(wind blowing)
(birds chirping)
- [Marty] Explorer's been around for a long time, right?
So how do you build on an already successful platform?
(car whooshes)
I'm Marty.
- I'm Steph
and we're the Smets family.
- I'm an engineer at Ford
but as a user of the products as well,
it allows us to experience and understand
the end use of our vehicles a little bit better.
Explorer is the perfect all around family vehicle for us
because it captures the essence of what we do.
The vehicle just likes to be driven.
In fact, there's seven modes
that we can switch between us drivers
and you can change the driving mode
depending on their terrain.
(car whooshes)
- [Steph] It's doing some of the thinking for you.
It just makes you a confident driver
when you know that
the vehicle is adapting to those changing conditions.
(car engine revving)
- So the 10-Speed Transmission
delivers smooth acceleration with no latency.
When you put your foot down,
you should get the acceleration delivered right to the road.
Explorer comes with 365 horsepower
and can tow 5,600 pounds.
- [Steph] It's got lots of power
and that's what I like about it.
It's fun to drive.
- We live in a really distracted world
and we can control what we do in our own vehicles,
but we can't control
what people do in their vehicles around us.
So the Ford Co-Pilot360
is a grouping of features that's designed
to increase the confidence that the driver has.
- I use these features all the time, especially BLIS.
It's always nice to know if somebody's there.
That gives me peace of mind when I'm driving.
We're often on the road
so the Adaptive Cruise Control is really helpful.
It will speed you up,
it'll slow you down depending on the flow of the traffic.
I tried and I was like, "Oh, game-changer.
Like, this is great."
- [Marty] It'll even read speed signs now for you.
- Yeah, well sometimes you're driving down a road
and you haven't seen a sign for a while
and you're thinking,
"Okay. Well, am I going the limit or not?"
(children talking)
The Pre-Collision is awesome.
- [Marty] It's looking for vehicles or pedestrians
in your path.
- [Steph] It's a nice alerting sound.
(beeping)
- And it'll even engage your brakes for you.
All these features together,
provide a more confident driving experience.
- Parallel parking can be nerve-racking,
especially when you're in a busy area
and there's traffic behind you,
it'll find a spot for you.
Some people will choose to just park miles away
instead of deal with parallel parking.
Personally, I have no problems with it,
but the fact that you can do it with a push of a button
is pretty amazing.
We're always busy doing something.
- [Marty] It's pretty much nonstop.
- So we're constantly in the car going to and from work,
to and from sports.
You know, we've got all sorts of grocery shopping
and then we gotta hit the lumber place,
gotta go pick up the plants at the nursery.
The PowerFold Third-Row is perfect if you need more room.
Yeah, you can pretty much configure that vehicle
any way you need it.
When we drive, typically it is very long road trips.
We don't like to do it,
but if the kids get rowdy or impatient,
we can give them a tablet
and connect them to the WI-FI Hotspot.
The quiet cabin is also nice for napping children.
(power tool whirring)
- On the weekends, when we can get away,
we get up to the lake house.
- [Boy] We've arrived to our destination.
(children laughing)
- [Marty] The kids love hiking, we love camping.
- [Steph] Marty's big into canoeing
so we've got the whole family in the canoe paddling around.
- And so we sort of reset ourselves after a long, busy week.
With the Automatic Start on the Fordpass app,
it allows you to start that vehicle from anywhere
as long as you have internet access.
(car ignition starting)
You could be 20 minutes back to the trail head
and it's freezing cold
and you wanna jump into a warm vehicle.
So you can pull your phone out,
you can start your vehicle
and you can get it preheating for you.
So by the time you get there,
it'll be the temperature that you're looking for.
We're exploring being parents.
We're exploring being outdoor enthusiasts.
It's the essence of what the Explorer is designed to do.
(wind blowing)