XLT vs Limited vs sport

[volcano375]

According to ford, XLT is their best selling trim level.
I was wondering what was the couple main reasons you select either XLT,limited, sport.

 

[Ryan327]

Sport for me. Performance was a big selling point for me as I don't like driving slow vehicles. Lots of options that other luxury brands charge much more for.

I'm sure the XLT is best selling due to price point. It offers a good bit in basic form and can pretty customized while keeping the inflated extras off for those who don't want/need them. Thats my take at least

 

[broken strut]

Having driven all 3, and owning a Ltd for 2 years now driving the Sport daily. I have to say I wouldn't go back to the non ecoboost. After driving the Sport it just seemed blah to drive the aspirated 6. It drives and handles way better than the xlt or Ltd. I also like the small improvements they made from the 11 MY. They actually fixed all the things that sucked on my Ltd. Now it's an awesome machine. The Sport IMO is more fun to drive.

 

[converted_21]

Sport for me too. I'm sure the xlt is the top seller, i are several with government license plates and it's what most people can afford that keep pushing out kids regardless of their income. I personally do not like the xlt but in the segment it offers the best IMO (the new Acadia is butt ugly). It was a toss up between the sport and the limited. Wanted all the stuff that the limited has and actually my wife liked the limited more, even though we are young we still aren't appealed to the black accents on the sport but overall the sport won because its way more fun to drive and we care a lot about that because my wife puts about 40k miles in a year on a vehicle.

 

[CajunFordEx]

XLT here

The wife chose the XLT because she wanted the Gold Leaf Metallic color but not all the bells and whistles of the limited. She probably would have got a base model if she could have gotten the color and a few options she wanted.

 

[peterk9]

Went with the Limited because of all the 'Bells and Whistles' that you get with it. Never considered the XLT and the Sport wasn't available at the time. Depending on what is available when my lease ends March 2015, I may consider a Sport if it has what I want.

Peter

 

[billyg900]

price, all I needed was mft to be happy....

 

[grrtrainman]

Limited , (with the 302A package & 4WD). Good mileage and it has many high tech features not available on the Sport. My opinion is that the interior aesthetics is more up scale also. Basically, the Sport is an XLT with EcoBoost and chassis upgrades added. Yes, I know what the EB engine feels like because my wife's Lincoln MKT has it. 'Don't miss it in the LTD. Opinions may vary.

 

[converted_21]

Limited , (with the 302A package & 4WD). Good mileage and it has many high tech features not available on the Sport. My opinion is that the interior aesthetics is more up scale also. Basically, the Sport is an XLT with EcoBoost and chassis upgrades added. Yes, I know what the EB engine feels like because my wife's Lincoln MKT has it. 'Don't miss it in the LTD. Opinions may vary.

Yeah I think the interior in the Sport is just as upscale as it is in the Limited. If not better. I don't think the stitching on the seats is accented in the Limited like it is in the Sport, which looks better IMO. And I'm not too torn about not having lane departure because its a feature you have to turn on every time which I think is weird... But still lame that you can't get the features in the Sport.

 

[blichy]

Only looked at the Sport instead of the other trim levels due to the engine. Wanted to have performance that was somewhat close to what I was used to driving.

 

[broken strut]

Limited , (with the 302A package & 4WD). Good mileage and it has many high tech features not available on the Sport. My opinion is that the interior aesthetics is more up scale also. Basically, the Sport is an XLT with EcoBoost and chassis upgrades added. Yes, I know what the EB engine feels like because my wife's Lincoln MKT has it. 'Don't miss it in the LTD. Opinions may vary.

The interiors are exactly the same on the Sport and Ltd except for the wood trim. Which I find cheesy and fake looking. As mentioned the Sport stitching is nicer looking. I think my Sport interior is the same as my Ltd's. Same same.

 

[phareous]

The interiors are exactly the same on the Sport and Ltd except for the wood trim. Which I find cheesy and fake looking. As mentioned the Sport stitching is nicer looking. I think my Sport interior is the same as my Ltd's. Same same.

