Soccer-mom mobile reinvented: The 2011 Ford Explorer

[NissanSkylineN1]

Nah.. kinda looks like a Subaru or a Kia.

 

[Jim Prower]

I really, truly, don't care. Never liked the explorer to begin with.

 

[Dan_]

An SUV? Meh, oh wait, this isn't the GTP cool wall thread? Whatever, stills meh to me.

 

[YSSMAN]

I think Ford is doing the right thing with this, but apparently I'm in the minority with that. The Explorer nameplate has been entirely irrelevant since the Firestone extravaganza, so making it a more urban-friendly crossover (which it has otherwise been for a decade or more), we're not losing out on anything. In all honesty, when was the last time the Explorer was even class-competitive? Whew... I can't even think of it.

The look is spot-on, I think. The interior and exterior looks great, and I feel like the interior is going to be a magical place to be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this gets one of the fancy Land Rover-like off-road controllers too? That should be nice for the Moms and Dads getting around in the not so nice weather.

I guess I look at it this way... If the Explorer goes to this, there is room for a Bronco. With the way the Raptor has been selling, Ford would be stupid not to.

 

[mustangGT90210]

They have, however, done what you've asked with the Escape... updating it with better engines and transmissions to increase economy. But that car was unibody already.

The new escape is terrible in relation to the old one. My mom had an '06 I've had more seat time in than I care to talk about. It was a 2.3L 5 speed manual. Great little truck, had all the power you could wish for, sounded good for a 4 cylinder, and we pulled down 26-30 mpg all the time. And you could do burnouts and it felt really peppy and always ready to go because of the 5 speed. And I kept it under 4000 almost all the time. But it pulled pretty good from 4000-6500 rpm.

The new Escape is also a 4 cylinder, but the punched out version of the old 2.3. It's a 2.5 liter now, with about 30 more horsepower. And a 6 speed automatic. This thing drives like a truck. The old one drove like my dad's SN95 Mustangs. The seats are hard and really flat, whereas the old ones were contoured and held you. The pickup in this new Escape... It's not there. You floor it and it takes a second or two to finally pick a gear and go. And even then, it pulls maybe as hard as the old one. The steering is Camry-esque, it is so light, you gotta keep your arm tense when your hand is at 12 just so it doesn't move.

Basically, I think they ruined the Escape. The new one is nice, but from a performance standpoint, it's a downgrade in every possible way. It's just not the same anymore


[/rant] I really loved that little truck

Personally I hate the idea of a crossover, since all it is is a tall station wagon. I guess I prefer the idea of a truck based SUV, but then again I actually would take mine off-road.

I guess I wish they would bring out the Bronco name again, and put it on a vehicle worthy of competition to the Wrangler.

Yes! I'd love a new bronco! And do it like they did before, base it on the F150 shortbed frame, just like old times, but with a more off road oriented suspension

 

[Keef]

Yes, they are both ugly. Quite similar in that regard.

Don't forget the fact that they're both SUVs. The only way to make an SUV look different from any other SUV is to put a seven slot grille on the front.

I happen to think this new Explorer is rather good looking, on par with the Grand Cherokee. It still looks like an SUV too, rather than the akwardly proportioned crossovers that GM offers. I definitely love its blacked-out pillars, making it look like the roof is some sort of platform or umbrella held over the top.

 

[Tornado]

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I think of the three the new Jeep is the best looking SUV inside and out.

I actually saw one of the new Grand Cherokees on a dealer lot today. They actually look pretty good on the inside. Especially notable because the one I was looking at appeared to be a base model.

 

[niky]

The new escape is terrible in relation to the old one. My mom had an '06 I've had more seat time in than I care to talk about. It was a 2.3L 5 speed manual. Great little truck, had all the power you could wish for, sounded good for a 4 cylinder, and we pulled down 26-30 mpg all the time. And you could do burnouts and it felt really peppy and always ready to go because of the 5 speed. And I kept it under 4000 almost all the time. But it pulled pretty good from 4000-6500 rpm.

The new Escape is also a 4 cylinder, but the punched out version of the old 2.3. It's a 2.5 liter now, with about 30 more horsepower. And a 6 speed automatic. This thing drives like a truck. The old one drove like my dad's SN95 Mustangs. The seats are hard and really flat, whereas the old ones were contoured and held you. The pickup in this new Escape... It's not there. You floor it and it takes a second or two to finally pick a gear and go. And even then, it pulls maybe as hard as the old one. The steering is Camry-esque, it is so light, you gotta keep your arm tense when your hand is at 12 just so it doesn't move.

Basically, I think they ruined the Escape. The new one is nice, but from a performance standpoint, it's a downgrade in every possible way. It's just not the same anymore


[/rant] I really loved that little truck


Yes! I'd love a new bronco! And do it like they did before, base it on the F150 shortbed frame, just like old times, but with a more off road oriented suspension

Well... the 2.5 isn't a bad engine. Drives pretty well in the CX-7 (Better than the Honda K24). Maybe when they redesigned it, they mapped the torque band higher.

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Or maybe the facelifted Escape is a porker compared to the old car.

 

[Jim Prower]

So I went to the State Fair today...

So, what's it like up close? Well...basically any other crossover, really. It reminds me a lot of the Ford Edge. This one was one of the prototypes, though, a bit of a surprise it showed up here, at the Illinois State Fair, which isn't even a car show. Interior shot is as good as I could get, was locked, though the exterior shots were of it as it was driving in.

It's also very quiet. No rumble, gurgle, purr could be heard, especially above the state fair's din. The electric golf carts made more noise...yes, the electric ones.

 

[SuperShouden]

Looks a little like a Land Rover Discovery. In which case, I'd get the Land Rover.

 

[JCE]

I quite like it fully in the metal. Looks good actually. And thank god the mach 3 grille is gone.

 

[Jim Prower]

Well, the Explorer always had the F-series-style grille, anyway, so it never went through the shaver phase.

 

[YSSMAN]

I'd say it looks quite nice, and it would definitely be at the forefront of what I'd be looking at in the segment. Its nice to see a "surprisingly good" vehicle out there, again, from an American manufacturer. I saw a new Grand Cherokee for the first time yesterday, I'm equally as impressed.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I saw one of these the other day; they don't look bad but... Urgh, what's the point?

 

[JCE]

I'd say it looks quite nice, and it would definitely be at the forefront of what I'd be looking at in the segment. Its nice to see a "surprisingly good" vehicle out there, again, from an American manufacturer. I saw a new Grand Cherokee for the first time yesterday, I'm equally as impressed.

+1 I like the new Cherokee as well. Looks like Chrysler spent some time fine tuning it. Let's just hope the materials are in good quality.

 

[YSSMAN]

Exploring the Sands
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Autoblog has an interesting read up on the off-road performance and durability of the Explorer, written after spending some time with a test vehicle outside of Dubai. It sounds as though Ford has spent a lot of time and money making their crossover perform like an SUV. I mean, it won't run circles around the Grand Cherokee or LR4... But let's see your Traverse do that.