Latest Slogging of Explorer by Motor Trend

[dugduggooddugdug]

Hi all....Just got the latest issue of Motor Trend.....Ouch....Did their SUV of the Year review and reviewed 10 SUVs: BMW X3, Dodge Durango, Dodge Journey, Ford Explorer, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Mercedes-Benz M Class, Mini Cooper Countryman, Saab 9-4X and the Volkswagen Touareg.

The Evoque was the winner...Explorer finished tied for last with the Saab 9-4x with an average of 2.174 pts. in seven categories: Engineering, Design, Interior/Functionality, Performance, On-Road Refinement, Off-Road Ability and Value.

Each category had a total of five points possible, so 35 would be a perfect score. The Explorer and Saab each scored 19s..The Mercedes-Benz ML (27)...Others: Wrangler (22), BMW (24), Durango (26), Journey (22), Mini Cooper (20), Volkswagen Touareg (21). Interestingly, MT wrote an entire article about their choice of the Evoque but never tell you what it scored on their point scale.

The jist of the comments about the Explorer? "It's a really big marshmallow; Ecoboost engine is disappointing and handling is poor". They did praise the Explorer for its classic SUV "good looks" and it's "decent brakes."

The write-up on the Ford says there's "something underwhelming" about the new Explorer, and that basically it is a minivan masquerading as a SUV.

MT spends 2 paragraphs of the six paragraph write-up complaining about the lack of power of the Ecoboost 2.0 liter...It spends about two sentences saying the 3.5 liter is "somewhat more engaging to drive" but backhands it by saying it's still toward the back of the pack, dynamically speaking". The article also concludes that the Explorer, because it shares the 112.6 inch wheelbase of the Taurus, that it's "compromise time" in terms of packaging of interior volume...What?

And how is it fair that the Durango is tested with the standard spec V-6 while they take the optional spec Ecoboost in the Ford?

Motor Trend sucks!:thumbdwn:

 

[NEWPORTNJ]

Motor trend recived bail out money from the following, chrysler, mercedes, toyota, bmw, and since ford did not get no bail out from anyone in the usa, they sold land rover, volvo, a martin, and AND TONS OF PROPERTYS AND are building up there line with out OPM, so they are being bullyied, so to all who play hate ford all i can say is DONT buy it and when you buy a chrysler or any other pruduct from a bailed out company tell them to bill you later !!!!

 

[Sgt1411]

motor trend recived bail out money from the following, chrysler, mercedes, toyota, bmw, and since ford did not get no bail out from anyone in the usa, they sold land rover, volvo, a martin, and and tons of propertys and are building up there line with out opm, so they are being bullyied, so to all who play hate ford all i can say is dont buy it and when you buy a chrysler or any other pruduct from a bailed out company tell them to bill you later !!!!

+1

 

[JCredo]

I'm sick of MotorTrend! I'm hoping so bad that the new update for the MFT system will be freakin amazing, guaranteed everyone will join the Ford bandwagon then.

 

[boss377]

I'm sick of MotorTrend! I'm hoping so bad that the new update for the MFT system will be freakin amazing, guaranteed everyone will join the Ford bandwagon then.

Amen

 

[swlacobra]

my myford touch works good now, but the new update will probably be a lot better. i can guarantee that moter trend will not like it anyway. these explorers will be running around when the range rovers are junked because of lack of parts and support, just look at past history of british cars

 

[calb]

I'm actually pleased that Motor Trend chose the Range Rover.

Uses the Ford powertrain, and the only difference after that with the Explorer with respect to drive experience is weight. Yes, Explorer is a larger vehicle. The MFT issues i don't really worry about as much, as that is all fixable with new code.

I'm not prepared to pay luxury SUV prices, and I'd expect the luxury SUV's to be a little better.

 

[jrmexplorer]

Ford designed the Explorer to accomodate what people actual use SUV's for - kid hauling and light utility use (e.g. haul home your latest Home Depot purchases), not for offroading.

MT is stuck on their old and outdated preconceptions about what a SUV should be.

 

[dugduggooddugdug]

I'm actually pleased that Motor Trend chose the Range Rover.

Uses the Ford powertrain, and the only difference after that with the Explorer with respect to drive experience is weight. Yes, Explorer is a larger vehicle. The MFT issues i don't really worry about as much, as that is all fixable with new code.

