Gatortailale
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- October 20, 2011
- Messages
- 174
- Reaction score
- 2
- City, State
- Reston, VA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2016 Sport
Thoughts after 1150 miles
Track miles here: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/boostedblueex/explorer First tank with lots of idle time playing with features and not sure exactly where dealer filled tank put my avg baseline at a low starting point.
1) Ecoboost Engine: Grade A. First, let me say that after putting on 1150 miles; over 700 of them at highway speeds, it is my opinion that the 2.0 Ecoboost has sufficient power to move this big 4400 lbs vehicle in an efficient manner. I went from the Wash. DC area up to Erie, PA area traveling I 270, I70, PA Turnpike, and I 79. There are about 4 good big long hills to climb. Let me say that I had no problem setting the cruise at 74 and walking right up the hill at about 2200 to 2400 rpm. In my '08 Escape Hybrid, that engine will crank up to about 3800 rpm to make the same climb in a much smaller car. (Note: passenger was just me @ 6'4" / 310 lbs and a few bags probably under 50). On one of the climbs, I had another driver cut in front of me, so I had to hid the brake. Upon resuming cruise, the engine jumped up to about 2900-3000 for a few seconds to regain the speed then made its shift and went back down to the 2200 range noted above. Car computer said I got 26.2 mpg on way up and 26.1 on way back to DC area with majority of speeds in the 74-77 range; although I did try to toss in a few miles on way up to Erie with some reduced speed to now and then to follow the 1000 mile break-in period as stated on owner manual.
I took 3 passengers with me for a brief 10 mile each way trip to shop and on the route there is a nice big hill. Again, my boosted ex walked right up the big hill at 65 and 2000 rpms. I even hit the gas a little hard at a red light (still trying to learn the ease into the pedal) and the fwd chirped the tires and made my mom laugh and say I was trying to show off for my 18 yr old nephew.
Time will tell where it settles in on MPG for normal use of commuting about 25 miles each way in mixed interstate and city traffic during rush hour. This morning on way in with reset of computer I hit 25+ even with a few miles of stop-n-go; then when I hit city it was going down to 23.6 when I hit garage. Will get a few more days like this booked and see what I get for baseline.
2) Passing speed - tested this on a small rural road relatively flat. Car in front was doing about 50. I stepped on the gas and the boost kicked in and boom I was gone and flew past the car I was passing. The ecoboost easly cranked up real fast from 50 to 70+ Then next day in almost same area I did the same pass with a passenger this time and they were impressed with how fast it accelerated to make the pass.
3) Room and comfort of driver. A++ I can say I am very happy with the amount of leg room I have in my new ride. During the test ride I convinced myself that the Explorer would meet my needs for room. But lets face it, how much can you really learn in a 20 mile test drive about comfort on a long trip? I can honestly say I had no problem. I think one thing that helped me is that there is so much head room that I could raise the driver seat up thus sit a little higher and in such a position that I had no discomfort. The power tilt wheel was a nice feature & along with 10-way seat it was easy to make micro adjustments during trip to adjust sitting position. Love the lumbar support adjustment.
4) Room of passengers: My only mental error here is I forgot to look back when I had my 6'2" nephew behind me in 2nd row bucket to see what room he had. I did move my seat up about 1.5 inches and he never complained or said he had no room. I should have checked to see what room he had with my seat all way back in spot I like. But I can say that the 2 men who car-poll with me to work both have sufficient room on passenger side; so much comfort that many times they both drift off to sleep on the 30-45 min ride home.
5) Ride noise: Grade A++ My explorer ranks right up there with my parents old Caddy and Buick that I drove. Very smooth ride and the road noise and engine roar is minimal. The only engine roar I had was the few times I kicked in the boost; but rolling at highway speeds, even at 78, the rpm was 2200 or less.
6) Sony sound: Grade B+ It meets my needs and delivers all the sound I will need, but I'm sure there could be some improvements and experienced audio peeps can detect things. I do notice slight difference b/w sirius, HD radio, CD, and BT audio that some sources provide a little fuller, crisper sound.
