Does anyone actually love their 5th gen Explorer?

[TwinExes]

Absolutely. 16’ Sport and 16’ Platinum. Both have been great thru 25k. Our 2013 Limiteds were ok, but, we’ll keep these long term.

 

[AZ 2017 Exp Sport]

Love my 2017 Sport -
AWD is great.
I wish tank was bigger too.

 

[RedXLTlove]

Love my 2017 Sport -
AWD is great.
I wish tank was bigger too.

View attachment 162363

Love that color...then again I may be biased!

 

[Rare Limited]

Love my 2017 Twin Turbo Limited 4WD. Power,handling and ride all fantastic. 5000 miles on it now and no issues. Here in the UK this is an extremely rare vehicle. Most people have not even seen one for real. Everybody who has seen mine are very impressed. Was a bit concerned how it would handle retrieving the boat from the water over a gravel beach. My previous Explorer with low range and lock up would need all its power to achieve this but the Limited done it with ease. On the road handling while towing is streets ahead of the old model. As I said LOVE this car!

 

[jhu8]

Love my 2017 Twin Turbo Limited 4WD. Power,handling and ride all fantastic. 5000 miles on it now and no issues. Here in the UK this is an extremely rare vehicle. Most people have not even seen one for real. Everybody who has seen mine are very impressed. Was a bit concerned how it would handle retrieving the boat from the water over a gravel beach. My previous Explorer with low range and lock up would need all its power to achieve this but the Limited done it with ease. On the road handling while towing is streets ahead of the old model. As I said LOVE this car!View attachment 162478

Twin turbo on the limited? Is that a UK thing?

 

[247hoopsfan]

The only cars I have loved are 3 of the 6 Mercedes I have owned, and still have 2 of them. My 2018 Explorer is my company car. It had a transmission leak from day 1, finally fixed. The driving/seating position is awkward, and the foot well is extremely cramped with a horribly placed dead pedal for my left foot. My Sync bluetooth and radio have been acting up for the last month, very frustrating. Do I love it? No. It is adequate transportation, fit and finish are average. It is definitely in need of being re-designed and updated.

 

[Rare Limited]

Twin turbo on the limited? Is that a UK thing?

It is Chinese spec. Imported direct from U.S. The Explorer in not marketed in the U.K. Another benefit of it being Chinese spec is they apparently go through an EXTRA quality control inspection and rectification procedure. Maybe this is why I have not experienced some of the delivery faults I have seen on this site.

 

[dent]

I gotta say that i'm in the minority and do not like the explorer at all. I regret the decision on buying it. why you ask?

the fit and finish on it is sub standard. exterior panels do not line up properly. one door doesn't close all that well. needs a good push/ pull to close properly. lots of creaking from the interior bits

Transmission clucks or shifts oddly at times and is bugging me.

Slow throttle response sometimes.

the list goes on and on but i'm not going into more detail. I just plain do not like the car at all. this was my first ford and will be the last. I much prefer driving the wifes 08 xc90.

 

[dsantil]

Yeah, I really do like this EXP. I purchased a 2004 XLT for my wife, which is now being driven by one of my sons. That car served us very well, lots of vacations, trips, etc.. Had the bad transmission problem and had to be replaced, but that was done under the extended warranty so its no biggie. So I'm kind of partial to EXP's to begin with....

But I really like this EXP Sport.

What a coincidence! We bought 04' XLT for myself too back in 07' & now our son drives it!!. The same for us "That car served us very well, lots of vacations, trips, etc."! Also had issue with transmission lol. Have been stuck on Explorers ever since! Now I drive 15' Limited & LOVE IT!!

 

[dsantil]

'18 here with about 400 miles. I like it. I can't say I love it yet. No problems with it but the more I look the more I see that is cheaply built.

When the finance guy at the dealership started the full court press on the extended warranty and how much things cost to fix, I was about to get up and walk out. I'm still wondering if I made the right decision. The cost of some of the things that might need to be repaired down the road has me a bit terrified. $2000 for the sync shtuff. $1200 for a headlight assy? WTF?!!

I got a 15' Limited & got a extended warranty to cover certain stuff like the electronics, power train, etc. Even though my husband is a very proficient mechanic, it takes time for him to learn new systems. So paying $2K for a warranty is worth the convenience for us not to have to figure out fixing it ourselves! We are getting older too lol.

