For domestic buyers, the Explorer is a new name. In fact, the Explorer is a twin of Envision, but it has a much longer history than Envision. The Explorer was launched as early as 2004, and SAIC-GM's domestic model is already the third generation.
 
In the U.S. market, the Explorer is the product of Chevrolet's "misplaced competition", and Chevrolet hopes to challenge these compact Japanese rivals with such a quasi-midsize SUV with a price comparable to the CR-V and RAV4, but the size is significantly more than half a circle, and the pricing of the Explorer in China also continues this strategy.
 
The Explorer has a 1.5-liter engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 2.0-liter nine-speed automatic transmission. The power of the Explorer is no problem, the acceleration performance of the 2.0T is not inferior to the 2.0T of the Honda Crown Road, and the 1.5T engine is a little faster than the 1.5T Envision in 8.9 seconds.
 
2.0T plus 9AT This powertrain performance is better than 1.5T plus 6AT, but 1.5T is an entry model, you can get a more complete experience at a lower price, and 1.5T has been able to meet the power needs of most consumers, 8.6 liters of average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is also a little lower than 10 liters of 2.0T models, so 1.5T models have always been the main sales force of explorers.
 
The 1.5T powertrain has a very good ride in daily use, but it is still difficult to avoid occasional setbacks in low-speed upshifts and downshifts, and when accelerating and overtaking and need to downshift, its response will be slower, and it will always take a while to downshift. GM's 6T45 gearbox will have a sharp increase in failure rate after more than 3 years, and reliability is still a worrying factor.
 
The powertrain of the 2.0T plus 9AT is generally satisfactory in terms of shift logic and smoothness, but GM's 9-speed gearbox only has two super-ratio gears, which means that there will be a lot more upshifts and downshifts in daily driving, especially in the low-speed range, which will have a certain impact on the ride to a certain extent.
 
Although the Explorer and Envision use the same platform, there is a clear difference in the suspension tuning between the two, with the Envision favoring luxury and comfort, while the Explorer favors a youthful and sporty approach. The main manifestation of young sports is that the suspension is stiff, and there is no cushioning in the middle, and the fine vibrations of the road surface are easily transmitted into the cabin, and the comfort will be somewhat reduced. The stiffer suspension is not useless, at least when changing lines and cornering, the roll is very small, and the action is relatively fast, which does not give people the feeling of driving a bus.
 
The atmosphere of the interior of the cabin is practical-oriented, even if the place that is easy to touch the hand is covered with leather, but the feel is still relatively rough, and there is a gap with the fine leather of Envision, and the whole interior has no decorative parts, and the workmanship is average. The layout of the center console is very versatile, not squarely layered at the top, middle and bottom, but with a rounded shape, with a touch screen on the top and an air conditioning panel on the bottom. The Explorer supports CarPlay and CarLife, and the mobile phone interconnection is relatively complete.
 
The rear seat space and comfort are good, and while the floor height is raised on a fully flat floor, the seat height is also raised. Although the headroom is reduced a bit, the overall ride experience is very good, and the thighs are supported enough. There is plenty of lateral space, and the front armrest box doesn't protrude too much from the back, so three adults in the back won't feel cramped. The rear seats move forward when reclined, creating a fully flat boot space of up to 1,600 litres, which is very generous.
 
Chevrolet's reliability problems mainly appear in some electrical appliances in the car, such as water leakage in the sunroof, motor damage, and in terms of powertrain, the failure rate of the gearbox will suddenly increase after a certain number of years.
 
There is no problem with the passive safety performance of the Explorer. In 2018-2019, the Chevrolet Explorer participated in the IIHS frontal low-angle crash test, frontal moderate overlap crash test, side impact test, top impact test, headrest and seat test, all of which were excellent, but because the headlights were only marginal, they missed the "Top Safety Certification (TSP)".
Chevrolet Explorer evaluation report