Will post more as I think about it.
Track miles here: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/boostedblueex/explorer First tank with lots of idle time playing with features and not sure exactly where dealer filled tank put my avg baseline at a low starting point.
1) Ecoboost Engine: Grade A. First, let me say that after putting on 1150 miles; over 700 of them at highway speeds, it is my opinion that the 2.0 Ecoboost has sufficient power to move this big 4400 lbs vehicle in an efficient manner. I went from the Wash. DC area up to Erie, PA area traveling I 270, I70, PA Turnpike, and I 79. There are about 4 good big long hills to climb. Let me say that I had no problem setting the cruise at 74 and walking right up the hill at about 2200 to 2400 rpm. In my '08 Escape Hybrid, that engine will crank up to about 3800 rpm to make the same climb in a much smaller car. (Note: passenger was just me @ 6'4" / 310 lbs and a few bags probably under 50). On one of the climbs, I had another driver cut in front of me, so I had to hid the brake. Upon resuming cruise, the engine jumped up to about 2900-3000 for a few seconds to regain the speed then made its shift and went back down to the 2200 range noted above. Car computer said I got 26.2 mpg on way up and 26.1 on way back to DC area with majority of speeds in the 74-77 range; although I did try to toss in a few miles on way up to Erie with some reduced speed to now and then to follow the 1000 mile break-in period as stated on owner manual.
I took 3 passengers with me for a brief 10 mile each way trip to shop and on the route there is a nice big hill. Again, my boosted ex walked right up the big hill at 65 and 2000 rpms. I even hit the gas a little hard at a red light (still trying to learn the ease into the pedal) and the fwd chirped the tires and made my mom laugh and say I was trying to show off for my 18 yr old nephew.
Time will tell where it settles in on MPG for normal use of commuting about 25 miles each way in mixed interstate and city traffic during rush hour. This morning on way in with reset of computer I hit 25+ even with a few miles of stop-n-go; then when I hit city it was going down to 23.6 when I hit garage. Will get a few more days like this booked and see what I get for baseline.
2) Passing speed - tested this on a small rural road relatively flat. Car in front was doing about 50. I stepped on the gas and the boost kicked in and boom I was gone and flew past the car I was passing. The ecoboost easly cranked up real fast from 50 to 70+ Then next day in almost same area I did the same pass with a passenger this time and they were impressed with how fast it accelerated to make the pass.
3) Room and comfort of driver. A++ I can say I am very happy with the amount of leg room I have in my new ride. During the test ride I convinced myself that the Explorer would meet my needs for room. But lets face it, how much can you really learn in a 20 mile test drive about comfort on a long trip? I can honestly say I had no problem. I think one thing that helped me is that there is so much head room that I could raise the driver seat up thus sit a little higher and in such a position that I had no discomfort. The power tilt wheel was a nice feature & along with 10-way seat it was easy to make micro adjustments during trip to adjust sitting position. Love the lumbar support adjustment.
4) Room of passengers: My only mental error here is I forgot to look back when I had my 6'2" nephew behind me in 2nd row bucket to see what room he had. I did move my seat up about 1.5 inches and he never complained or said he had no room. I should have checked to see what room he had with my seat all way back in spot I like. But I can say that the 2 men who car-poll with me to work both have sufficient room on passenger side; so much comfort that many times they both drift off to sleep on the 30-45 min ride home.
5) Ride noise: Grade A++ My explorer ranks right up there with my parents old Caddy and Buick that I drove. Very smooth ride and the road noise and engine roar is minimal. The only engine roar I had was the few times I kicked in the boost; but rolling at highway speeds, even at 78, the rpm was 2200 or less.
6) Sony sound: Grade B+ It meets my needs and delivers all the sound I will need, but I'm sure there could be some improvements and experienced audio peeps can detect things. I do notice slight difference b/w sirius, HD radio, CD, and BT audio that some sources provide a little fuller, crisper sound.
Will post more as I think about it.
