In 2000, Ford introduced the Explorer Sport Trac as an Explorer-based pickup-truck on the U.S. market for those looking for a leisure utility vehicle.

While the Ford F150 remained the best selling vehicle in the world, Ford noticed that the customers started to look for less hard-working vehicles to tow their boats or trailers to the camping areas. Vehicles such as Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, or Toyota Tacoma were already on the market and started to steal Ford’s customers. The Sport Trac was based on the same platform as the Explorer and shared most of its comfort features.

Less-rugged, softer on the edges, and with plastic overfenders, the Explorer Sport Trac was one of the vehicles that stood apart from Ford’s lineup. Unlike the F-Series, which featured a quarter panel that started behind the rear doors and ended behind the car, the Sport Trac sported a distinct bed. The front side, up to the C-pillars, resembled the Explorer lineup with similar headlights, doors, and windows.

Inside, Ford installed a car-like dashboard with soft lines and curved lines over the instrument cluster. Its white dials resembled sports cars, even though it featured more gauges than a regular street vehicle. On top of the center stack, the design team installed two air-vents and underneath them the CD-Stereo. Ford offered two bucket-seats at the front and a split-folding bench in the rear.

Under the hood, Ford installed the same powertrains from the Explorer, with a 4.0-liter V6 as the base version, while the 4.6-liter V8 was offered for those in a hurry or with a boat attached behind.