The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer, was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Bronco II. As with the Ford Ranger, the model line derives its name from a trim package previously offered on Ford F-Series pickup trucks. As of 2020, the Explorer became the best-selling SUV in the American market.

Currently in its sixth generation, the Explorer has featured a five-door wagon body style since its 1991 introduction. During the first two generations, the model line included a three-door wagon (directly replacing the Bronco II). The Ford Explorer Sport Trac is a crew-cab mid-size pickup derived from the second-generation Explorer. The fifth and sixth generations of the Explorer have been produced as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility (replacing both the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan).

The Explorer is slotted between the Ford Edge and Ford Expedition within North America's current Ford SUV range. The model line has undergone rebadging several times, with Mazda, Mercury, and Lincoln each selling derivative variants. Currently, Lincoln markets a luxury version of the Explorer as the Lincoln Aviator.

For the North American market, the first four generations of the Explorer were produced by Ford at its Louisville Assembly Plant (Louisville, Kentucky) and its now-closed St. Louis Assembly Plant (Hazelwood, Missouri). Ford currently assembles the Explorer alongside the Lincoln Aviator and the Police Interceptor Utility at its Chicago Assembly Plant (Chicago, Illinois).

The Ford Explorer was introduced in March 1990 as an early 1991 model to replace the Bronco II. As Ford sought to balance off-road capability with family use of the vehicle, the Explorer underwent design changes from its predecessor while still retaining mechanical commonality with the Ranger pickup truck.

Growing in size from the compact Bronco II (similar to its 1960s namesake), the Explorer was a mid-size SUV, competing directly against the Jeep Cherokee (XJ) and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. To compete against both model lines, three-door and five-door body styles were launched (introduced in the same month as the five-door S-10 Blazer and seven years after the Jeep Cherokee XJ started the five-door SUV trend). The Explorer's wider body allowed for three-across rear passenger seating in the five-door version built on an extended wheelbase. The traditional exterior-mounted swing-away spare tire carrier was deleted in favor of an underfloor location. Like the Ford Taurus station wagon, the rear liftgate had a flip-up rear window.

As with the Bronco II, the first-generation Explorer (design code UN46) shares its chassis underpinnings with the 1983–1992 Ford Ranger. The three-door version uses a 102.1 in (2,593 mm) wheelbase (8.1 in (206 mm) longer than the Bronco II) while the new five-door features a 111.9 in (2,842 mm) wheelbase.

As with the Ranger, the UN46 Explorer has a Twin I-Beam (4×2) or Twin-Traction Beam (4×4) coil-sprung front independent suspension and a leaf-sprung solid rear axle. Brakes are discs in the front with drums in the rear. Anti-lock (ABS) was only on the rear axle during early years, with four-wheel ABS available by 1994.