Ford Motor Co.

The 2011 Ford Explorer’s interior is its most striking departure from earlier models.

Before Ford unveiled its 2011 Explorer, I doubted the new SUV would be anything special. After all, Ford has been tweaking the truck for 20 years, so what new things could be left to try?

Turns out this could be one of those rare redesigns that is more like a rebirth, mainly because of what Ford has done with the interior. The Explorer’s cabin, from the smooth feel of the door handles to the attractive colors and sharp graphics on its central display screen, shows attention to detail found in some luxury cars, but never in a Ford truck.

Explorer program managers Julie Rocco and Julie Levine, who oversaw the vehicle’s development, said they lost sleep over details like the shapes of buttons, their surface texture and how much force one has to exert when pushing them. As a result switches, buttons and other controls have a solid, reassuringly heavy feel — not lightweight, as if they might break next you use them.

Back when the first Explorers rolled out in 1990 for the 1991 model year, car makers weren’t giving much attention to interiors. Indeed, when they looked for ways to produce cars more cheaply, it seemed, they started with the materials that make up the seats, dashboard and inner door panels.

I’d get into a car like a Pontiac Grand Am, the then-new Explorer or almost any other basic vehicle and I could almost hear the company executives asking if an even less-expensive velour was available for the upholstery. How about a little more hard plastic panels on the doors, dash and other places you touch all the time?

Times have changed and people expect better interiors. But instead of just keeping up with expectations the Explorer’s cabin jumps ahead. In doing so it blurs the lines between luxury vehicles and everyday family transportation.

I won’t know for sure until I drive it, and that won’t happen for awhile because the Explorer won’t go on sale until winter. But the Explorer looks like it could be a hit for Ford that might win over customers from a range of competitors, including Chevrolet, BMW and Audi. The new Explorer will likely never reach the 400,000-unit annual sales that earlier models enjoyed a decade or more ago. But unlike earlier Explorers, I can imagine owning and enjoying this one.

How does the interior look to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.