Here's Our New Ride!

[VinceL]

Got the running boards put on last night. The first side was a pain in the arse. Took about an hour to figure it all out. The second side took less than 20 minutes.

Overall, they are okay, but not great. Under stress, they flex a bit more than I would like, but nothing that really bothers me. Maybe this is how aftermarket stuff is, but they are not as solid as the ones on my dad's Avalanche.
They look great though, and will help the little-man get in and out much easier. When he is old enough not to need them anymore, I will most likely take them off, but only time will tell on that decision.

I didn't get any pics/video of the install cuz it was hot and frustrating to get 'em on, haha. It was nice having the Ghost be high enough off the ground to just squirm under it to install them though.

Would I recommend them, on looks yes. On function, probably not. Maybe I was expecting a little too much.

The next project is the BMC bumper protector...

Mileage took a hit on the last tank, it came out to only 17.7mpg. That was with a LOT of short trip errands and heavy Houston traffic. We expected it to stink, but hope springs eternal. Disappointed: Yes, Surprised: No, lol.

We are still having fun driving the car and learning about all of its features. We are going sailing on Memorial Day, so the rear seats might actually get unfolded and used for the first time!

Happy driving

 

[wikidhd]

No pics....Com'on Vince....lol

 

[VinceL]

LOL, I'll take some of them now that they are on. The Ghost needs a bath first

 

[VinceL]

Okay, so we are back from our road trip to Hot-lanta

The car was awesome, a true road warrior. We drove from our front door and back a total of 1821 miles. We took I-10 west to I-65 in Mobile, hooking up with I-85 in Montgomery for the final leg to Atlanta. It is a beautiful drive, especially on 65 and 85. Heavily forested, with gently rolling countryside, it is nice to see that places like that still exist, lol.

There was a little bit of construction along the way, which slowed us down to between 50-55 MPH a few times. The worst was the weather. On the way out, we got caught in some nasty weather, which had us down to stop and go on one occasion. Now to the review:

Mileage: Best mileage for the trip was 23.0 MPG. Overall average mileage was 21.76 MPH (22.48 if you take out the Houston rush hour traffic, lol). The highest the computer reported was 24.2 MPG, which would be about 23.9 actual. I drove going out, and my wife drove coming back. I kept it around 1-3 MPH over the speed limit trying to eek out as good as mileage as I could. Unfortunately, the rain and slow downs on the way there harshed my numbers, ending up with 21.26 MPG (22.8 if you take out the Houston traffic). My wife was in the mood for more spirited driving, keeping it about 5 over the speed limit most of the time, topping out at 78 for a while. She ended up with 22.27 on her legs.

Comfort: The seats were extremely comfortable, and good for about 7 to 7.5 hours on the road straight (minus quick fuel-ups). It was only toward the end of the drive did the ol' buns start to get numb and the shifting and squirming in the seat began. The well padded arm rests were nice also, as were the plethora of cup holders to keep everything nice and secure. I give a big thumbs up.
Road noise was muted and never did the tires drone. It was a very nice and placid experience. The miles would just melt away, without the usual "Are we there yet". Wind noise was almost nonexistent, and we were in some gusty weather. Even with the wind, the car was stable and handled well.

Adaptive Cruise Control: FABULOUS!! That's all I can say. It works wonders. It took me a while to get it dialed in and working the way I wanted. In traffic, I liked having the distance a little longer. While on the open roadway, I liked having the distance set short so I had a little more time to get in the other lane if the person in front of me was going a bit slower. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but it worked best for me, and kept the car from hitting the breaks too often.

Rain Noise:No problems whatsoever. The factory fix works. I drove through all kinds of rain, big drops, small drops, sprinkles, and white-out conditions. No nasty noises to report. It appeared that most of the rain noise came from the windshield, as I would expect. I was impressed by how muted the rain noise was on the roof to the rear of the car.

Tires: They performed admirably in all conditions, especially in the heavy rain. No grabbing, slipping, or hydroplaning. I am very pleased with their performance.
Automatic wipers: Cool. They worked like a charm.

