I half expected someone else to beat me to it but the new July/August issue of Car & Driver cover story is a comparison of eight three-row SUV's including an Explorer ST 4WD. The test pool included the following; Honda Pilot Elite, Hyundai Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy AWD, Kia Telluride SX-Prestige Hybrid, Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus, Nissan Pathfinder Platinum AWD, Toyota Grand highlander Platinum Hybrid Max, and Volkswagen Atlas SEL R-Line.
The Telluride wound up ranked first (not really a surprise, C&D loves this thing) and the Pathfinder was dead last. The last such SUV showdown the magazine did was in 2019 with the Explorer finishing 4 out of 5 so Ford did better coming in #3 this time around.
The reviewers stated the ST was the quickest of the bunch hitting 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and a full second ahead of the rest of the pack in the quarter mile. There biggest complaint was the seats of which they said the driver's was "too hard, too narrow, and too flat". They also felt considering the sporting nature of the ST that it was "shameful" that the Hyundai and Kia both had better side bolstering that cinch in Sport mode. I personally think the seats are very comfortable, much more than my prior 2019 Mazda CX-9, but that's me.
I was surprised in the little summaries accompanying each vehicles photos that for the ST under Highs it said "Powerful and silly" and the Verdict was "A 400-hp breath of fresh air that is exactly as impractical as you think it is". Wow, that is a pretty harsh judgement coming from a magazine supposedly written by and for car enthusiasts. I've been a Car & Driver subscriber since about 1972 and it's hard for me to believe these guys are complaining about more horsepower being impractical when every issue has raves about some 1000+ hp supercar that costs over $300K. What happened to the guys like Brock Yates who got arrested racing the Cannonball Run? Anyway, for those curious or cross shopping for a new SUV you might want to give it a look.