PotatoExplorer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- August 15, 2016
- Messages
- 324
- Reaction score
- 14
- Location
- USA
- City, State
- Carlisle, PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 Ford Explorer Ltd.
Hi 5th gen thread guys,
I know a lot of people hate these "What do I need to look out for X gen Explorer?" but I'm going to do it anyways and tell my story. If you can help answer one, a few, or all the questions I might have, I will really appreciate it - Seriously, I know how much these threads are a PITA, so thank you in advance.
I currently own a 4th gen (2008 Limited V8 4x4) and am fairly OK with it. Capable little bugger but is also extremely quirky. I've done my fair share of maintenance on it, more than I'd like to admit (I did buy it with 119k miles, so was expecting some), but it does everything I thought I wanted in a vehicle. It's RWD, body on frame, V8, off-road capable with true 4x4, 3 rows, decent aftermarket support, and more than reasonable safety features for my family. I always viewed 5th gens as fake Explorers, the loser child of the Explorer world if you will.
A few weeks ago I had a chance to visit the beautiful state of Colorado. The family and I got to rent a 2019 Ford Explorer Sport with the 3.5L twin turbo Ecoboost. I'm not going to lie, I was a little excited to open up the 365hp. Right from the start I was extremely impressed by how it DIDN'T drive like a truck. The throttle response was so much more... well... responsive. It was easier and quicker to accelerate through the stop and go traffic of Denver's highways (lower end torque, wahoo!). The suspension felt good in tighter turns, even the electronic steering I thought was nice. These were originally all the ideas that I thought I would personally hate about this generation. My experience wasn't limited to highway use, I drove it through hilly mountain passes, up to the very top of Pikes Peak (14k+ feet of elevation) and back down using "Sport" mode to lock in gears for engine braking, down long stretches of unpaved dirt/sand/gravel/pothole roads, even drove down around 10k feet of elevation on steep slushy roads after a summer snow storm near Cripple Creek.
We logged just under 1k miles during our week trip. Besides the ample power and driving qualities, I thought the interior was actually a very nice place to be. The leather seats felt good and were pretty comfortable, getting my son's car seat in and out was super easy, and plenty of cargo room in the back, even with the 3rd row up.
I averaged around 18mpg but that was also with me doing WOT more than a few occasions and driving it a bit more aggressively than I normally drive. Nothing like my current 11mpg even when I try to drive it very lightly.
A few weeks have passed and I'm really starting to think about heading down the path of purchasing one of these older Sport models. I'm staying away from anything pre-2016 due to not being a huge fan on the design. Is there anything I should specifically look for on the 2016 models? I've been reading up on this section of the forum for a few weeks now and it seems like the hood paint is 1 issue. Anything mechanically from the 3.5L? Isn't the water pump a huge problem? One of my major worried spots for these vehicles before was that they are all direct injected and left me very worrisome about the eventual gunk build up in the ports. Anyone with a higher mileage Explorer run into this problem?
There's a white, 1-owner, 2016 nearby that's listed for $25,000 but has 90k miles. The dealer wants an additional $3k for a 3 year/35k extended warranty. The higher miles do worry me a little bit... what do you guys think?
Anyways, this is way too long and winded, but I was severely impressed by the 5th generation Explorer. I had for the longest time thought that this gen was lame in comparison to all the others but it is actually quite the opposite.
I know a lot of people hate these "What do I need to look out for X gen Explorer?" but I'm going to do it anyways and tell my story. If you can help answer one, a few, or all the questions I might have, I will really appreciate it - Seriously, I know how much these threads are a PITA, so thank you in advance.
I currently own a 4th gen (2008 Limited V8 4x4) and am fairly OK with it. Capable little bugger but is also extremely quirky. I've done my fair share of maintenance on it, more than I'd like to admit (I did buy it with 119k miles, so was expecting some), but it does everything I thought I wanted in a vehicle. It's RWD, body on frame, V8, off-road capable with true 4x4, 3 rows, decent aftermarket support, and more than reasonable safety features for my family. I always viewed 5th gens as fake Explorers, the loser child of the Explorer world if you will.
A few weeks ago I had a chance to visit the beautiful state of Colorado. The family and I got to rent a 2019 Ford Explorer Sport with the 3.5L twin turbo Ecoboost. I'm not going to lie, I was a little excited to open up the 365hp. Right from the start I was extremely impressed by how it DIDN'T drive like a truck. The throttle response was so much more... well... responsive. It was easier and quicker to accelerate through the stop and go traffic of Denver's highways (lower end torque, wahoo!). The suspension felt good in tighter turns, even the electronic steering I thought was nice. These were originally all the ideas that I thought I would personally hate about this generation. My experience wasn't limited to highway use, I drove it through hilly mountain passes, up to the very top of Pikes Peak (14k+ feet of elevation) and back down using "Sport" mode to lock in gears for engine braking, down long stretches of unpaved dirt/sand/gravel/pothole roads, even drove down around 10k feet of elevation on steep slushy roads after a summer snow storm near Cripple Creek.
We logged just under 1k miles during our week trip. Besides the ample power and driving qualities, I thought the interior was actually a very nice place to be. The leather seats felt good and were pretty comfortable, getting my son's car seat in and out was super easy, and plenty of cargo room in the back, even with the 3rd row up.
I averaged around 18mpg but that was also with me doing WOT more than a few occasions and driving it a bit more aggressively than I normally drive. Nothing like my current 11mpg even when I try to drive it very lightly.
A few weeks have passed and I'm really starting to think about heading down the path of purchasing one of these older Sport models. I'm staying away from anything pre-2016 due to not being a huge fan on the design. Is there anything I should specifically look for on the 2016 models? I've been reading up on this section of the forum for a few weeks now and it seems like the hood paint is 1 issue. Anything mechanically from the 3.5L? Isn't the water pump a huge problem? One of my major worried spots for these vehicles before was that they are all direct injected and left me very worrisome about the eventual gunk build up in the ports. Anyone with a higher mileage Explorer run into this problem?
There's a white, 1-owner, 2016 nearby that's listed for $25,000 but has 90k miles. The dealer wants an additional $3k for a 3 year/35k extended warranty. The higher miles do worry me a little bit... what do you guys think?
Anyways, this is way too long and winded, but I was severely impressed by the 5th generation Explorer. I had for the longest time thought that this gen was lame in comparison to all the others but it is actually quite the opposite.