My XLT Review

[f18superhornet]

I took delivery of my 2012 XLT (Red Candy, 205A, BLIS, Tow) on December 17th so i have now had a little over 2 weeks (and about 800 miles) to run it through its paces.

I placed the order on 11/9, got the VIN on 11/21, vehicle was built on 12/1, delivery to the dealership on 12/15. So whole process was just over 1 month, which was great considering the dealer told me it could be up to 12 weeks and the holiday shutdown was looming.

Here is my quick review up to this point.

Goods:
So far i love the vehicle.
- Rides very well, espcially compared to the Tacoma i replaced (though this was not shocking)
- Interior is extremely comfortable, love the seats and the steering wheel (nice plush feel to the steering wheel)
- LOVE the technology, but i'm a tech-lover by nature
- The dual climate is a godsend, especially since i am always hot and my wife is always cold. The heated seats are also great for her though i have not and most likely will hardly ever use them.
- People who have rode in the back (2nd row, havent had anyone in the 3rd yet) say it is very comfortable and roomy enough. They also like the feel of the inflatable seatbelts.
- Gas milage has been pretty good so far. My initial tank was probably 60% City / 40% Highway and i average about 19 mpg. The second tank was about 60% Highway and 40% City (including a 200 mile roundtrip where the cruis was set to either 70 or 80 the entire time). The computer said the mpg was 21.8 mpg but underestimated the amount of gas actually used so it was nearer to 21 mpg (computer said i used 15.2 gallons but when i filled up i put in 15.5). The current tank has been about 75% Highway and 25% city with the same 200 mile round trip. So far i'm averaging about 23 mpg, though we will see when i fill up again if the computer is off. I seem to get about 24-25 mpg with my cruise set to 70 and about 23 mpg with it set to 80, so all in all i'm very happy with that so far.
-No A-Pillar rattle / Windshield noise / MFT crashes / any of the other known issues so far (knock on wood)

Bads:
Same things as others have mentioned.
- Wish i could comfortably rest my left elbow, though i tend to drive with my left hand so it is not too big of a deal
- Wish there was more room to stretch out my left leg/foot

Problems:
- Only major issue so far is with the Sirius Radio. When i drive under a bridge or pull into my garage the radio cuts out. My wife has XM in her vehicle and I have never heard her's cut out when driving under the same bridges or pulling into the same garage. I would understand it if it were a long tunnel or whatnot, but not a highway underpass. Anyway, i will post this in a different thread to see if anyone else has had this issue (doing a quick search did not seem to yield other posts)
- Sometimes my bluetooth does not connect. However, i have determined that if i turn off the bluetooth on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S2) and then turn it back on, the explorer will connect. So i am pretty sure its the phone and not the vehicle
- Have had trouble using bluetooth to try to call someone. It does not seem to recognize their name, even though its in the address book. I need to play around with this more though to make sure its not just me doing it wrong.

All in all, very happy and I love the vehicle!

 

[spitfisher]

I too took delivery just under 2 months ago and have had a similar experience with my 2011 XLT 4wd, although my MPG mileage is lower than yours, not by much though. I too am coming off of a pickup truck, although my PU had a non PU frame. it drove very car like? (Honda ridgeline)
My XLT has 6400 miles, I am in sales so I am on the road a lot. Today it went in for it's run though as a new vehicle from the dealership I bought it at. Surprisingly even with 6400 miles my oil life was at 45%.

I have experienced no real hiccups with MFT or trim rattles, so far I am pleased.

 

[EX-SV]

F18 and Spitfisher - Thanks to both of you for reporting in on the new Explorers. Very helpful info for new vehicle buyers.

Spitfisher - Interesting feedback on oil life remaining. What type of MPG are you seeing so far (and what conditions to you drive in)?

 

[Spengracin]

F18, spitfisher, nice review, to my fellow aviator, I still have not gained the mpg on my ex to that extent, best 20 mpg, at 60% highway, 40% city.

 

[f18superhornet]

As far as MPG i consider myself somewhat of a lead foot, so i by no means try to maximize gas mileage. My tacoma was rated 17 City / 19 Highway (i believe) and i seemed to consistently get 19-20 mpg's in my daily commute mixed driving. The third tank i referenced is saying right about 23.5 mpg's at the moment which includes a couple days back at work, so i'm hopeful i'll get right around that for my normal use. If so i would be quite happy.

 

[f18superhornet]

A few updates:

- I realized i never really referenced the BLIS. So far i like it. It is especially useful when it is dark out because I can easily see the indicator light out of the corner of my eye. Just this morning when merging onto the freeway the light came on out of the corner of my eye so i immediately knew someone was in the lane next to me (which is great considering i usually try to merge over another 1 or 2 lanes right away). During the day I have to pay attention to it more but some of that is just getting used to it. I think it will be really helpful for backing the X out too, especially with the poor visibility (at least compared to my Tacoma). Though the backup camera helps immensely with this too.

- I played with making bluetooth phone calls on my drive home last night and everything worked great. No clue why it didnt work when i tried it a week prior to that but i'll chalk that up to MFT oddities.

- I thought i might have had my first MFT problem this morning. I turned on the car and the screen was black and never came on. I waited maybe 15 seconds and then turned the car off and back on again to see if it would come on. The screen again was black (though the climate control was working so it did not seem completely dead). I decided just to go on my way to see if it would pop on. Probably 30 seconds after that i got a message that said "Performing Scheduled System Maintenance" (or something close to that). About halfway through this process the radio popped on and then the process finished...probably took a minute or so. So not sure exactly why this happened or whether or not it should have, but was not a big deal. Will have to see if it happens more in the future

 

[FordService]

I took delivery of my 2012 XLT (Red Candy, 205A, BLIS, Tow) on December 17th so i have now had a little over 2 weeks (and about 800 miles) to run it through its paces...

Thank you for taking the time to write that great review, f18superhornet. Will we be seeing pics soon?

...I have experienced no real hiccups with MFT or trim rattles, so far I am pleased.

Great to see that you’re enjoying your ride, spitfisher! Thanks for the write-up.

Cory