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Explorer comes in last place in Motor Trends 7 passenger CUV comparison




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I never feel any.
 






Nailed 'em on the A-Pillar noise though....are you listening Ford?
 






I wouldn't buy any of them after reading that. They got overly negative about some things that just didn't warrant the disdain. Not to mention, they really expected too much of a sports car attitude out of all of them. Did the minivan review focus so much on "spirited driving" performance?

In the summary, the Explorer placed last mainly because the quality issues. The a-pillar noise is the only thing I experienced.

I did learn one thing. The "rear-tire aerodynamic deflector spat" is what I was trying to figure out in another thread.
 






Am curious. To those who already have their Explorers, how much in the article is credible? Torque Steer, odd noises and loose spats?
 






i dont have any of what they listed, and have never had a problem with sync of the mft. and im an iphone 4 user
 






TruckTrend too!

I wouldn't buy any of them after reading that. They got overly negative about some things that just didn't warrant the disdain. Not to mention, they really expected too much of a sports car attitude out of all of them. Did the minivan review focus so much on "spirited driving" performance?

In the summary, the Explorer placed last mainly because the quality issues. The a-pillar noise is the only thing I experienced.

I did learn one thing. The "rear-tire aerodynamic deflector spat" is what I was trying to figure out in another thread.

My son gets the mag. and said they said the same thing??? That's not good for resale, down the road, for us either!! He's still reading it so haven't actually seen the article?
 






I did learn one thing. The "rear-tire aerodynamic deflector spat" is what I was trying to figure out in another thread.[/QUOTE]

What is the "spat"?
 


















Honestly, been too busy (and lazy when not busy) lately. If it warms up someday and I get to hand wash....I expect they will come off then.

I'll save them in case I have to put them back on to stop imminent disaster :D
 






I don't pay to much attention to magazine tests, the editors & testers are usually biased, any test is just one persons opinion, do your own & drive what you like. Personally I think this article is a bunch of crap & I love my Ex, but then again that's my opinion.
 






I've only felt a little torquesteer (at WOT on some iffy pavement) out of my X, and none of the other problems they complained about.
 






Who cares. I'd take Motor Trend's advice on a vehicle like I would Popular Mechanics. And the posers on their site bellowing about how "Ford doesn't get it" are happy driving their 6-year old Foresters.
Only one thing matters, and that's sales. Consumers always speak with their wallets.
Congrats to Ford. Keep up the good work, and just say NO to Obama money!
 






agreed, who cares about that article. I'm not trying to put my head in the sand and ignore there comments, but the ex worse than all those other ones? pleeeease!
 






I haven't had any steering issues...In fact, it steers better than my Pontiac G6 did under normal conditions. I took a sharp on ramp at 60+ and had very little body roll, and she performed great!

My only issue of the above mentioned was the A-pillar rattle...it happened for about 2 minuites yesterday when I got on the freeway. It was the first time in the 2 weeks I've had it, that I heard it, and then it went away.
 






agreed, who cares about that article. I'm not trying to put my head in the sand and ignore there comments, but the ex worse than all those other ones? pleeeease!

And this is coming from a guy (me) who has never owned a ford before, last three cars I have bought have been VW passats.
 






We all should note that despite this being a current magazine the Explorer tested was a pre-production model. Which was going against the competitors production model.

I find the Poll in the article the most telling.

Which Three Row Crossover Would You Buy?
Chevy Traverse 16%(281 votes)
Dodge Durango 23%(412 votes)
Ford Explorer 36%(634 votes)
Honda Pilot 7%(127 votes)
Mazda CX-9 8%(139 votes)
Toyota Highlander 10%(173 votes)
Total Votes: 1766


The Leader of that Poll is..... Ford Explorer!
 







Insane review... I've never driven a FWD post 200hp vehicle that didn't have a slight pull from torque steer at WOT. It's one of the downsides of FWD, but no where do they mention the upsides of FWD. Better steering response on wet or icy surfaces, better response in mud/gravel, etc... Like I said when loganfilm talked about forced induction. This vehicle is not made with performance in mind, it's made with economy and comfort in mind. Driving it like a sports car is defying the purpose of it's engineering. But then again, what do I know =P

In the review they also say
"In our own tests, the most frugal car recorded 15.9 combined mpg (Highlander), while the thirstiest recorded 13.8 mpg (Traverse)."
This shows that they aren't driving the car correctly. My daily commute is exactly 50% city, 50% highway and I average 22.8 (22 miles, 11 are on freeway). There's no reason they should be getting less than 16mpg on a combined terrain trip, unless they are driving it like a sports car, which it's not.

I hate irrelevant reviews and comparisons.. they don't talk about any of the actual features of any of the cars here. They talk about how they are not sports cars instead.
 



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It's ok, it really isn't a big deal. I am sure that some of you have read this article:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...plorer_vs_dodge_durango_comparison/index.html

This gives the Explorer better marks... I am sure that the trim problems were related to the preproduction model. Really it is Ford's fault for rushing the Explorer to the test... They should've waited, there is no rush... Who cares if they participate in the test, and if there is one thing that I've learned about the "New" Ford is they aren't going to let quality issues like these out. This test was done pre 2011 and all of the other manufacturers have had a couple of years to work out the bugs. If anything, Ford should've said sorry guys we are going to wait until we are sure the Explorer is up to our standards. Who knows maybe in 6 months we will see another comparison. But for now just check out the Ex vs Durango article, it gives slightly more credit!
 






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