So the new Ford Explorer wagons taken to Alice Springs for the model’s Australian launch have probably done enough serious offroad work to account for its first couple of years on the market, with a convoy of journo-driven Explorers spending the best part of a day to travel around 250 kms in conditions most of the new wagons are unlikely to ever encounter.

Ford Australia was obviously keen to prove that its new import from the US, launched there six years ago and currently the world’s top-selling 4WD with over 469,000 built last year, could handle anything that Australia might put it through.

The first 6-cylinder 4WD designed and built by Ford since the last Broncos were imported in 1985, Explorer has a separate chassis with "controlled collapse rate" sections to help absorb frontal crash impacts.

All three Explorer models (XL, XLT and Limited) come standard with dual airbags and 4-wheel discs brakes with ABS, plus niceties like air conditioning and tinted glass, but then there is the choice of engines; a 4.0 litre V6 or...a 4.0 litre V6.

Both made in Germany, they are based on the same cylinder block with one using rather dated OverHead Valve technology to produce 119kW of power and 305Nm of torque, while its mate has Single OverHead Cam and punches out 153kW and 339Nm. Transmissions are a 5-speed manual or, in a first for this type of vehicle in Australia, a 5-speed automatic.

"Room glorious room - Explorer has plenty"

Explorer’s body styling is an appealing mix of offroad rugged and inner city chic, and the spacious interior has good head, shoulder and legroom, but for the left footrest. Apparently the result of `design by committee’ on an international level, it sits very high and pushes the driver’s left knee uncomfortably skywards - its complete removal might be a good idea.

Our drive started on open road bitumen, some of us forgetting the Northern Territory’s no-limits rule and trundling habitually along on 110 until realisation dawned and pedals were pressed closer to the metal, to cruise comfortably at speeds which would cause rapid loss of licence here in WA. But then we got serious, on private station `roads’ chosen by the Alice Springs 4WD club.

Rough stock tracks, fast gravel roads, deep bulldust, steep climbs over rock, dry riverbeds, stony trails barely recognisable as tracks at all - the Explorers handled everything thrown at them with deceptive ease, comfortably low noise levels and no intrusion of dust, apart from into one wagon on which the tailgate was incorrectly closed (my apologies to the cleaner).

The rear suspension is frankly rather surprising as leaf-springs are not exactly state of the art, but Ford seems to have done a good job of making them tough and comfortable at the same time, with decent handling thrown in.

And the Explorer Limited gets Automatic Ride Control (ARC), which is Fordspeak for an active/adaptive suspension that offers three vehicle ride heights, two shock absorber/damper settings and full-time load levelling. The closest thing you’ll find to this is in a RangeRover, for more than a few dollars more.

The OHV engine’s power and torque make it worthy of consideration by those in the habit of towing heavy loads, and the OHC version even more so, giving Explorer added appeal for increasingly discerning buyers in a competitive market.

That market segment has been shaken up by Toyota’s Prado, and it could be shaken still further - with prices ranging from $41,990 for the `entry level’ XL to $59,990 for the Limited with all the fruit, Explorer could be a new `wild card’.