Helping wife buy 2017 Platinum

[veener79]

Hi,

Back in the late 90's I had a great 92 Explorer think it was the XLT. After changing to manual hubs loved the 4 wheel drive. Now that I am married my wife and I are doing our first car buying together. Replacing her 08 Grand Prix that she has since new.

As you can see we keep our cars for a while. The wife wants the Platinum. The dealer is good at the normal questions but I am having a hard time finding a few answers. Also as I have learned through my other Car forums talking to the owners is great for info.

I know the 3.5 has direct injection. Does it have fuel injectors in the intake also to help keep the intake valves clean? Or is this a issue with this engine like some other direct injection motors?

Do you have to burn 93 for gas? No E85 correct?

Any other good tips or information for the Explorer? Just want to make sure we get something good in the garage. I am not going to be cursing it out in 5 years in the garage doing fun repairs.

Thanks for the tips and help.

 

[kmarnes]

The 2017 Explorer Sport is the first new car I've ever purchased, and the first Ford I've purchased in over 15 years. Sport and Platinum are nearly identical. I only went Sport because the interior loses all traces of wood trim and that was more important than having a few extra features. I'm actually an Audi fan boy and lusted after the 2017 Q7, but it was way too expensive (50% more expensive than the similarly equipped Explorer out the door). 2017 is a great year to buy because of the maturity of the platform, the aesthetics of the 2016 "land rover-esque" front fascia, all LED lights, and 2017 is the first year you can get the Explorer with Sync 3, which is a major hardware/software redesign of the original Sync.

I've had mine for almost 9 months now. I love it. Great looking car, I've have no issues with it so far. I love the growly engine note and as long as you drive it sane, you won't have any issues. My biggest complaint is the 6 speed transmission. Occasionally when you try to pass hard while already at a cruising speed, the system gets a little confused and will delay then do a hard down shift. The trick is to not floor the gas pedal when you want quick acceleration and take about a second to gradually floor it. Note, none of this is an issue from a complete stop. The car is pretty bad on gas -- big and powerful, what would you expect? But in real world city driving conditions, expect 13-15mpg. One other negative thing to pay attention to is the low weight limit on the roof rack. With sunroof it's only 45lbs. Even without the sunroof (which you want), it's 100lbs. Woefully low weight.. but the assumptions is that this is a center of gravity issue. I've ignored it and use a 52lb cargo container, and loaded it up with ski gear for 4. I've not had any issues with it.

For accessories, I highly recommend the rear 3rd row cargo mat to prevent grocery spills, and the rear bumper applique to prevent loading/unloading scratches. I really love the adaptive cruise control and collision warning system. Happy to answer any specific questions you have.

 

[jonnoriega]

The 2017 Explorer Sport is the first new car I've ever purchased, and the first Ford I've purchased in over 15 years. Sport and Platinum are nearly identical. I only went Sport because the interior loses all traces of wood trim and that was more important than having a few extra features. I'm actually an Audi fan boy and lusted after the 2017 Q7, but it was way too expensive (50% more expensive than the similarly equipped Explorer out the door). 2017 is a great year to buy because of the maturity of the platform, the aesthetics of the 2016 "land rover-esque" front fascia, all LED lights, and 2017 is the first year you can get the Explorer with Sync 3, which is a major hardware/software redesign of the original Sync.

I've had mine for almost 9 months now. I love it. Great looking car, I've have no issues with it so far. I love the growly engine note and as long as you drive it sane, you won't have any issues. My biggest complaint is the 6 speed transmission. Occasionally when you try to pass hard while already at a cruising speed, the system gets a little confused and will delay then do a hard down shift. The trick is to not floor the gas pedal when you want quick acceleration and take about a second to gradually floor it. Note, none of this is an issue from a complete stop. The car is pretty bad on gas -- big and powerful, what would you expect? But in real world city driving conditions, expect 13-15mpg. One other negative thing to pay attention to is the low weight limit on the roof rack. With sunroof it's only 45lbs. Even without the sunroof (which you want), it's 100lbs. Woefully low weight.. but the assumptions is that this is a center of gravity issue. I've ignored it and use a 52lb cargo container, and loaded it up with ski gear for 4. I've not had any issues with it.

For accessories, I highly recommend the rear 3rd row cargo mat to prevent grocery spills, and the rear bumper applique to prevent loading/unloading scratches. I really love the adaptive cruise control and collision warning system. Happy to answer any specific questions you have.

I've got a '16 Platinum. I was going to buy a sport like my buddies but then the dealership told me for a few thousand more I could get the Platinum and fell in love with the perks especially the driver's and passenger's side massage seats. I drive a lot for a living and they help tremendously.

I agree with @kmarnes take on the '17 Explorer. The only thing I hate is the smaller gas tank. 18.5 gallons I think. I was used to driving a Tahoe LT.

As for gas mileage, it's okay but I've modified it since. I'm averaging 16.5mpg - 18.5mpg around the city but once o get on the highways, I'm sure that will change.

The one thing that the Sport does is handle curves a lot more aggressively but, again, I've modified my Platinum a bit.

Either way, you'll really love your purchase with whatever decision you make. I say go for broke and get the Platinum. You'll love the bells and whistles and the drive is amazing.

 

[peterk9]

..........................Do you have to burn 93 for gas? No E85 correct?

The recommended octane is 87 for the 3.5L engine and the 3.5L Ecoboost. If you get the Ecoboost and want top performance you can run premium. All HP and Torque figures Ford posted were done using 93 octane. I run regular in my Platinum's Ecoboost and did the same with the 2014 MKT is had with the same engine. During this past Winter I averaged 18 MPG and that was with Winter tires.
If you want to check out the 2017 Owner's Guide you can look at it or download it from here; https://owner.ford.com/tools/account/how-tos/owner-manuals.html

Peter

 

[veener79]

Thanks guys. That is some good info.

 

[bdginmo]

The 3.5 EB engine is direct injection only on the Explorer. It does not have port injectors to keep the intake the clean. Though, the 2nd gen 3.5 EB engine (which the F150 uses) does have dual direct and port injectors, but the Explorer as of yet does not use the 2nd gen EB engine.

 

[veener79]

Thanks.

Tried to buy one tonight. Dealer would only give Ford rebates. Would not take a cent off past that. Then told us that was only couple hundred above their invoice. Asked him don't you get factory rebates back from Ford? He told me that was above his head to know. Looking for a new dealer.

 

[kmarnes]

You should be able to get 10-12% off MSRP if you play hard ball. I got 11% off mine during Ford Employee Pricing with Costco rebate. Didn't have to negotiate.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Yeah, you should be able to get much better deal. The rebates are NOT coming out of the dealer's pocket so work the deal BEFORE any talk or application of said rebate(s).

 

[Sixonemale]

You should be able to get 10-12% off MSRP if you play hard ball. I got 11% off mine during Ford Employee Pricing with Costco rebate. Didn't have to negotiate.

Sales from many auto manufacturers have slowed down as compared to last year. Your in drivers seat to obtain a good deal, it's all about exercising patience.

 

[veener79]

Hope to have it Saturday or Monday. Waiting for credit union to cut the check. Got it down about 15%. Not bad but not great. Little harder to deal when they had to pull it from a different state because of color. The Red is very hard to find.