Motor Show: Detroit 2008: Ford Explorer America

Engines on offer will be a four-cylinder 2.0-litre (275bhp/280lb-ft) and a 3.5 V6 (340bhp), with a new six-speed automatic gearbox with manual gear selection/hold function fitted.

Clearly influenced by the recent Interceptor and Flex concepts, the Explorer America has an upright three-bar front grille, a wraparound rear window, bonnet with 'power dome' and a sliding rear door: Ford is promising that it loses nothing in terms of versatility and practicality.

Inside, there are stacking/sliding seats with one-touch operation, a worktable with seats which folds out from the tailgate and, in case you forget this is an off-roader, a 3-D compass and sat nav unit with topographical map.

Most of the fuel-saving measures, including the electrical power steering, will be applied to Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models in the near future, and there will be a trend towards downsizing engines - without losses in power and strength - across the range. Such measures are necessary if Ford is to lower its average fleet fuel economy in line with new legislation and meet consumer demand; Explorer sales, for example, are now barely a quarter of the figures recorded in the model's 90s heyday, as buyers are moving away from thirsty, unwieldy SUVs to more efficient, more car-like crossovers.

Though the Explorer America is very much a concept car, it's clear that the all-new production model, due on sale in 2010, will be very different to the Explorer we've seen to date.

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