Wrong person drives around the world in electric Ford Explorer

The American Lexie Alford has written a new record under her name. The 25-year-old YouTuber is the first person to drive around the world in an electric car. But in our opinion, someone should have done it differently with the Ford Explorer.

We call Lexie Alford a YouTuber, but she actually has more followers on Instagram (1.2 million) than YouTube (500,000). She is the youngest person to ever visit every country in the world. That’s 196. Alford was twenty-one when she crossed the last country off her list.

Travel around the world with the Ford Explorer

Ford therefore thought it would be a good idea to send them off with the new Explorer, an all-electric SUV based on a Volkswagen MEB. Alford left Nice and crossed 27 countries on her world tour, covering more than 20,000 miles.

We’re excited to see how much support Alford received from Ford. Was there a gasoline car with a mobile battery on board driving behind her? Because Ford itself writes about power outages in Africa and a lack of charging infrastructure in the Atacama Desert.

Wiebe Wakker had made up his mind

Anyway, our disappointment… Because Ford could have invited someone much better for this record drive with the Explorer: Wiebe Wakker. The Dutchman is also a record holder, but for the longest journey in an electric car of all time: 95,000 kilometers, from the Netherlands via a detour to Australia.

And all alone, in a converted Volkswagen Golf, with not the best electric range. Wakker was on the road a little longer than Alford, who completed her job within a few months. He was gone for more than a thousand days. So more than three years.

Three versions Explorer

The Ford Explorer is available as rear-wheel drive with a 52 or 77 kWh battery. The first version has 170 hp, the second 286 hp. It is also available with all-wheel drive, 340 hp and a 79 kWh battery. The model with the longest range reaches 602 kilometers.