The woodtrim is very minimal though I and I don't even notice it... nothing as tacky as a Buick

 

[converted_21]

The woodtrim is very minimal though I and I don't even notice it... nothing as tacky as a Buick

Lol this is very true!! What I don't like is the black plastic and stainless around the nav and vents, especially with the wood trim. It looks so cheap. My wife and I were just pointing that out right now in the car.

 

[NickEL]

Having driven a 2012 XLT for the last 6 yrs we almost left FORD (we had tested Highlander,Pilot,XC90, Atlas) But my wife (of all people right?) Feel in love with the SPORT the moment we test drove it. We previously had the XLT with 2.0 Ecoboost. Sometimes getting 23.5 around town was great but the 27/28 Mpg never materialized on the highway. The worst part about the 2.0 was that it took a while to spool and propel this 5500 lb beast in and out of lanes or up entrance ramps. You really noticed the engine in the mountains or uphill road trips from AZ to VEGAS. Driving our new SPORT seems like driving a completely different car! The turn in is quick and accurate. The car no longer lumbers and leans when taking a sharp turn. This is only version of the explorer FORD should exporting out of the USA.... man what a difference. Glad we stayed.

 

[peterk9]

Having driven a 2012 XLT for the last 6 yrs we almost left FORD (we had tested Highlander,Pilot,XC90, Atlas) But my wife (of all people right?) Feel in love with the SPORT the moment we test drove it. We previously had the XLT with 2.0 Ecoboost. Sometimes getting 23.5 around town was great but the 27/28 Mpg never materialized on the highway. The worst part about the 2.0 was that it took a while to spool and propel this 5500 lb beast in and out of lanes or up entrance ramps. You really noticed the engine in the mountains or uphill road trips from AZ to VEGAS. Driving our new SPORT seems like driving a completely different car! The turn in is quick and accurate. The car no longer lumbers and leans when taking a sharp turn. This is only version of the explorer FORD should exporting out of the USA.... man what a difference. Glad we stayed.

I'm assuming you now own a Sport. If so, please update your profile with the year and trim (Sport). By the way, the 2016 and 2017 Platinum have the same 3.5L Ecoboost engine.

Peter

 

[Andy.J]

Sport for me. I test drove each trim level and the sports power and looks completely sold me, and this video:

 

[Odrapnew]

The Explorer wasn't even on my radar until I found out about the Sport w. 3.5L Ecoboost engine.
If not for that model/engine, I probably would have ended up with a Highlander.

 

[bdginmo]

My wife wanted a Limited. I forced the issue and we went with the Platinum. The 3.5 EB engine was the deciding factor for me.

 

[new to ford]

Having driven a 2012 XLT for the last 6 yrs we almost left FORD (we had tested Highlander,Pilot,XC90, Atlas) But my wife (of all people right?) Feel in love with the SPORT the moment we test drove it. We previously had the XLT with 2.0 Ecoboost. Sometimes getting 23.5 around town was great but the 27/28 Mpg never materialized on the highway. The worst part about the 2.0 was that it took a while to spool and propel this 5500 lb beast in and out of lanes or up entrance ramps. You really noticed the engine in the mountains or uphill road trips from AZ to VEGAS. Driving our new SPORT seems like driving a completely different car! The turn in is quick and accurate. The car no longer lumbers and leans when taking a sharp turn. This is only version of the explorer FORD should exporting out of the USA.... man what a difference. Glad we stayed.

Similar experience, bought an '11 XLT with MFT and leather and 3.5L NA engine. Fast forward almost seven years later we bough a '17 Sport last month, what a difference, completely different performance and handling, and this time around we went for the AWD (standard on Sport), panoramic sunroof and second row bucket seats.
We liked the '17XLT with appearance pacakge, but once we added all the extras, we were not that far off sport pricing...

 

[Halford1]

There was used 2014 XLT with tow package available and I got a good price for it. No problem whatsoever, I was looking for one with tow package but that XLT w/ tow package was the only one available on lot.

I love the cloth seats I literally, figuratively HATE the leather seats with passion. I would need to peel myself off the leather seat in summer.

On 2nd thought why is the Explorer with everything in it called Limited? it should be called Unlimited. If its Limited then there's something missing!

I had 99 Sport and enjoyed it.

for the next Explorer I will take my time and look at every one of them except for XL.