Here's Our New Ride!

[VinceL]

So here it is, introducing the Gray Ghost:

2013 Explorer Limited V6 FWD
Sterling Gray
Charcoal Black interior
Package 302A
2nd row captain's chairs
2nd row console (a must!)
Panoramic roof
OEM All-Weather Mats
OEM Cargo Area Protector
Splash guards
Dee Zee Running Boards

At the dealership meeting the Ex for the first time (and posing for a goofy picture!):


Only 5.1 miles, the lowest yet for one of our new cars:


Here's the Gray Ghost at home:

[VinceL]

Here is the timeline as we saw it:

03/15
Made deal in showroom

03/16
DORA received

03/26
Order number assigned
Tentative build date: 04/09

03/27
VIN# Assigned

04/02
Tentative build date: 04/13
Tentative delivery: 04/23

04/09
Window sticker available
Tentative build date: 04/13
Tentative delivery: 04/23

04/13
Car built
MyFord Touch (CI) Gen2 – v3.0.2

04/14
MyFord Touch (CI) Gen2 – v3.0.2

04/16
Ford Etis site updated with build date
Status “Awaiting Shipment”
Tentative delivery: 04/30

04/17
Ford Etis site updated with all information
Status updated to “In Transit”
Tentative delivery: 04/30

04/18
Tentative delivery: 04/25

04/24
Tentative delivery: 04/25

04/26
Call from dealership @ 2:04pm
Car has arrived and is being prepped!
Later that evening, we sign the papers and drive it off the lot!!

[VinceL]

Here is the timeline as Ford saw it (the top is the car arriving in Houston, the very bottom is when it was ordered):

[VinceL]

Here's the review:

First off, we had a fabulous car buying experience with our dealer. We X-plan'd the car, so it was down to the trade-in, which we ended up getting a good deal more for it than we expected (which surpassed most of the online true-price estimators). The $1k rebate along with the $750 brochure coupon helped get us a deal we were very happy with. Rod and Nickole took great care of us the whole time...

Now, to the car:

We love it! It is quite, smooth riding, and very comfortable. We are coming from a 2005 Forester, which is 20 inches shorter and about 1000lbs lighter (give or take), so we expected the driving experience to be very different. The steering is lighter in the Ex, but feels pretty good. The biggest surprise was how the Ex felt like a smaller car to drive. Then you look around you and realize that you are sitting in a large vehicle. It is very easy to drive despite its bulk. The only issue we have is that it barely fits into the garage! Man, is it a tight fit.

Fit and finish is very good. There was a small scuff on the rear bumper at delivery, but while we were signing the paperwork, the body shop buffed it out and you can't tell it was ever there. Panels look to fit together nicely.

MFT is working well. Only had one issue that seems to have corrected itself. After the first loading and indexing of our 32gb flash drive with 2800+ songs, when the car was turned off then restarted, it said the flash drive was disconnected. Though, that seems to have rectified itself. I did find that if you went under the Options menu and then re-indexed the drive (which only took a few seconds, so I don't think it was a full reload, but more like a remount of the drive), it worked fine. My wife reports that it worked fine all day, so who knows.

All of the other MFT functions are working well. We are trying to learn it, but man, is it a steep learning curve The ambient lighting is the coolest useless feature ever.

The interior is very comfortable. The front seats are great, with plenty of adjustments, and just the right amount of cushioning. The seat coolers work great, if not a bit noisily on the high setting. The steering wheel heater has already been enjoyed by our friend on his test drive of our car. The rear A/C blows like a hurricane, and it is nice to have the control afforded to the back seat passengers. The bucket seats in the back are sweet, and make the car for us. Being able to move them fore and aft is a sweet feature. With the 3rd row empty, we can move the buckets all the way back and it is nice to have so much room. The flexibility is a big plus for us, especially since the 3rd row won't often be occupied.

We have experienced the control-less dome lights and sleeping baby problem. We'll have to figure something out for that one...

The automatic high-beam headlights are taking a bit of getting used to, but it seems to work quite well. We haven't had the opportunity to have it self park, or keep us from drifting in our lane. The collision alert function fired one time as we (meaning I) came up rather quickly on a car that was turning. It caught us by surprise, but worked well. The cross traffic alert fires every time we back out of the garage, see as how close the side of the car is to the wall. The power mirrors are also helpful in getting the car in.

In our time on the highway, we didn't hear a peep out of the A-pillars. No odd wind noises, creaks, or rattles.

We plan on getting as set of all-weather mats, rear bumper protector, clear bra, tint on the front windows, and maybe running boards. We say maybe on the running boards because it seems that in the past 2 months, our son has grown just enough to be able to negotiate climbing into the car on his own.

We'll be keeping track of mileage and posting on fuelly.com, so look for the Gray Ghost there

I'm tired and can't think of anything else to say, so if anybody has any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Happy driving

[cnsheets]

Congrats!!

[bluex232]

Congrats on the new ride!! I totally agree on it feeling like a smaller vehicle...when we started looking for new cars I really wanted an Escape, but we had to have something with the 3rd row seat. I am pretty small (5'3) and was totally bummed because our family is all about the gadgets, and one think I really wanted was SYNC but thought the Ex would be way too big. We started looking at crossover vehicles instead...but after sitting in the Ex I was suprised at how small it seamed in the drivers seat, but was still very roomy! We are debating on running boards as well, my son is 4 and could use a boost getting in the back seat on his own. Also considering the ambient lighting, yes totally useless, but totally cool!!

