Proactive and Protective: Used Ford Explorer Safety Features

Is the Ford Explorer safe? Absolutely! With an array of preventative safety technologies and proactive driver-assist features, the Explorer is always working to keep you and your family safe. A lot of automotive writing and advertising focuses on performance, design, high-tech features, and all the stuff that makes driving fun. Fair enough, everybody likes having fun. But when you’ve got a family, chances are the big question on your mind is: is it safe? You’ve got to make sure that you and your family will be unharmed, even if an unfortunate event occurs.

First, you want to make sure you turn to a trusted brand known for safety. Ford checks that box, so that’s easy. But what about the specific vehicle? Of course, you want to ensure that you have all of the best safety features, but it would also be ideal if you could get that without spending an arm and a leg, right? Once again: fair enough. In that case, we suggest looking into a used Ford Explorer for sale. It’s a great midsize SUV that performs well, offers premium design features, and is great for family adventures. But is a Ford Explorer safe? You bet.

Driver safety is a collaborative effort. It requires your diligence, of course, but when something goes wrong, you must rely on the vehicle’s safety technology. When it comes to safety technology, there really are two branches of it. There is preventative safety technology, which usually comes under the title “safety technology,” and which works to prevent a collision from happening when there is the possibility of one. But there is also proactive safety technology, which strives to ensure that an accident cannot happen in the first place. Such technology is known as driver-assist technology.

You want to make sure that the vehicle you drive has a healthy combination of both these technologies. Lucky thing for you, used Ford Explorer models do. To get a better picture of what safety looks like in a used Ford Explorer, let’s take a look at the 2020 model and some of its safety and driver-assist technology. The 2020 model kicked off the sixth-generation Explorer, which is still in production today, so a lot of these features are relevant if you buy used or new.

2020 Safety Technology

The 2020 Ford Explorer has a whole host of advanced safety technologies to prevent a collision from happening. Some of it is quite simple, like LED low and high-beam headlamps. That may seem pretty standard in a newer used vehicle, and it is, but it still makes a huge difference! Of course, the 2020 Explorer also has newer, more advanced technologies to help keep you and your family safe while on the road.

One such technology is AdvanceTrac, a traction control and electronic stability control system that sets you up to handle tough driving conditions and difficult terrain. The big mission of traction control is to keep your wheels from spinning when you apply pressure to the gas pedal. This ensures you stay firmly planted on the road without swerving or going off track. You and your family want to stay on the road while you’re in the car, and AdvanceTrac makes sure that you stay there.

Most used Ford vehicles offer AdvanceTrac, and that’s because Ford wants to make sure that drivers are safe in all of its vehicles. But there are three very special letters that come after the AdvanceTrac system offered in the 2020 Explorer: RSC. This stands for Roll Stability Control, which works with the AdvanceTrac system to keep an eye on the Explorer’s body roll and then applies brake and throttle inputs to reduce power and start braking to ensure the vehicle gets to a safer state. Rollover accidents can be one of the most devastating experiences, and RSC works to make sure that they never happen.

The 2020 Explorer offers all kinds of other safety features, such as Curve Control, which helps you handle tougher curves with greater ease, stability, and smoothness. Trailer sway control makes sure any load you’re hauling reaches its destination with you and your family and doesn’t become the source of an accident. If an accident does occur, the SOS Post-Crash Alert System warns nearby drivers and alert first responders by automatically activating the hazard lights and horn.

You need a vehicle that takes your safety seriously because it is the most important thing when it comes to selecting a car. The Explorer’s innovative and hard-working safety features make it a highly-effective vehicle in the area of driver safety.

Driver-Assist Technology

Preventative measures are important, but if the driver has what they need from the get-go, chances are an accident won’t happen in the first place. The Explorer keeps a lot of its attention on the driver since the driver is the one who makes the drive happen. Chief among the model’s driver-assist features is Co-Pilot360. Nothing says “driver assistance” like the word “co-pilot,” so we’re off to a great start already.

Standard features in this package include Auto High-Beam Headlamps, which sense the ambient light levels and turn your brights on automatically when needed. The Lane-Keeping System (which includes both Lane-Keeping Assist and Lane-Keeping Alert) makes sure that you never veer out of your lane. Most importantly, Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking can prevent front-end collisions.

Co-Pilot360, as the name suggests, takes a comprehensive view of your drive and responds to dangerous conditions, even when you don’t are are not able to. Pre-Collision Assist is especially helpful, as the car is able to take action in the critical moment that could be the breaking point. You don’t want to be without that feature if you can have it.

Other driver-assist technologies in the 2020 Explorer include Hill Start Assist and Side-Wind Stabilization, which help you maneuver on steep inclines and in strong breezes. Another important driver-assist technology, which is closely linked with the SOS Post-Crash Alert System, is Post-Collision Braking. With this system, the car automatically applies the brakes after a collision. Bad can quickly become worse if your car keeps moving after an accident, but Post-Collision Braking makes sure that you come to a safe stop after the initial impact.

Of course, we hope you never even reach the point of an impact. Having Ford’s SYNC 3 technology available on the 2020 Explorer can be a huge help in preventing an accident. You may have heard of SYNC 3 as an infotainment technology, and it certainly is. But with integrated entertainment technology, such as AppLink and voice recognition systems, SYNC 3 makes sure that you’re hooked up with everything you need so that you can keep your eyes on the road. Having your eyes anywhere else increases the likelihood of an accident, so passing off some of your tasks to SYNC 3 allows you to focus on the drive.

Plan for the Long-Haul

There’s no compromising safety, especially when you’ve got a family to take care of. Certain performance or design features may seem like unnecessary add-ons, and that’s fair enough. But when you’ve got available safety and driver-assist technologies like the 2020 Explorer offers, you want to take those. It may feel good to save some money at the moment of purchase, but not having those technologies when a critical moment occurs can mean an unfortunate end to the situation.

Having the proper safety features can make the issue of money seem so small and irrelevant when the vehicle saves you from a close-call situation. If you are shopping for a used Ford Explorer, take a look at the available safety features and decide which ones you feel are best suited to your family and your situation; if you have even an inkling that a certain safety feature is a good idea, then it probably is. We’ll help you make sure that your used Explorer has whichever safety features you’re looking for. As we said, there’s no compromising safety.