edge929
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- October 22, 2010
- Messages
- 323
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Des Moines, IA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2011 Ford Explorer XLT
We have enough "just got mine threads" however, after suffering 5.5 months from order to delivery, I believe I'm justified here. This thread will die quickly anyway 
So before the snow-storm to end all snow-storms hit, my original build date was 2/3 and delivery of 2/7. After the snow storm, those dates changed to 2/9 and unknown respectively however I figured it was safe to assume "sometime this week" for delivery. Came home after dinner with the wife and it was still light out (for once) and I thought to myself, I'll swing by the dealership, it's just 2 miles away, get my paperwork done so all I have to do is bring in the cashier's check when it comes in, hopefully this week. I stopped in, found my salesman and he's like "hey, I was just about to call you, we got some in today and I know one is a white XLT, pretty sure it's yours". Now, keep in mind I've been waiting, obsessed with this thing for 5.5 months. How do you think I felt at that moment? Somewhere between head-butting my salesman and running around saying "WHERE?! WHERE?!?" These emotions faded quickly after another salesman said "I'll pull it around for you to take it out". So while they got the paperwork ready, I took her for spin.
My impressions: I don't have much experience driving big 'ol SUVs but the size of it (mostly interior) was even bigger than I originally thought. Sure, I've seen 2 close-up but never sat in them (both were sold). I'm ok with this, I like the space. For reference I'm 5'10" 175lbs. It felt like a heavy truck when driving in a straight line but as soon as I turned, I was like "WTF!?! this thing turns on a dime (for it's size)". I expected it to dive into the corner a little and bounce over bumps, boy was I wrong. The ride was smooth, not sporty but not hoopy either. It sits up higher than my Ranger by a noticeable amount. It really felt like I was driving my father in-law's 2004 Tahoe. It is difficult to see over the hood. The clamshell, muscular design of it slightly impedes vision. Not a big deal, I'll get use to it. The back-up camera helps a great deal when backing up (the third row seats/headrests were up). The first time I shifted into what I thought was drive, I went to far back and put it in manual. Once the revs hit 3k without shifting I got the hint and put it in drive. The drivers seat was very comfortable for my ~10 min drive. It was dark so I didn't want to mess around with the MyFord Touch or radio controls yet.
I'll post pictures (pending day-light after work) and more impressions once I get some time with it tomorrow. It's yet another white platinum XLT, so nothing new. My wife thinks I'm joking about sleeping in it tomorrow night. Go to work on Wednesday with a new-car (smell) high..... literally.
Edit -Looks like I won't have to burn down any dealerships today:
So the forum won't display my image so here's a link directly to it.
So before the snow-storm to end all snow-storms hit, my original build date was 2/3 and delivery of 2/7. After the snow storm, those dates changed to 2/9 and unknown respectively however I figured it was safe to assume "sometime this week" for delivery. Came home after dinner with the wife and it was still light out (for once) and I thought to myself, I'll swing by the dealership, it's just 2 miles away, get my paperwork done so all I have to do is bring in the cashier's check when it comes in, hopefully this week. I stopped in, found my salesman and he's like "hey, I was just about to call you, we got some in today and I know one is a white XLT, pretty sure it's yours". Now, keep in mind I've been waiting, obsessed with this thing for 5.5 months. How do you think I felt at that moment? Somewhere between head-butting my salesman and running around saying "WHERE?! WHERE?!?" These emotions faded quickly after another salesman said "I'll pull it around for you to take it out". So while they got the paperwork ready, I took her for spin.
My impressions: I don't have much experience driving big 'ol SUVs but the size of it (mostly interior) was even bigger than I originally thought. Sure, I've seen 2 close-up but never sat in them (both were sold). I'm ok with this, I like the space. For reference I'm 5'10" 175lbs. It felt like a heavy truck when driving in a straight line but as soon as I turned, I was like "WTF!?! this thing turns on a dime (for it's size)". I expected it to dive into the corner a little and bounce over bumps, boy was I wrong. The ride was smooth, not sporty but not hoopy either. It sits up higher than my Ranger by a noticeable amount. It really felt like I was driving my father in-law's 2004 Tahoe. It is difficult to see over the hood. The clamshell, muscular design of it slightly impedes vision. Not a big deal, I'll get use to it. The back-up camera helps a great deal when backing up (the third row seats/headrests were up). The first time I shifted into what I thought was drive, I went to far back and put it in manual. Once the revs hit 3k without shifting I got the hint and put it in drive. The drivers seat was very comfortable for my ~10 min drive. It was dark so I didn't want to mess around with the MyFord Touch or radio controls yet.
I'll post pictures (pending day-light after work) and more impressions once I get some time with it tomorrow. It's yet another white platinum XLT, so nothing new. My wife thinks I'm joking about sleeping in it tomorrow night. Go to work on Wednesday with a new-car (smell) high..... literally.
Edit -Looks like I won't have to burn down any dealerships today:
So the forum won't display my image so here's a link directly to it.