Park Assist: Finally got to try it. It too worked like a charm. It is pretty cool, and did a perfect job.

Breaking and Maneuverability: Didn’t have to slam on the breaks or anything, but they have a nice feel and are easy to modulate. For its size, the Ex was easy to navigate parking lots and narrow downtown streets. The variable power-assist was perfectly weighted and made for easy handling, whether surface streets or highways.

Air Conditioning: Worked well in the heat, as expected, but had one little issue. Driving home, the A/C blew slightly warmer air 3 times, for about 3-4 seconds. Hasn’t done it since, so we will be keeping an eye on that one.

MFT: Worked like a charm. The navigation was nearly flawless, with only one goof-up: The onscreen prompt was correct, having me bear to the right, but the voice said to stay straight. The maps were correct and the speed limits were mostly accurate, usually under-reporting by 5 MPH if there was a difference. Phone was flawless. The USB was awesome. Told it to “Play Genre Oldies” and that took care of the whole drive there. It did re-index once after a quick fuel-up, so not sure what was up with that. No other issues to report (other than the stupid way the stereo gets so much louder from tick 4 to tick 5 on the volume!!! They really need to fix that. It’s either too quiet or too loud! Small annoyance, yes. Show stopper, nope).

On a side note, we had the cargo area crammed with all kinds of stuff, from luggage to a stroller and lots in between, and not once did the powerfold seats try to get an attitude. It looks like the little lip around the switches is sufficient to reduce the chances of accidental activation.

Overall, the Ex performed exceptionally. We are even more pleased with our purchase, and look forward to the big road trip we are planning for the end of summer. EDIT: Looks like the big road trip was a little too big, lol, and we will be changing our plans...

If anybody has any questions, fire away

 

[grrtrainman]

VinceL:

'Really appreciated the trip log on your 2013 Ex Limited, (I should be getting my build date any day now from Cory). From your input I assume you have the 302A high tech package. That package was one of the reasons I came over to Ford. Questions: you didn't mention the "lane assist, lane keeping" feature - did you use it during the trip? If yes, how was it?
Cool or not ?

Thanks for sharing !

 

[VinceL]

VinceL:

'Really appreciated the trip log on your 2013 Ex Limited, (I should be getting my build date any day now from Cory). From your input I assume you have the 302A high tech package. That package was one of the reasons I came over to Ford. Questions: you didn't mention the "lane assist, lane keeping" feature - did you use it during the trip? If yes, how was it?
Cool or not ?

Thanks for sharing !

grrtrainman, we do have the 302A package, we wanted all of the doo-hickies, lol.

I did forget about mentioning the lane assist feature. I used it, my wife did not. It works to be sure, giving the steering little nudges when it thought appropriate. I didn't see the need for it myself, as anybody not half asleep will keep the car where it needs to be. On a few occasions where I intentionally wanted to swing a little wide (like avoiding a big rig that is drifting into my lane), it would nudge when I didn't want it too, and when I wasn't expecting it to, so that was a little annoying. Also, if I took too long after activating the blinker to get into the next lane, I would get the vibrate alarm, but that was more my fault than anything.

I suppose the lesson here is if it is activating, you are in no condition to be driving.

One funny thing that I forgot to mention is that my wife keeps getting the cup of coffee warning while she is driving. I tease her that the car thinks her driving sucks, lol. All I get in return is a little stink-eye

 

[grrtrainman]

... I'll bet my wife will get the coffee MUG warning.
SO looking forward to getting my Ex !!!
Thanks again !

 

[VinceL]

Sure thing! It will be worth the wait, I guarantee it!

 

[VinceL]

Oh yeah, we turned 5000 miles yesterday. Arg!!!

The road trip in August will most likely not be in our Ex. The trip we had planned would be over 3800 miles, lol. Houston to Yellowstone and 90 places in between. We probably would have done it, but we only have 16 days to do it all in, plus a 3 year old in the car. So, it's looking like a flight to Denver and then a rental car will pull the hauling duty.

 

[FordService]

Okay, so we are back from our road trip to Hot-lanta

The car was awesome, a true road warrior...

