I am in need of a new car and want an SUV. I want 4 wheel drive/AWD, seven seats and a reliable vehicle. I don't do any real off road driving, but we do get a good bit of snow here in Chicago. So far, the explorer(limited 2012) is my leader. My current car is a 1994 honda accord which I have driven since 1994. I am really out of the loop on buying a car or even new options on cars(ie remote unlock, seat warmers, etc..)
I have a few questions. ...
1)What else would you recommend I give a good look at(even if its a bit more expensive) and why do you think I might like that car better?
2) If I go with the explorer, what options do you love? Which options do you think I should avoid?
3) How do you evaluate a Ford dealership? or any other dealership for that matter?
4) would you buy your explorer again?
Thanks in advance
I might look at an Acadia, that was our second choice. The reason the Explorer won was the plethora of features that the Acadia didn't have and the interior of the Explorer is really nice.
As far as this forum goes, you have to take the criticisms with a grain of salt. People rarely go on a forum to cheerlead for the car, most come to find answers for particular issues and to complain. Yes the explorer does have bugs (particularly with the MFT), but if you are willing to live with a few software bugs now and again (which hopefully should be ironed out soon), the Explorer IMHO is the best car out there for the money. I do have to say that I enjoy MFT a lot despite its flaws. I find myself playing with it whenever I can because it is very neat and something not found in any car we looked at.
Features I love:
1.) self park feature (although I haven't used it yet)
2.) Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) - it's great - it lights up a little indicator in your side mirrors when someone is in your blind spot. Also comes with collision warning - has a red strip of lights and an audible alarm when someone stops in front of you suddenly. It also pre-charges the brakes for better response.
3.) My Ford Touch (MFT) and Synch
4.) Nav is probably a good thing to have, its not the best (i.e. garmin probably is better), but it would look funny having a 8 inch lcd screen with a dash mounted garmin.
5.) Backup camera with cross path detection - warns you when you are backing up and someone is approaching from either side.
6.) Cooled seats - it's actually a really nice feature (one that I didn't think I'd like).
The power lift gate and power third row seats are nice, but not indispensible, my family opted for the second row captains chairs because we want the third row to be more usable. Getting this option also seems to provide a bit more space in the second row as well (I think you can slide the captains chairs back a hair from where the bench seats are).
