2016 Ford Explorer: First Drive

What is it: 2016 Ford Explorer six- or seven-passenger SUV

Price range: $31,595 – $53,495

Competitors: Toyota Highlander, Chevrolet Traverse, Nissan Pathfinder, Honda Pilot

Alternatives: Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, Monasticism

Pros: Better in many details with a strong engine line up, this is a thoughtful update of what is already the best seller in its class. Two of the available engines are great and third one isn’t bad.

Cons: Still not the roomiest vehicle in its segment. There are only six forward gears in its transmission. Eddie Bauer is MIA.

Would I buy it with my own money? On a budget I might go with a Kia Sorento. If I were extravagant, I’d like an Acura MDX. But the Explorer sits nicely between them with the new 2.3-liter EcoBoost four a sweet alternative to V-6 orthodoxy. So, sure.

Ford has updated the Explorer for 2016 keeping one idea in mind: Don’t screw it up. Change a few things on the margins, do what’s necessary to goose fuel economy, make some minor engineering twists, get rid of what customers haven’t liked, throw in a new trim level at the top, but don’t screw it up. Don’t. Screw. It. Up. This thing has sold well since its reincarnation as a car-based crossover and is making money. In fact it’s been selling a little better in each subsequent year of its five-year (so far) life. Now is not the time to take risks.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with risk-adverse updates, but there’s rarely anything much to get excited about. And while some new elements of the revivified Explorer are impressive – the newly available 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four at 280 horsepower is super sweet – others are trivial. Maybe the best things about the updated 2016 Explorer is that it could induce some dealers to bargain more aggressively on their 2015 models.

From the base of the windshield forward, all the body panels are new and reshaped. The changes are subtle – less mass in the hood, slimmer headlights with LED elements, driving lights integrated into the bumper cover and a grille that’s more Ford truck and less Remington Flex Twin Foil shaver – but the 2016 Explorer is recognizable as the same vehicle it’s been since 2011 from every angle.

The wheelbase has somehow stretched a massive 2/10ths of an inch longer than in the 2015 model, while the front and rear track widths stay at 67 inches. There’s still seating for six or seven people in three rows, with total interior volume actually dropping from 151.7 cubic feet before to 150.3 cu.-ft. now. While much of the interior has been changed in detail, most of it is familiar. Ford is proud that the center console armrest is now calibrated to the same height as the armrests on the doors, but the big improvement is on the dash where real dials and switches replace the touch-sensitive membrane buttons that were part of the previous design. People like real things that click and spin and calibrate intuitively – and Ford has delivered.

The $31,595 base model gets by with an unboosted 3.5-liter V-6 rated at 290 hp and 255 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. While front wheel drive is standard, all-wheel drive is offered even on that base machine. The only transmission offered in any Explorer is a six-speed automatic transaxle. In a world where Jeep Cherokees have nine forward gears and Nissan Pathfinders used continuously variable transmissions, a six-speed automatic seems almost quaint.

The most popular trim lives one step up on the XLT; the standard upholstery is a cloth rugged enough to withstand bulldog attacks while the steering wheel and shift knob are wrapped in leather. Push button start and a rear parking sensor system are part of the $34,295 XLT deal.

The $42,195 Limited was the top of the line up until this year, and it slots in now as a truly luxurious crossover that manages to look restrained in light of the new indulgences. A particular ridiculous part of the Limited is the “multi-piece satin chrome with rosewood film accent trim appliqués.” I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure that no satin was spun, no chromium was mined and no rosewood trees felled to produce those appliqués.

For those who want to pretend their Explorer is really a soft-serve sex machine, there’s a Sport trim model available at $44,195 to start. Running the EcoBoost V-6, a more tightly tuned suspension, quicker steering and more aggressive 255/50R20 tires on aluminum wheels, the Sport does actually move with a bit more spirit than the others.

And at the top of the range lies the new Platinum model, which is so indulgent that the tires themselves may as well be covered in soft cowhide. While Ford officials had a Platinum on display in all its tufted and quilted leather glory, they wouldn’t let me (or anyone) drive it. The Platinum – again, no actual platinum content – will go on sale sometime after the rest of the 2016 Explorers hit Ford showrooms in June. My guess is that it will be the perfect SUV for those people who really want a Range Rover but don’t want the rub-the-rubes-noses-in-it snobbery that comes with it. And its $53,495 price tag, while not quite at Range Rover altitude, is a lot for a Ford.

(Instead of “Platinum” couldn’t it have been “Eddie Bauer?”)

On all models except the Sport, Ford has slowed the steering ratio; throw in the inherent gooiness of electric power assist and the result is a sort of numbness in the steering that is oddly reassuring. It’s as if the steering was designed to bother the driver with only just enough information to keep the Explorer pointed between the lines painted on the road.

The Sport keeps the old steering ratio and, when combined with its stiffer springs and larger wheels and tires, never feels as well settled as its less aggressive brothers. Nervous isn’t the right word for it, but anxious comes close. In compensation, the Sport, which has standard all-wheel drive, has better initial turn in entering a corner and a bit less body roll. Ride quality doesn’t seem to suffer much.

What’s most impressive about the Sport is the EcoBoost V-6 that is a ferocious and well-mannered beast. The two turbos heaving into its six pots boil up a thick 350 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,500 rpm and it locomotives through the transmission’s gears. That grunt requires premium fuel for optimal performance, and it will drink it at an EPA-rated 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway clip. Run at part throttle, the easygoing nature of this engine is confidence inspiring.

The standard V-6 peaks at just 255 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm. It needs more spur than the EcoBoost V6, but brings with it slightly better 17 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway fuel economy ratings (with AWD). Most buyers will take the naturally aspirated V-6 and never feel dissatisfied, or inspired.

The optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost four is similar to the EcoBoost four offered in the Mustang and it feels more at home in Explorer than it does in that coupe. With 310 lb.-ft. of torque on tap at just 3,000 rpm, the character of this four may align better than the other two with the Explorer’s essential personality. It’s smooth, it’s capable and it carries the best fuel economy numbers of the bunch – 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway with all-wheel drive. Stick with front-drive and that highway number rises to 28 mpg. And unlike the languid 2.0-liter turbo four it replaces, this EcoBoost can be paired with all-wheel drive and is rated to tow 3,000 pounds.

The downside is that EcoBoost four costs $995 more than the standard V-6. The better fuel economy isn’t likely to make up that cost difference, but it is likely a better engine than the standard V-6 long-term. If you care about drag racing your new Explorer, opt for the EcoBoost V-6, which is likely to make it from 0 to 60 mph in under six seconds. The regular V-6 and EcoBoost four will do that same trick in a bit more than seven seconds.

The Explorer has been the country’s best selling three-row SUV for a while now and that’s likely to continue with this updated vehicle. But the competitive environment is changing. Honda’s new Pilot will attract attention, the redesigned Toyota Highlander and Acura RDX are still fresh to the market, and the crossover-ized Nissan Pathfinder has reinvigorated that brand. And for all Ford’s efforts in this redesign, it hasn’t addressed the fact that the Explorer is a bit smaller inside than some of its competitors.

There are no sure things. Even when your only goal is to not screw it up.

Disclosure: For this article, the writer’s transportation, meals and lodging costs were paid for by one or more subjects of the article. Yahoo does not promise to publish any stories or provide coverage to any individual or entity that paid for some or all of the costs of any of our writers to attend an event.