Design Operating under a design theme of “tough luxury,” stylists wanted to create a bolder and more aerodynamic Ford Explorer for 2006. Outside, everything forward of the windshield is new, with a look that recalls the Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Operating under a design theme of “tough luxury,” stylists wanted to create a bolder and more aerodynamic Ford Explorer for 2006. Outside, everything forward of the windshield is new, with a look that recalls the Ford F-150 pickup truck. The aluminum power bulge hood; new fenders with bigger wheel lip moldings; revised wheels in 16-, 17-, and 18-inch sizes; and chrome grille and bumper treatments take a little getting used to after the plain but cleanly styled 2005 model, but will certainly add road presence for the 2006 Explorer.

Largely carried over except for minor details, the doors, glass, and roof are the same as before. Large, rectangular side mirrors actually help to eliminate noise, and the roof features revised shaping to reduce unwanted vibration from air flowing over the Explorer. In back, a new tailgate, revised taillights, and an updated bumper make the 2006 Explorer look more like its big brother, the Expedition.

Expedition themes continue inside, where round, chrome-ringed air vents provide an instant visual clue to the bigger Ford SUV. Chrome also trims the gauge cluster, reflecting twinkles of sunlight in the driver’s line of sight on bright days. The center stack of stereo, climate and navigation controls is also new, surrounded by unconvincing and poorly affixed fake woodgrain trim on Eddie Bauer and Limited models. Door panels are revised, placing the release handle at the forward end of the armrest where it’s easier to find and use, and containing flush-mounted push/pull window switches. The huge, almost phallic gearshift juts out of the center console like a grain silo on the Kansas plains, and the turn signal stalk is mounted uncomfortably high in a somewhat unnatural position on the steering column.

In addition to powertrain refinements and a more aerodynamic body, new insulation materials further help to suppress unwanted noise. The end result, Ford claims, is that the 2006 Explorer’s third-row seat is quieter than some competitors’ first-row seats. Based on our experience, these efforts are successful at making conversation easier in this SUV.

If there’s a glaring decline in terms of interior quality, it’s with dashboard construction, lamentable since that’s what the driver sees most frequently. Ford uses far too many different textures and tones within the driver’s line of sight. A fuzzy headliner, plain plastic pillars, rough leather-grained plastic door and dash panels, mesh-grain plastic trim bands, fake woodgrain trim, smooth black plastic control bezels, and smooth leather grain seats create a visual cacophony that makes the interior appear to be assembled from several different vehicles. Making matters worse, Ford swapped the soft-touch materials of the 2005 Explorer’s dash for thin, hard plastic panels in 2006. Rap a knuckle on the top of the dash, look at the price tag on the Explorer, and weep.