The 2025 Ford Explorer Active proves that you don't have to climb the trim ladder to enjoy a well-equipped, confidence-inspiring SUV. As the new entry point in the Explorer's 2025 lineup, the Active trim is designed for drivers who want everyday versatility, modern features, and unmistakable Ford capability without stretching their budget. From workweek commutes and school drop-offs to errands and weekend road trips, the 2025 Explorer Active delivers impressive value in a thoughtfully designed package that drivers won't want to miss. Under the hood, the Explorer Active offers responsive handling and smooth performance that make city driving and highway cruising equally enjoyable, particularly with selectable drive modes that let you harness and tailor this performance to your driving style and needs. This engaging performance perfectly complements the 2025 Explorer's well-designed interior, where the Active trim defies expectations and sets new standards of excellence for base models. It's anything but basic, thanks to modern technologies, plush seating, and functional details that adapt to your life. Here's a closer look at the 2025 Explorer Active, from its engaging performance to its innovative conveniences.
MSRP: $40,050[a]
Horsepower: 300
Towing: 5,000 lbs
Cargo Space: 85.8 cu.ft.
Performance: Engaging and Agile
The 2025 Ford Explorer Active is engineered to feel capable and composed, no matter where your daily drive takes you. Ford inherently understands that most drivers want more than adequate performance from their SUV; they want smooth acceleration, predictable handling, and the flexibility to adapt to changing road conditions. The Explorer Active unabashedly delivers.
Powertrain and Handling
At the heart of the 2025 Explorer Active is Ford's responsive 2.3L EcoBoost turbocharged inline-four and smooth-shifting ten-speed automatic transmission. The EcoBoost reflects Ford's engineering expertise, expertly balancing power and efficiency. So, how does it perform? With the 2.3L EcoBoost under its hood, the Explorer Active puts 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque at your feet. With steady power delivery, it feels composed in any situation, and its rear-wheel-drive architecture lends it a more athletic feel compared to competitors. The combination is impressive, especially with Ford allowing you to harness that athleticism through selectable drive modes, including Normal, Eco, Sport, Tow/Haul, and Slippery.
Efficiency and Capability
The 2025 Explorer Active expertly leverages its turbocharged heartbeat, as Ford proves drivers can enjoy the best of both worlds: efficiency and capability. Despite its midsize footprint and three-row capacity, the 2025 Explorer Active averages an EPA-estimated 20 MPG in the city, 29 MPG on the highway, and 24 MPG combined with rear-wheel drive. Upgrading to all-wheel drive guarantees all-season confidence with Ford's Intelligent 4WD system, only slightly reducing the trim's EPA-estimated highway average to 27 MPG. Aside from conservatively sipping fuel, the 2025 Explorer Active is also surprisingly capable beyond what many expect. How so? Ford makes its Class III Trailer Tow Package standard across the lineup, adding side-wind stabilization with Trailer Sway Control, a Blind Spot Information System with Trailer Coverage, and AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control to accommodate the trim's impressive 5,000-lb towing capacity.
Cabin Experience: Generous Comfort
Step inside the 2025 Explorer Active, and it's immediately clear that Ford prioritizes comfort, space, and usability. The cabin is built for commuters, families, and adventurers alike. It feels welcoming, intuitive, and thoughtfully arranged to provide everyday usability. From its smart layout to its practical features, the Explorer Active is designed to elevate every drive without forcing drivers to pay a premium.
Interior Accommodations
The Explorer Active offers seating for up to seven passengers, making it a versatile choice for growing families, commuters, and others who need the added space and the opportunity to travel with friends. Moreover, the layout prioritizes accessibility without compromising comfort—a unique balance that many automakers have yet to master. The 2025 Explorer Active has second-row captain's chairs with armrests. The EZ-entry design makes moving the seats straightforward, allowing you to reach the rear 50/50 split-folding bench. The seats are adorned in a unique Space Gray or Dark Space Gray upholstery, which can be upgraded to Ford's ActiveX material. You can also exchange the captain's chairs for a second-row bench seat with a 35/30/35 split and still get the Explorer's 85.8 cu.ft. of total available cargo space. Despite being a base trim, the 2025 Explorer Active offers thoughtful features that enhance your experience, starting with active noise cancellation throughout the cabin. Heated front seats provide cold-weather comfort, the power liftgate adds convenience when loading cargo, and the ten-way power driver's seat makes it easier to find the perfect position. Adding the Active Comfort Package extends these comforts and conveniences with remote start, ActiveX upholstery, a heated steering wheel, and second-row HVAC controls that complement the trim's standard tri-zone automatic climate control.
