It's hard to say what makes the Ford Explorer so appealing; versatility, power, size or maybe just really good marketing from the Blue Oval. But whatever the reason, it's reigned supreme as America's top-selling SUV for a few decades now, lasting much longer than the original battery could have hoped to.
The Explorer takes BCI battery size 65, which is all you really need to know to purchase a working replacement. This size rating denotes a battery that measures 7 9/16 inches tall, 12 1/16 inches long and 7 9/16 inches wide. Most batteries in this size range weigh about 38 to 40 pounds. The cheapest put out a marginal 650 cold cranking amps and 810 cranking amps, with an 80-minute reserve capacity for operating things like radios and accessories with the engine off. Better batteries like the Duralast Platinum run about 775 CCA, 955 cranking amps and 150 minutes of reserve capacity. From AutoZone, these run about $180, or more than twice what the cheapest battery costs. That's about the most expensive you'll want to go, since for high-end batteries like the Optima, you're paying more for the brand name and less for performance in this application.