If you can find a reliable mechanic/auto shop if you ever run into any issues, that would be your best bet. Certainly cheaper than a dealership. Plus making sure to do all regular maintenance - oil changes, changing filters, checking other fluids, etc. Wouldn't believe how many people don't do that!

 

[expoman55]

Love my 15 Sport. Tuned, exhaust upgraded, tinted front windows. Put on a hood kit vs prop rod, clear hood guard, few little things.. Could not be happier. I would buy another but afraid it wouldnt be as good as what I have .. Yea Ford!!!!!

 

[RhinoQuartz]

I gotta say that i'm in the minority and do not like the explorer at all. I regret the decision on buying it. why you ask?

the fit and finish on it is sub standard. exterior panels do not line up properly. one door doesn't close all that well. needs a good push/ pull to close properly. lots of creaking from the interior bits

Transmission clucks or shifts oddly at times and is bugging me.

Slow throttle response sometimes.

the list goes on and on but i'm not going into more detail. I just plain do not like the car at all. this was my first ford and will be the last. I much prefer driving the wifes 08 xc90.

Did you buy it new? Have you changed what types of driving you do over the course of ownership?

The reason I ask is that this could be very well be related to the PCM module, specifically the adaptive learning part. This can be reset by a dealer - max they should charge is 0.5hr labour, if that really - and might help resolve those issues.

Additionally a tuner (Livernois seems to be the one of choice for many on this forum) on top of that should make your Exp more responsive and enjoyable to drive (apparently mpg can also be increased, but they don't have this as a concrete selling point).

 

[peterk9]

........................Additionally a tuner (Livernois seems to be the one of choice for many on this forum) on top of that should make your Exp more responsive and enjoyable to drive (apparently mpg can also be increased, but they don't have this as a concrete selling point).

Since those that install a tune usually do so for the extra power and thereby likely negate any mileage improvements, if there were any.
Really loved my 2011 Limited and current 2017 Platinum. Anxiously waiting for the 2020 pricing to be announced.

Peter

 

[RhinoQuartz]

Love my 2017 Sport -
AWD is great.
I wish tank was bigger too.

View attachment 162363

Great colour btw , I have the same. Ruby Red is actually perfect.

 

[Halwg]

I may have answered this before. I've been driving Explorers since 2004 and have had 6 of them. I'm currently driving a 2016, and before that had a 2014. They have all been adequate vehicles for how I use them. They are company vehicles that I use daily in the performance of my job. In the past, I put 30,000 - 35,000 miles a year on them. The last couple years I have cut back my travel and only have but about half that mileage on my 2016.

Do I love Explorers? Nope, but they are quite adequate. I drive the lower trims, Base or XLT, and at that price point, I think they are one of the better vehicles in it's size class. Getting over $40,000, I think the value declines dramatically, because they don't have the fit, finish, or luxury to bump into the mid to upper $50,000 range.

I'm actually going to give the 2020 a look as a personal vehicle, that I will more than likely lease.

 

[Elfiero]

Love? I LOVE my wife. My Explorer is a competent vehicle that performs as designed. Would
I buy another? That depends on what kind of price and value the stealership was offering.

 

[613GT500]

Love the look, the features and the power, but too bad it was made by Ford.
Quality is subpar, several major issues that came up under 30K miles and thankfully warranty covered them.
Could't risk keeping it as a daily driver any longer and was able to sell it for a good price.

 

[Napalm]

I won't say I love it but it's been a solid great vehicle. Wifey might say she loves it. If I had waited a year and gotten sync 3 with android auto and car play I'd be closer to loving it. But My ford touch isn't bad.

I wish it got a few more MPG's, but it does do well. I sort of regret not buying the Buick Enclave we almost bought but the only reason is that it had more front seat leg room - which would help me some. BUT -all that aside. it's 3 years old, had 3 batteries in it - all my wifes fault mostly - about to get 3rd set of tires, well 2 anyway - and rolled over 76000 miles yesterday. I can't complain really. It's front heavy hard on tires - OK, and I need to replace the front struts soon - otherwise it still drives well, rides well.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Struts on a 3 year old vehicle? That’s incredibly lame.

 

[613GT500]

Struts on a 3 year old vehicle? That’s incredibly lame.

Hood, both front axles, rear pads, PTU, ETB, Transmission, seat fans, were all replaced before the 3yr mark and under 30K miles.
Lame is an understatement!