Explorer or Trailblazer?

[regina falangy]

Just got a deal I couldn't refuse! I purchased from a friend a 04 Explorer with the 4.0l V6 and A 04 Trailblazer with the Vortec INLINE 6. Both have under 17.000 miles and both are 4wd. I have to sell one or the other. The gas mileage is identical but the Trailblazer has about 65 more HP. I like the fact that the Explorer has better crash ratings as I have a three year old daughter. I have driven both off and on for the past two weeks and the Trailblazer seems to have a much less stiff ride (more car like) keep in mind I do zero off-roading and there is no snow where we live. I'm leaning towards keeping the Trailblazer. What made you choose the Explorer over another SUV? Brand loyalty? Reliability? safety? Help me choose!

 

[Glen4X4]

Welcome To The Forum! I would take the explorer over the blazer but thats just because I love fords and didn't like past blazers so wouldn't go for any, plus the first and 2nd gen explorers are known to get around 250k miles or more to a stock motor, so I would assume the reliability may have carried on to the 3rd gen explorers, so my opinion is based on loyalty, reliability and the fact that I don't care for most chevy products.

 

[Burns]

Just for one reason in your post i would be keeping the explorer. You say you have a 3 yr old daughter and with the explorer having a better crash rating i would go with that.

I am a Ford man by heart. My whole family has been as long as i can remember. We currently have four explorers.

I can say they are strong and dependable. I have crashed mine and it was a major crash. It held up great. However i have a 91. You have a 04. It probally has a better crash rating than my 91.

 

[bex]

please just keep the explorer.

i am not even a die hard explorer fan, but that trailblazer is garbage. my friend had one and finally got rid of it about 6 months ago, he got to replace it a 2001? s10. he is much happier even with that thing.

 

[dhays]

The decision is rather easy to make. Just ask your wife what color she likes the best. Her opinion would mean as much as any of ours and asking her opinion will pay much more in dividends.

I have to wonder though, why have a 4WD SUV if you never drive off-road or in the snow? This may be very un PC for this forum, but I'd consider selling both and buy a minivan. Better gas mileage, and a more practical vehicle for a young family than a truck based SUV. Now, if you have need to two a trailer, then keep the SUV, but otherwise, it isn't the most practical vehicle out there.

FWIW, I like my '02 X. We snow ski, tow boats, and occasionally get snow. I also have owned two minivans while my kids were growing and got a lot more practical use out of those than I did my X. Now I own my X, two practical small sedans, and a very non-practical (and very fun) '94 Mazda RX-7. ;-)

 

[ghoster]

i had a 2002 chevy trailblazer and i loved that truck to death!!!!
I would trade my eddie bauer explorer for a bone stock LS trailblazer in a heart beat. I'm not a die hard ford or chevy fan, i'm just a car guy that loves all car equally..but the trailblazer..man i love those things. I miss my tb sooo much

BTW the front bumper was primered..i was ready to paint it but had no time for this meet

 

[bex]

why a 4x4 suv? because its cool!!!!

want to see a society creates that beleives a car is for going from point a to point b? look at the russian lada. a no frills ride right there, and very practical to boot.

americans love thier cars and they love useless things on them, it is more than a car, it is a culture and way of life.

 

[Blazepet7]

I believe in American cars but if i had to choose between my ex and my old TB i would def keep the x not just because i get to go onto explorerforum but the x holds together well i love it

 

[rama1200]

I found myself in the situation a couple of years ago... but I was also looking at the 4runner.
I got a chance to drive all 3 trucks and the toyota was out of the pack... when you hit 75+mph, that thing feels really unstable... I read some where that 4runners were as (if not more) unstable as explorers, but it was not made public as much as with the explorers...

Both the tb and the ford were smooth, the tb felt a little plain and naked in the interior... i did like that the power to weight ratio was way better then for the xplorer (I think 22hp/lb for the tb and about 15hp/lb for the explorer)...

Even though the explorer feels stiffer, the benefits of its 4-wheel independent suspension are a huge plus for me; it almost feels sporty (compare to the tb).

If you are into HP, you would have to spend a pretty penny to make the x hit the 265HP... the tb already has that... I think torque, though, they are pretty closed, and it does not take too much to make the x equals the tb in this dept.

...any way... what finally helped me decide, was price; I got a better deal going with the x than with the tb... and imho, the x looks better (has better facia) than the tb.

This is my 3rd x... and even when I'm willing and determined to change brands, I always seem to be drawn back to ford/x.

 

[ExploringNC]

One thing that made me buy a second X over many brands I looked at when shopping was this forume. I tried to find other sites when researching and nothing compaired to this. I know if I ever had a problem with my X I know I can get an answer and in most cases a step by step repair procedure that usually has pics.

Can you get that kind of support with the trailblazer?

 

[Thelt]

My dad has a Trailblazer. He bought it for the same reason I bought my Explorer. It was a good deal at the time and seemed like a nice ride.

I like both vehicles but I prefer my Explorer. His interior seems cramped compared to mine. It may have as much or even more room but it feels cramped with that high dash and busy looking controls. They say that inline six is a good motor in the Trailblazers. I know the Ford 4.0 is a good motor.

In the end just keep the one you like the best. I like the X better but if I liked the TB I would go with it.

 

[regina falangy]

One thing that made me buy a second X over many brands I looked at when shopping was this forume. I tried to find other sites when researching and nothing compaired to this. I know if I ever had a problem with my X I know I can get an answer and in most cases a step by step repair procedure that usually has pics.

Can you get that kind of support with the trailblazer?

You are absolutely correct this forum rocks! And it will be a big factor in our decision. Having a wealth of knowledge only a mouse click away is huge. Especially when living on an island where finding anyone that can fix even a minor vehicle problem is a challenge. The simplicity of the Explorer 4.0l engine over the four valve per cylinder DOHC Trailblazer, and the safety rating of the Explorer will most likely steer us into choosing the Explorer. Thanks for all the input!