Thanks for posting all that, VinceL; you rock!

VinceL:

'Really appreciated the trip log on your 2013 Ex Limited, (I should be getting my build date any day now from Cory)...

It shouldn’t be too much longer, grrtrainman.

Cory

 

[peterk9]

Oh yeah, we turned 5000 miles yesterday. Arg!!!

Vince, you are only 950 miles behind where I am after 15 months!

Peter

 

[VinceL]

950? That's about 3 weeks at our house Peter, lol.

 

[VinceL]

Okay! Well, the mega road trip is back on for later this summer...

Length: 18 days
Where: Houston to Denver to Mount Rushmore to Little Big Horn to Yellowstone to Canon City to Carlsbad Caverns back to Houston
Miles: Estimated to be 3900+ (oh yeah baby!)

Nailing down all of the details now. I will be keeping a journal, and have plenty of room on the camera for thousands of pictures

 

[cnsheets]

Okay! Well, the mega road trip is back on for later this summer...

Length: 18 days
Where: Houston to Denver to Mount Rushmore to Little Big Horn to Yellowstone to Canon City to Carlsbad Caverns back to Houston
Miles: Estimated to be 3900+ (oh yeah baby!)

Nailing down all of the details now. I will be keeping a journal, and have plenty of room on the camera for thousands of pictures

While in Denver, say hello to my mother and brother for me

Canon city, Colorado? If so, take the skinny rickety rail car thingy down to the bottom of the gorge!

 

[VinceL]

While in Denver, say hello to my mother and brother for me

Canon city, Colorado? If so, take the skinny rickety rail car thingy down to the bottom of the gorge!

Will do! lol.

Yeah, Canon City, Colorado. We are taking the Royal Gorge train for a lunch excursion. Hehe, we didn't know about the 'incline railway'. Rickety is right. We'll have to make time for that ride

 

[Gatortailale]

Canon city, Colorado? If so, take the skinny rickety rail car thingy down to the bottom of the gorge!

Don't go on the ride Vince, it's a trap set by cnsheets ... he wants to get the ghost when you get "lost" on the incline ride and never return so he can replace his ride with yours.

Just kidding. Have a blast putting on the miles.

 

[cnsheets]

Don't go on the ride Vince, it's a trap set by cnsheets ... he wants to get the ghost when you get "lost" on the incline ride and never return so he can replace his ride with yours.

Some people just can't keep a secret, now I have to find a new target as i'm sure Vince will be keeping a lookout now.......

 

[VinceL]

LOL, I'm sure that little railway is perfectly fine. They just don't build things today like they did in 1931

 

[VinceL]

Well, at least she did it first...

Upon opening the rear hatch a while back, my wife didn't remember that we had changed the height of the stop, so it smacked into the bottom of the garage door. The look on her face was one of complete disgust and total defeat. It was almost funny (almost). I didn't even get the chance to say "this is why we can't have nice things." Fortunately, the hatch struck the door along the plastic Explorer chrome trim and no damage was done, but the creaking sound it made when it hit was less than pleasant.

Other than that, things are going well and we still love the car. We are over 6600 miles at this point and enjoying every minute of it. Gas mileage is pretty constant right now and we are happy with what we are getting. This car does not like city driving when it comes to MPG's though. The mileage drops like a rock and takes forever to climb back up. The Ghost got its first wash and wax a while back and so far it seems to be holding up well. One thing I am a bit disappointed in is that the driver's seat is starting to wrinkle and show wear. I don't like leather!

 

[Gatortailale]

VinceL,

Nice update. I'm up over 4125 miles since May 27 delivery. I hear you on the city miles, especially when I kick in the boost to pass some slow person. I will have to look over seat to see how it is doing.

I have only had one MFT issue so far; other than few slow moments probably during an indexing. The other day I mistakenly put car in accessory power mode attempting to start without foot on brake. I then started, but for some reason it would not let me turn on radio, nor would voice nave directions play. I had to pull over, cycle car off and open door to reset. After than, upon start, all functioned well.