Which three-row SUV has what it takes to keep your family happy for the long haul, the 2025 Ford Explorer or the Chevy Traverse? Our comparison guide helps you select the best model for your Carolina adventures.
Key Takeaways
- Both SUVs are big on comfort, with road-trip-ready interior space and available luxury features.
- With its all-new tech setup, the Explorer keeps your family entertained for miles at a time!
- For off-road fun, the Traverse can’t hold a candle to the Explorer’s 400-horsepower V6!
- Your cross-country road trips are thriftier in the 2025 Ford Explorer.
Family-Style Comfort: It’s a Tie!
Both three-row SUVs deliver plenty of comfort for your family road trips! With up to eight cushy seats and a variety of innovative interior storage options, the Explorer and Traverse actually have a lot in common. Looking for luxury? Each of these midsize crossovers offers a variety of upscale trim models. Check them out for comfort upgrades like heated and ventilated front seats, ambient interior lighting, and soft leather upholstery!
Equipped with the all-new Ford Digital Experience system, the Explorer can’t help but impress with its tech lineup. Every trim model comes standard with this all-encompassing infotainment setup, featuring Google-based navigation, a 13.2-inch touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Even the Explorer’s gauge cluster is digital! Compared to the Traverse’s system, the cutting-edge Digital Experience is easier to figure out and quicker to handle your requests.
The Traverse’s infotainment setup isn’t quite as new, but it’s not exactly dated, either. Just like with the Explorer, high-tech connectivity comes standard on every trim model. The base infotainment system includes a 17-inch central touchscreen, built-in navigation, and wireless smartphone connectivity.
Strong, Safe Performance: 2025 Ford Explorer
The latest Explorer offers more power than its Chevy competitor, taking your off-road endeavors to the next level. Plus, its expanded list of high-tech driving aids makes your family road trips safer than ever. Every trim model now includes adaptive cruise control, intersection collision mitigation, and lane-centering technology. You’ll also love Ford’s exclusive evasive steering assist system, which can actually take over the steering controls to help you avoid an accident!
2025 Ford Explorer Powertrain Specs
- 2.3L turbocharged four-cylinder engine (300 hp, 311 lb-ft)
- Optional 3.0L turbo V6 (400 hp, 415 lb-ft)
- 10-speed automatic transmission
- Rear-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive
Although its standard powertrain provides a little extra heft compared to the Explorer’s base setup, the Traverse doesn’t offer an engine upgrade. If you crave a high-performance ride, you won’t find it here. And while the Traverse doesn’t come standard with as many driver safety aids as the competition, it does deliver adaptive cruise control and forward collision mitigation.
2025 Chevy Traverse Powertrain Specs
- 2.5L turbocharged four-cylinder engine (328 hp, 326 lb-ft)
- Eight-speed automatic transmission
- Front-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive
Maximum Efficiency: 2025 Ford Explorer
Because the Explorer has a few different engine options, it can claim both the title for most power and maximum fuel economy! Equipped with the 300-horsepower EcoBoost engine, this midsize SUV earns up to 24 mpg combined (20 city/29 highway).
By comparison, the 2025 Chevy Traverse’s highest EPA ratings are 23 mpg combined (20 city/27 highway). The Traverse can put a bigger dent in your fuel budget, especially if you tend to do a lot of highway driving.
Make the Right Choice
In the 2025 Ford Explorer, your family road trips are destined for greatness. Of these three-row crossovers SUV, the Explorer offers more trail-friendly power and greater highway efficiency! You’ll love Ford’s all-new infotainment system and innovative comfort features. Don’t wait to start making memories — visit us at Lafayette Ford in Fayetteville, NC, to sample a few Explorer trim models.