 

[hamcse924]

Subconciously, your decision has been made...

You asked this question in a Ford Explorer forum! I have read MOST of the repsonses, and quite expectedly, most feel you should keep the Explorer. That's kind of like asking a Republican or Democrat who they're gonna' vote for; ya' kinda know that answer based on who yer asking!

I've only been on these forums for a month now, and I think this site is awesome and the community as a whole is a great benefit to any potential or actual Explorer owners.

I don't know how a TB stacks up apples to apples with an Explorer, really. All I can say is that so far I love my 06 Eddie, and I like knowing I have a valuable online resource avialble when needed.

I agree with the commentary about keeping the safer vehicle because of your child/family. My wife rolled our last truck (2000 Mits Montero Sport - nice). She was wearing her seatbelt, hit some black ice, rolled, and luckily walked away with a few bruises and soreness. Accidents will happen; you just never know where, when, how, or why.

I also agree that you maybe don't necessarily NEED to own a 4x4, but it is cool owning one! We Americans are don't just love our moms, baseball, and apple pie. WE LOVE OUR TRUCKS TOO!!

 

[NYMount21]

I've Had Both

My family has gone from having 4 explorers (including my Mount) at one time to now just my Mount and 3 Trailblazers.......They're nice cars but in my opinion uglier than the explorer and the explorer is known for doing better offroading in my opinion. Just look around the site, millions of offroad explorers exsist. I'm a big time car enthusiast and have never seen an offroad trailblazer to b honest. Go with your gut thou


(unless u decide to buy SS, then take the trailblazer haha)

 

[regina falangy]

You asked this question in a Ford Explorer forum! I have read MOST of the repsonses, and quite expectedly, most feel you should keep the Explorer. That's kind of like asking a Republican or Democrat who they're gonna' vote for; ya' kinda know that answer based on who yer asking!

I've only been on these forums for a month now, and I think this site is awesome and the community as a whole is a great benefit to any potential or actual Explorer owners.

I don't know how a TB stacks up apples to apples with an Explorer, really. All I can say is that so far I love my 06 Eddie, and I like knowing I have a valuable online resource avialble when needed.

I agree with the commentary about keeping the safer vehicle because of your child/family. My wife rolled our last truck (2000 Mits Montero Sport - nice). She was wearing her seatbelt, hit some black ice, rolled, and luckily walked away with a few bruises and soreness. Accidents will happen; you just never know where, when, how, or why.

I also agree that you maybe don't necessarily NEED to own a 4x4, but it is cool owning one! We Americans are don't just love our moms, baseball, and apple pie. WE LOVE OUR TRUCKS TOO!!

Having 4wd is not the point. I don't need or want it. If one of the vehicles were 2wd that would seal the deal, I would keep the 2wd. The fact is they are both 4wd. And I will live with worse gas mileage and more expensive parts and just plain more s#@T to go wrong because they were such a good deal. I realize that asking these questions in a Explorer forum will lead to Ford biased answers. But it has also led to a couple of pro Trailblazer responses. Thanks for honest feedback people!

 

[Glen4X4]

Having the 4wd system isn't robbing your fuel mileage much more than what a 2wd model would, I think the 4wd model is effected by maybe 1 mpg, but yeah parts can be expensive but if you aren't taking it off-roading and you take good care of it, you shouldn't have to buy parts for awhile but then again anything can happen.

 

[gspfunk]

FYI, the Trailblazer is an inline 6... I've always loved the TB's and they make a lot more power. I don't dislike my 03 Explorer, but I'd rather have something w/ the same gas mileage and more power. The tranny's in the X's are also junk, IMO (02-05, at least). We've had several issues w/ the tranny that the dealership fixed under warranty and now (30k miles later), it's acting up again.

They are somewhat similar in size and function, so it really comes down to your personal preference.

 

[Glen4X4]

But you should also look at your safety ratings as was mentioned previously you want your kid or kids to be in a safe vehicle because an accident can happen at anytime.

 

[gspfunk]

But you should also look at your safety ratings as was mentioned previously you want your kid or kids to be in a safe vehicle because an accident can happen at anytime.

<--No kids and no plans for them

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

A good customer of mine just bought a '04 TrailBlazer for his fiancee and today he called me up wanting some of the phone numbers of local salvage yards, since the transfer case just grenaded on their ~60,000 mile pile of junk.
They have their oil changes, etc. done by me, and theirs was one of the first TrailBlazers I'd ever driven. I was completely and totally underwhelmed. Typical of my reaction to just about every newer GM vehicle. This thing is the epitome of cheap. The horrible painted radio face that wears off in about a year's worth of turning the knobs, the flimsy switches and buttons, and the list goes on. 275 HP??!? Where??? This thing couldn't pull a pregnant mouse off an anthill! GM engines have been dyno queens for many years, and this one is no different. They don't put the power to the road, and their peak HP is at a nearly unuseable RPM. Look at the quarter mile times for both the Explorer V6 and the TrailBlazer I6 and you'll see ETs that aren't a whole lot faster with the TrailBlazer...Something doesn't add up if it has a 65 HP advantage over the Ford.
Dare I mention the absolutely retarded idea of running the front axle straight through the engine's oil pan? That's just stunningly ignorant.
Even the exhaust system is ugly. They could have hid that big old beer barrel underneath, rather than have it hanging way out back with a little downspout on it.

Bear in mind...I didn't even own an Explorer when I drove their TrailBlazer for the first time, and even compared to my old '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, it was pathetic. My 150,000 mile Jeep had vastly superior quality to this bloated pile of garbage.