluride features an 8-speed automatic transmission compared to a 10-speed transmission in the Explorer. Having those extra gears allows for the engine to run with less strain at highway speeds, such as when you’re using BlueCruise.  

• With Ford BlueCruise, the Explorer can drive truly hands-free for long distances. Ford has mapped more than 130,000 miles of road between the United States and Canada.

The Mazda CX-90 replaced the CX-9 model in 2023. Like the Explorer, it rides on a rear-wheel drive platform, though it comes standard with all-wheel Drive. It is powered by a 3.3-liter turbocharged inline-6 engine. Mazda’s largest vehicle to date, the CX-90 is built in Japan but designed and sold specifically for the North American market. Its trim level names border on the confusing with Preferred, Preferred Plus, Premium, Premium Plus S, S Premium, and S Plus trim levels.  

• Though they have very different drivetrains, the Explorer and CX-90 offer distinct power advantages. The Explorer boasts 300 hp, while the CX-90 delivers 280 hp. In contrast, the CX-90 generates 332 lb-ft of torque compared to the Explorer’s 310 lb-ft. 

• In base AWD form, the Explorer weighs significantly less than the CX-90, at 4,424 versus 4,735 pounds. 

• Controlling the power for the Explorer is a 10-speed automatic compared to an 8-speed automatic for the CX-90. 

• The Explorer offers significantly more cargo space than the CX-90 across all configurations.  

• • All seats up, Explorer has 16.3 cubic feet vs 14.9 for the CX-90.  

• • 3rd-row seat down: 46.0 vs. 40.0 cubic feet.  

• • 2nd– and 3-row seats down: 85.8 vs. 74.2 cubic feet.  

• A spacious interior is often a priority in this class. Though the CX-90 has slightly more 2nd row leg room (39.0 vs. 39.4 inches), the Explorer has more interior space in every other important metric, including:  

• • 1st-row leg room: 43.0 vs. 41.7 inches.  

• • 3rd-row legroom: 32.2 vs 30.4 inches.  

• • 1st row shoulder room: 62.1 vs 61.4 inches,  

• • 2nd-row shoulder room: 61.9 vs. 58.1 inches.  

• • 3rd-row shoulder room: 54.6 vs. 53.3 inches.  

• • 1st-row hip room: 59.1 vs. 56.2 inches. 

• • 2nd-row hip room: 59.1 vs. 55.5 inches. 

• • 1st row head room: 40.7 vs 39.7 inches.  

• • 2nd-row head room: 40.5 vs. 39.3 inches.  

• • 3rd-row head room: 38.9 vs.36.9 inches.  

• The Explorer 2nd-row seats slide fore and aft to accommodate 2nd-row and 3rd-row passengers as needed. The CX-90 lacks this feature. 

• The Explorer has noticeably greater towing capacity at 5,000 pounds compared to 3,500 for the CX-90. 

• The Explorer provides a significantly larger center touch screen than the CX-90 (13.2 vs. 10.25 inches).  

• Explorer offers more charging options, including three vs two 12V ports. It also has a USB-A port in the front and USB-C ports for all three rows. By contrast, the CX-90 just has a USB-A port for the first and second rows.