One month review | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

One month review

dbrook1

Member
Joined
August 16, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
City, State
Savage, MN
OK, I’ve had my Ex now for about 4 weeks (~2000mi). Here are my observations:

-DRIVEABILITY: I find the ride to be wonderful. It’s very smooth and quiet. Coming from a 2011 4Runner, it is night-and-day. I took an 850mi road trip (more on this later) with 35-50mph sustained winds and the Ex hardly budged.
-ENGINE: The power is more than adequate. When the throttle is punched for passing (or just because I feel like it :D) the response is quick.
-FUEL EFFICIENCY: I am somewhat disappointed with this so far. The ratings for my old 4Runner were 13/19mpg. I got 18.5 with my routine driving. Currently I am only getting about 19.2 with my Ex rated at 17/23. The overall mileage on my road trip was 18.5. This included a segment that averaged 13.1 due to the extreme winds. Aside from that low, the average would have been around 20mpg. Still too low for me (compared to rating and an 11-yr old vehicle).
-INTERIOR: Again, coming from a 2001 4Runner SR5, the interior is phenomenal. Even comparing it to friends' Lexus or Infiniti, it still is excellent. The seats were completely comfortable during the length of my road trip. The kids fight over getting to sit in the 3rd row. Cargo space is a little less than I would expect. Other than larger front seat space, the cargo volume behind the front is identical to my old 2-row 4Runner.
-TECH: I love the tech in this vehicle. I have had 1 glitch with MFT… I got the BSD (Black Screen of Death) once. After 4 engine restarts in a parking lot, it came back on its own. Indexing of media seems rather random. I have 10gb of music on a USB drive. With about ½ that much, it took over an hour to index. Wit the full 10gb it took about 20 minutes. Weird? Yes. Big problem? Not at all. I am doing my best not to rely too heavily on BLIS and the rearview camera. They are great to have. Pairing with my phone is flawless and complete (Sprint HTC Arrive).
-FIT & FINISH: Overall-very good. Upon delivery I noticed a couple little punctures in the front passenger seat. My dealer is replacing the leather this week.
-KNOWN ISSUES: The liftgate appears well seated and aligned. There is some noise others hear with Bluetooth, but not to the degree others have seen. I have noticed the A-pillar noise (both sides) on multiple occasions. It was first noticed on my road trip. I was willing to wait and see if it would repeat as the winds were so strong that day. It has since repeated itself multiple times with much less wind. There were times it repeated with no wind. I have not noticed the higher windshield noise. Other than the previously mentioned singular BSD event, I have had no MFT issues. Voice recognition is very good. The only time I recall it not recognizing a song title was on a song I later found was not on the USB drive. No engine over heating. Headlight alignment seems good.
-DISLIKES/SUGGESTIONS (in no particular order): I do not like that I can not scroll through all station presets. Rather than seeking upward through all 18 Sirius presets, I have to change preset group to continue on. I am leery of the plastic hitch cover. I like the look it provides, but it is in rather tight and I would imagine many of these breaking in the winter months. Likewise I foresee issues with the low air dam in front. The heated seat controls should not be buried in MFT. They should be physical buttons on the dash, console, seats, etc. I sorely miss my power rear window. I carried countless 10-12’ boards/pipes through that window in my 4Runner. The Ford all-weather mats are too small. Don’t waste your money. I would like to trade some of the seat to floor legroom in the 2nd row for seat to front seat legroom.

Overall, I am extremely pleased. I am the kind of person that will not give a 5/5 (or 10/10) rating unless everything is perfect. With that in mind, I would rate the Explorer as 4/5 (or 8/10). For me that is a very good rating.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Thanks for this post! Helpful for someone like me who is awaiting build and delivery!

What do you find yourself using the voice control/recognition most for?
 






Thanks for this post! Helpful for someone like me who is awaiting build and delivery!

What do you find yourself using the voice control/recognition most for?

My #1 usage of the voice commands is directing MFT to play specific artists/albums/songs from my USB drive. I also use it for phone calls. I haven't really used it for anything else.
 






...I have noticed the A-pillar noise (both sides) on multiple occasions. It was first noticed on my road trip...
Thanks for this post! Helpful for someone like me who is awaiting build and delivery!...
dbrook1,

I second what Falcor00 said: Great post! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it. :) For the issues you listed, I’m here to help by arranging for you to be called by the Customer Service Manager in your area. I already have your VIN, so all you would need to PM is your contact information, dealer name/state, and approximate mileage.

Cory
 






dbrook1,

I second what Falcor00 said: Great post! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it. :) For the issues you listed, I’m here to help by arranging for you to be called by the Customer Service Manager in your area. I already have your VIN, so all you would need to PM is your contact information, dealer name/state, and approximate mileage.

Cory

Thanks Cory. I will give the dealer a shot at it. If their response is unsatisfactory I will most definitely shoot you a PM.
 












Back
Top