Ford made a big splash in the midsize SUV segment when it revealed the all-new 2020 Explorer, which now goes back to a rear-wheel-drive layout for the first time since 2010. Along with RWD, the new Explorer is also the most powerful in the model's history with a new ST variant pumping out 400 horsepower. Still, this new Explorer has a pretty big task to complete: to dethrone the Kia Telluride as the best midsize, three-row SUV.

It won't be an easy goal to accomplish but Ford has paid extra attention to the Explorer's interior, giving it a dual-wall dashboard to help limit interior noise. The Explorer also comes with a "Mindful Mode," which turns off all gauge cluster information other than speed and fuel to minimize distractions.

But as it turns out, the Explorer has yet another new feature meant to make the interior more comfortable. Mike Kolich, the supervisor of Ford's global seating team, told Autoblog about the new seats in the Explorer, which will make the car more comfortable during long trips. "Road trips can be largely defined by how comfortable people are and when you get down to it, how comfortable our seats allow them to be," Kolich said.

The seats in the new Explorer have been designed with thinner seat backs and sculpted back panels, which carve out more knee room for second-row passengers. Ford claims that even though the seat is smaller, it provides even more comfort than before. The seats even underwent 100 lab tests to prove their comfortability.

"Not long ago, the industry didn't have measurable objectives like we do today. We would build a seat, and from there it was trial-and-error," Kolich explained. "We're smarter than that today [and] we know what people expect." More than half of all families in the US will take a road trip in 2019 and the Ford Explorer looks ready to be their chariot of choice.