The 2013 Ford Explorer is going to get a 3.5-liter, 350-hp twin-turbocharged Ecoboost engine increasing the number of Ford vehicles powered by the strong, fuel-efficient engines. The Explorer’s 350-hp is the same drivetrain powering the Ford Taurus SHO.

These highly-powered Ecoboost engines are loved not only for the numbers of horses they produce, but also for their relatively high fuel economies. According to Ford, the Explorer Sport will be able to squeeze two or three miles more out of a gallon of gas than the Jeep Cherokee with a 5.7-liter HEMI can.       

The Explorer Sport will use a 3.16 to one final drive ratio, lower than what it currently uses, along with a faster steering ratio. Additionally, really focusing on being a sport vehicle, the new Explorer will also have larger brakes, a terrain management system that can take on hills, sand, mud, snow, dirt and gravel plus a paddle shift six-speed automatic transmission.  It will continue to be built in Ford’s Chicago assembly plant.

If you can’t hold out for the Ecoboost, older models of this redesigned SUV are beginning to show up on buy here pay here car lots in Illinois.