The full reveal of the 2011 Ford Explorer was yesterday and it generated about as much buzz in the automotive blogosphere as anything is recent memory.

In a complete break from the past, the 2011 version will ride on a unibody platform which it shares with Ford’s Flex, Edge and Taurus. The new Explorer will come with improved safety systems including pretensioners for front seat belts and industry-first inflatable rear seat belts. Its four-wheel drive system includes a new “terrain management system” and roll stability control. Properly equipped, a V-6 Explorer can tow up to 5000 pounds.

Being a Ford, the new Explorer will offer leading edge in-cabin electronic features such as MyFord Touch™ driver connect technology and SYNC® integrated communications and entertainment system.

Two engines will be offered, a 3.5-liter 290hp V-6 or Ford’s new 2.0-liter 237hp Ecoboost I-4. The I-4 is available with front-wheel drive only, the V-6 can be had with front- or four-wheel drive. A six-speed transmission is standard across the board. Pricing hasn’t been announced but the I-4 Ecoboost will be an extra-cost option over the V-6. With either engine, fuel economy should be considerably better than the current model.

So is the Explorer still an SUV or is it a cross-over? There are no hard and fast definitions for either of these categories and there is a fine and blurry line between them. Some people would insist that SUVs are truck-based and cross overs are car-based but this isn’t chiseled in stone.

The new Explorer is car-based so its off-road capabilities will be somewhat limited and some have criticized it for that. At the risk of overstating the obvious, Explorer owners rarely venture any further off the road than their back yards and if you are a serious off-roader you would be considering a number of other vehicles over the Explorer.

Ford (arguably) invented the SUV when it introduced the first Explorer some 20 years ago. It has now reinvented the Explorer, if not the segment, for the new realities of the future. Fuel economy and creature comforts and features are now far more important to buyers than before and the new Explorer should meet those new expectations handily.

Production begins late this year and the new Explorer should begin appearing in showrooms early next year.

--M.D.