Upgrades and Options
Ford encourages drivers to dream big with the 2025 Explorer Active, offering a comprehensive suite of interior options and upgrades that make customization straightforward and affordable. The Explorer Active is smartly equipped and packed with features, but that doesn't mean you can't build on that impressive foundation. Drivers have a choice of many interior-related upgrades that cater to every need. Convenience features are abundant and include a SecuriCode Keyless Entry Pad, a cargo organizer, a roadside assistance kit, and a first aid kit. You can also add all-weather floor liners in all three rows and have a safe deposit vault installed in the console for added security.
Technology: Connectivity and Safety
Technology plays a pivotal role in the 2025 Explorer Active's appeal because, unlike most base trims, it's packed with intuitive connectivity, safety, and driver assistance tools. The result is a modern road warrior that puts everything you need within immediate view or reach, heightening every experience you have behind the wheel.
Connectivity and Entertainment
At the center of the Explorer Active's technology is a vast digital landscape that transforms the driver's seat into a modern cockpit. Rather than treat the entry-level trim as an afterthought, Ford uses it to set a high benchmark of excellence by making the 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument panel standard. With the 12.3-inch driver display providing vital performance insights, the 13.2-inch touchscreen features the Ford Digital Experience. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto provide seamless connectivity, while the six-speaker audio system delivers crisp sound throughout the cabin, ensuring you get the most from SiriusXM with 360L. There's also an abundance of charging capabilities, with eight USB ports and three 12V power outlets throughout the cabin. The Explorer Active's tech-savvy interior is impressive as it is, but the Ford Connectivity Package ups the ante. This upgrade offers broad appeal to professionals and families alike because it's a seven-year upgrade that adds unlimited Wi-Fi, audio and video streaming, video conferencing, a web browser, a voice assistant, and 5G capability. With this package, you can stream your kids' favorite shows, play games, take a call from work, navigate the fastest route with Google Maps, and much more without fearing you'll go over your allotted data plan.
Driver Assistance and Safety
Safety is a cornerstone of the 2025 Explorer Active's packaging, showcasing Ford's dedication to keeping you safe and aware wherever the road leads. The SUV rolls off the production line with Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist+, a comprehensive suite of tools designed to boost confidence and awareness. The suite equips the Explorer Active with essentials, including automatic high beams and a rearview camera with backup gridlines. Forward-facing tools include Ford's Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, which works behind the scenes with Evasive Steering Assist and Post-Collision Braking to help you avoid a potential collision or provide additional braking to mitigate damage from secondary collisions. Ford also equips the 2025 Explorer Active with a Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert, rear parking sensors, and a Lane Keeping System that integrates Lane-Keeping Assist, a Lane-Keeping Alert, and Driver Alert. Most notably, the base trim defies the status quo by including Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go and Lane Centering for a more enjoyable and relaxing cruising experience.
A Value-Rich Start to the Explorer's 2025 Lineup
The 2025 Explorer Active proves that shopping for an entry-level trim doesn't mean lowering your standards, compromising on your needs, or settling for less. Instead, Ford challenges you to dream big and delivers on that promise with the 2025 Explorer. With confident performance, impressive towing capacity, and great fuel economy, the 2025 Explorer Active delivers the agile and capable handling that your life demands—and yet its appeal doesn't stop under the hood, extending to the features and details that matter most. Ford carefully designs the Explorer Active to meet the needs of those who want versatility, comfort, and ingenuity without unnecessary complexity or cost. The result is astonishing, as the Explorer Active's spacious cabin comfortably accommodates passengers and cargo, and its extensive lineup of connectivity, safety, and driver assistance tools keeps you connected, confident, and engaged. There's no question that the 2025 Explorer Active checks all the right boxes for families, commuters, couples, and weekend adventurers alike. As your trusted dealer and automotive home away from home, we're proud to give you a front seat to this extraordinary SUV that's waiting on our lot at Jim Ellis Ford.