And yes a very smooth ride...I am shocked I haven't got pulled over yet because I am still getting used to going 65mph but feeling like I am only going 25mph!!

[spitfisher]

Nice car, now can you remove that Subaru avatar! :-)

Best wishes with the new ride

[jw2013explorer]

Congrats Vince!

[dking]

Congrats!! Very nice I know you two will enjoy it.

[VinceL]

Originally Posted by spitfisher

Nice car, now can you remove that Subaru avatar! :-)

Best wishes with the new ride

LOL, I put that on my list to do and forgot! I'll do that right away....

[VinceL]

Originally Posted by bluex232

Congrats on the new ride!!

And yes a very smooth ride...I am shocked I haven't got pulled over yet because I am still getting used to going 65mph but feeling like I am only going 25mph!!

Thanks!

And we totally know what you are saying about speeding. My wife kept telling me, 'your speeding', 'your speeding again'...never by much, but it easily lets you go 5 or 10 mph faster than you think you are.

[peterk9]

Congratulations Vince from your northern friend, even if it your better half's ride. Very, very nice on both counts.
I like the one where I can see the fire hydrant in the background. Looks like a little smurf!
Happy motoring.

Peter

[Gatortailale]

Nice VinceL. Congrats to you and your wife. Thanks for posting pics and photos to get me over hump while I wait for mine to be built. Cory said may roll off line middle of May.

[VinceL]

Originally Posted by peterk9

Congratulations Vince from your northern friend, even if it your better half's ride. Very, very nice on both counts.
I like the one where I can see the fire hydrant in the background. Looks like a little smurf!
Happy motoring.

Peter

Thanks Peter! Yeah, that's a fire hydrant in the background. Funny thing is, I never realized how much it does look like a Smurf! He's part of the Smurf fire brigade

Originally Posted by Gatortailale

Nice VinceL. Congrats to you and your wife. Thanks for posting pics and photos to get me over hump while I wait for mine to be built. Cory said may roll off line middle of May.

I know it feels like torture, but it is so worth it. It will be here before you know it!

[VinceL]

Originally Posted by spitfisher

Nice car, now can you remove that Subaru avatar! :-)

Best wishes with the new ride

Gone!

[briteboy]

Since everyone else has been congratulating you, I'll just say...

It's about time !!!

enjoy, enjoy enjoy

[VinceL]

^ Ha! Thanks, and we couldn't agree with you more

[wikidhd]

Congrats Vince and Wife...lol...I can't wait to get my Limited...it is driving me crazy...but i like its taking some time, hopefully there will b no problems. Enjoy ur new ride.....how do like the power tilt/telescopic wheel? Do the memory setting set the seat, pedals, and steering wheel? Also do it tilt up and in when you power off the car....Being 6'5" and 248lbs this is very important one of the reasons I waited for the 2013....thanks for the info...

[grrtrainman]

CONGRATS & KUDOS on your new tough looking Explorer !!! That 302A pkg has to be sooooo cool. ‘Nice to see your Limited with the 20” painted wheels as opposed to the polished units. In my current subjective opinion I get the idea that the silver painted wheels look more appropriate and would be easier to keep clean, no? I better decide quickly because I’ll be ordering soon…

PS: What a nice touch, seeing new Ex owners through the windshield. Note the big smiles!

[VinceL]

Originally Posted by cnsheets

Congrats!!

Originally Posted by wikidhd

Congrats Vince and Wife...lol...I can't wait to get my Limited...it is driving me crazy...but i like its taking some time, hopefully there will b no problems. Enjoy ur new ride.....how do like the power tilt/telescopic wheel? Do the memory setting set the seat, pedals, and steering wheel? Also do it tilt up and in when you power off the car....Being 6'5" and 248lbs this is very important one of the reasons I waited for the 2013....thanks for the info...

Thanks wikihd! You are going to love it when you get it.

All the power adjustments are sweeeet! It is perfect for my wife and I. The memory remembers the following things: The position of the seat, the tilt/tele of the steering wheel, the power pedal setting, and the side mirrors. The only thing more I could ask for would be for it to move the rearview mirror too, but even that moves easily to change the position, so no problems.

As for the exit mode, I know the seat moves back, but I didn't notice if the steering wheel moves too. When wifey gets home from work I will check on that and report back for you.

Originally Posted by grrtrainman

CONGRATS & KUDOS on your new tough looking Explorer !!! That 302A pkg has to be sooooo cool. ‘Nice to see your Limited with the 20” painted wheels as opposed to the polished units. In my current subjective opinion I get the idea that the silver painted wheels look more appropriate and would be easier to keep clean, no? I better decide quickly because I’ll be ordering soon…

PS: What a nice touch, seeing new Ex owners through the windshield. Note the big smiles!

Thanks grrtrainman! The 302A package is awesome. We enough toys to keep us busy for a while, and more than we will probably ever use!!

We really preferred the painted wheels to the polished ones, but the polished ones look good too. We liked the look of the 5 spoke wheel a bit better. Ease of cleaning was also a consideration, so I am hoping they are easy to clean, the don't look like they will be a challenge though When she gets her first bath, I'll get back to you.

Haha, the picture at the dealership was funny. That was the salesman's idea, and the pic is great. I ended up moving the passenger seat down a couple of inches afterward to get everything "just right". The amount of room inside that vehicle is amazing.