I'm not prepared to pay luxury SUV prices, and I'd expect the luxury SUV's to be a little better.

That was the interesting thing about the write-up on the Evoque. They loved the engine and made just a passing reference to the fact it was Ford-sourced. Totally obvious that the Evoque weighs signicantly less than the Explorer and that engine performs way differently in a smaller vehicle. It also points up the fact that the 2.0L Ecoboost probably shouldn't have been put in a 4,700 lb. SUV. Doesn't really make sense......imagine the Explorer with the twin turbo 6 cyl. ecoboost (365 hp +/-, 425 ft. pounds of torque)

 

[94Eddie]

I stopped using automotive rags as a basis to buy vehicles 1-2 DECADES ago. They are bought and paid for buy the companies willing to give them the most advertising dollars. This makes their reviews worth next to nothing. The only time I read one anymore is if a copy is laying on the table in a waiting room. Otherwise, I won't waste my money on them.

 

[1995E]

MT can talk as much as they want and I will just lose more respect for them. Ford sold over 100,000 Explorers already and consumers are really loving the Explorer. I'm sure most of use Explorer owners love our Explorer.

They expect most drivers to be going 0 - 60 as fast as possible for every single one of their commutes.

 

[Spengracin]

MT, don't buy the rag. Stopped looking at it over a decade ago.

 

[new to ford]

We could care less about what MT has to say about the new explorer :

We love our 2011 ex!

 

[RandyH2]

From a performance perspective, the Ecoboost loses points compared to the V6. I still wonder why Ford skipped the V6 Ecoboost, other than CAFE standards.

Design/Styling the Explorer is mixed. I really like the STYLE of the dash, etc. though functionally it loses a lot of points in my assessment. We'll see how the next-gen MFT functions, but the manual controls (fan, temp, etc) are currently much-missed by me.

The storage in back is my only big (non-MFT) gripe about the design. There are no compartments anywhere in back to hold stuff! Perhaps the wheel well areas are full of hardware or something, but every other vehicle I have owned in the past 15 years has had some sort of closed compartment in back which was great for holding emergency supplies, etc. I grew up in Minnesota and you learned early not to take a winter trip without some food, water, blankets, etc. in case you slid off the road and were stuck for a few hours. There is simply no good place to store any of that in the new Ex., except for under the front seats but we all know how little space there is there, and how dirty it gets with muddy/slushy kids feet, etc.

Overall, I think the Ex is btter than the Durango but I can see why, with the Ecoboost 4, that MT rated the Ex so poorly.

 

[calb]

The storage in back is my only big (non-MFT) gripe about the design. There are no compartments anywhere in back to hold stuff! Perhaps the wheel well areas are full of hardware or something, but every other vehicle I have owned in the past 15 years has had some sort of closed compartment in back which was great for holding emergency supplies, etc. I grew up in Minnesota and you learned early not to take a winter trip without some food, water, blankets, etc. in case you slid off the road and were stuck for a few hours. There is simply no good place to store any of that in the new Ex., except for under the front seats but we all know how little space there is there, and how dirty it gets with muddy/slushy kids feet, etc.

Overall, I think the Ex is btter than the Durango but I can see why, with the Ecoboost 4, that MT rated the Ex so poorly.

Not sure this fully addresses your storage complaint (coming from Canada I understand the need) but you might want to consider a cargo organizer and put stuff under it? Just a thought.

I agree that their comparison using the Ecoboost V4 makes no sense.

 

[drober30]

I love minivans!

 

[Rocketfan]

I don't mind MT and, as evidenced by my posts, have my own gripes with the Explorer (mainly MFT related). However, I think MT's repeated and spirited defense of its original bad review of the Explorer in blogs and comments demonstrates a lack of professionalism and journalistic integrity that made me discount completely the MT review when looking at SUVs (because I got the feeling that MT had a strong and unwarranted bias).

Personally, I would have dinged the Explorer for the not ready for prime time release of MFT and withheld further judgment until I saw how Ford addressed these concerns (updates) with its customers. If I was a professional MT reviewer, I certainly would not have gone into the blogs and comments to say some borderline unprofessional things in defense of my review as the actual professional reviewer did in this case.