Third generation (U152) 2002–2005 #10
The 5-door Explorer and its companion the Mercury Mountaineer, in January 2001 were redesigned entirely for the 2002 model year, losing all design similarity with the Ford Ranger while also gaining a similar appearance to its big brother, the Ford Expedition. The new design is frequently mistaken for the later second generation Expedition, having rounded wheel sockets and larger back lights along with a more rounded appearance overall. The previous generation's 4.0 L SOHC 12 valve V-6 engine carried over, however the Windsor V8 was replaced by the 4.6 L 2V SOHC 16 valve V-8. Though in the Sport Trac variant, the 4.0 L SOHC 12 valve V-6 was rated at just 205 hp (153 kW), 242 ft·lbf (328 N·m) of torque.
A third row seat became available for the first time, bringing total passenger capacity to seven. The Mazda 5-speed manual and the 5-speed Ford C3-derived automatic transmissions were available, but the 2002 model year was the last year the larger 5-door variant could be ordered with a manual transmission. Trim packages were now the base Sport Value, Sport Choice, XLS, Sport Premium, XLT, Eddie Bauer, and Limited, in order of luxury trim-offerings. The 2002-2004 models also saw stability control as an option, Ford's AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control system. The stability control system became standard for the 2005 model year.
For the third generation, Ford installed fully independent rear suspension in the 5-door Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer - but not in the 3-door Sport model. This replaced the non-independent "live axle" rear suspension used in previous model year Explorers. With a fully independent rear suspension, each rear wheel connects to the rear differential via a half-shaft drive axle. This design offers benefits including: ride comfort, handling, and vehicle stability. Other vehicles have used this setup on both rear and four-wheel drive vehicles for many years. For example, the Hummer H1 and the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class use independent front and rear suspension. One reason for Ford's switch to independent rear suspension in the Explorer was due to the well-publicized vehicle rollovers and resulting fatalities that occurred with the previous generations of Ford Explorer.
(info from wikipedia)
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