2016 Ford Explorer Platinum: Curbing Excess For Success

It takes an enormous amount of human intervention to make a place appear as though it has never before been glimpsed by bipedal beings. Yellowstone National Park has long been cherished by Americans as a compelling geographical representation of the wild and untamed character that is their birthright, its jagged topography, unsettled seismology, and unrivalled assemblies of bison and bears standing a carefully-curated macrocosm of the continent in pre-colonial times.

One would think, too, that it would take a considerable degree of persuasion to convince SUV shoppers to spend as much money as possible on expensive extra features and creature comforts. In reality, the opposite is true: in certain segments of the auto industry base models languish on dealer lots while plush trims can't be churned out fast enough by the factory.

• Also: 2016 Ford Explorer Limited: Efficient Family Hauler

The 2016 Ford Explorer is a perfect example of this puzzling thrust against thrift. In a world where close to half of existing Explorer customers were regularly splurging on the top-tier Limited, wouldn't it make sense to add yet another layer on top of the cake and charge even more money for it? Employing a strategy that has borne exceptionally profitable fruit for the Blue Oval's F-150 flagship, the company has introduced a new Platinum edition of the people mover that aims to give potential buyers more of, well, more.

The collision of these two concepts - the fencing-off of the last frontier from the forces of unlimited human expansion and the compulsion to indulge the overwhelming societal desire to amplify consumption - occurred for me within the confines of America's most celebrated park. Wyoming's West Yellowstone proved to be an unbeatable backdrop against which to contemplate the prowess of the Explorer Platinum as part of Ford's Platinum Adventure tour.

Big, Buff, And Ubiquitous

To say that the Explorer has long been a successful nameplate for Ford is to undersell its impact. In fact, the (now) three-row SUV has proven such a hit with both retail customers and fleet buyers since it was introduced in 1991 that it seemed as though every second rental vehicle I encountered during the day's drive through the national park was a near carbon-copy of my own.

Of course, there were some key differences between our two chariots. The Ford Explorer Platinum is new for the 2016 model year, which meant that the family stopped on the road ahead of me to gape at the buffalo sauntering across the asphalt wasn't enjoying quite the same level of gear and refinement as I was. Ford has crammed the capacious confines of its seven-passenger hauler with all manner of upgrades, including heated and cooled front seats with massage functions, a fresh 500 watt stereo system sourced from Sony, copious amounts of wood and leather, and a revised gauge cluster that makes heavy use of digital displays in place of the centre-mounted speedo common to lesser examples.

Rigged For Silent Running

The 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum also features a cabin that's been rigged for silent running. An investment in sonic insulation has paid dividends for the sport-utility vehicle, which absorbs or reflects outside noise to an exceptional degree, affording its riding environment a serenity suitable for the full absorption of the Teton's craggy, majestic peaks.

Much of Yellowstone demands to be more fully experienced - there's no way to appreciate the spectacle of a geyser without being able to feel the heat of its eruption on your skin and hear the pressurized surge rip through the air unfettered by protective layers of glass and steel - and once outside the Explorer Platinum, any return to the vehicle tended to be accompanied by a windows-down drive to retain at least a vestige of that connection with nature.

Say Hello To The Twins

Ford's poshest Explorer is worthy of no less than its mightiest drivetrain, which means that the 2016 Platinum benefits from a 365 horsepower, 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. Also capable of generating 350 lb-ft of torque, and mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, the Ford Explorer Platinum offers the kind of confident acceleration that is as good as can be expected in such a large, heavy vehicle, and paired with its available four-wheel drive system (and adjustable driving modes), the SUV is well-prepared for sudden snow squalls or flash floods. Anything short of legitimate off-roading is well within the Explorer's wheelhouse, and considering the same is also true of most of its three-row rivals (including the GMC Acadia Denali and the Dodge Durango Citadel), the Ford is within the hierarchy of needs of its target customer. The curves, dips, and elevation changes inside Yellowstone were handled with competence by the Explorer Platinum, with its composure only broken if asked to hustle a little more quickly than its girth would allow.

Certain To Succeed

Giving people more of what they want - as long as it isn't donuts or reality TV - is generally a successful strategy for any corporate entity. The same tender restraint applied to Yellowstone in its resistance to the inevitable development of all wild places doesn't translate to a premium truck like the 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum, but that being said the automaker's reluctance to creating a garish, chrome-plated caricature of its old stand-by is laudable. You still get an extra helping of the good stuff, only without having to worry too much about the effect it's having on your waistline or your neighbour's perceptions of your good taste. In some ways, the Explorer Platinum is the SUV that corporate sibling Lincoln really should be selling, but isn't - and that's something, too, that's undoubtedly better for FoMoCo's bottom line.