The Ford Explorer has been around for more than 25 years - but it's still a brilliant SUV

Matthew DeBord/BI

Better than ever?

CONS: Fuel-economy, platform is getting on in years.

There are fancier SUVs. There are more luxurious SUVs. There are faster SUVs. There are more technologically showy SUVs.

But there are almost no SUVs that have a track record to match the Ford Explorer. Introduced in 1990, the Explorer has been in continuous production through five generations; the 2018 model year will see an update, but the vehicle is getting a little long in the tooth. That said, when we recently borrowed a 2017 Explorer from Ford - about $55,000 as tested, in the Platinum trim level - we were surprised at how well this venerable platform is holding up.

The mid-size SUV market is critical to Ford, given that in combination with its best-selling F-Series pickup trucks, mid-size utes are major profit-drivers in the US. Ford must keep the Explorer competitive, even as both mass-market and luxury brands bring new large SUVs to consumers - and as Ford itself expands its portfolio of crossovers (the fifth-gen Explorer sits on a crossover frame, not a truck-based architecture).

We had a great test in store for the Explorer: a run of roughly 200 miles round trip, from BI's suburban New Jersey test center to the east end of Long Island. Along for the ride would be my family of five. Here's how it went:

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