Possible New Owner Questions

[haggisman]

Hey everyone, I just signed up, and also dropped a note in the new member forum.

So I'll give you a rundown. Current lease expires on my 2012 VW Tiguan this Feburary (last payment is January 2015). I'm looking for a 3 row SUV for myself, wife, and two kids (infant and toddler, so both of them are in car seats). I'm looking for something that looks nice, rides nice for the wife (it will be her daily driver), and has plenty of room for cargo. Currently in the VW, if we go somewhere as a family, the only place we have room for stuff is between the two car seats because the trunk is full with the stroller.

So I've narrowed down my search between the Ford Explorer, and the Dodge Durango. I'm sure a bunch of you had the same search, so I would appreciate if anyone could mention why you went with Ford over Dodge.

Some of the things that is having me lean toward Ford are the following.

-Slightly cheaper out the door
-Cheaper on my insurance
-Option of Front Wheel Drive

Now here are my questions, feel free to answer all, or just some of them...any help would be much appreciated:

1. My VW Tiguan is fwd, and I'm considering staying FWD with the Explorer as well. We've been getting around just fine with it. Does anyone here have the FWD and really wish they went with 4WD?

2. Model and Price: I will be leasing this truck, and am thinking of doing the XLT with Leather and Navigation. Anyone have this setup, and have a ballpark figure of what you're paying a month. Did you put money down, or roll it all into your monthly payment.

3. Navigation: Is the navigation system worth it? We both have iPhones so we can obviously use Google Maps or Apple Maps to navigate to places, so I'm wondering if it's really worth the extra cash for the nav system.

4. Do you like the Sony "My Sync" I heard there used to be issues with it being very buggy, but I believe those have been worked out.

5. Why did you get The Explorer over the Durango, or other comparative SUV.

6. Since I'm in NY. Do you have any dealerships in Long Island, NY/NJ that you could recommend? Currently my dealer of choice would be Hempstead Ford.

7. Good family car? I know this is probably obvious, but if you have a family, 4+ people, do you find you can go out as a family, and tote stuff around just fine?

I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

Thanks!

 

[LukerDooker]

1. My VW Tiguan is fwd, and I'm considering staying FWD with the Explorer as well. We've been getting around just fine with it. Does anyone here have the FWD and really wish they went with 4WD?
-holy cow everyone-dont get a 2wd-this thing is a tank.
Gas milage reportedly wont suffer so much. My MPG is same as a CRV!-better even!

3. Navigation: Is the navigation system worth it? We both have iPhones so we can obviously use Google Maps or Apple Maps to navigate to places, so I'm wondering if it's really worth the extra cash for the nav system.
-Mine works great and FYI uses an SD map card,& has been spot on every time. Likely on long trips especially to out of the way places, have both. Turn by turn in dash screen as well as its nice to just have it on main screen with a glance. 3 different views can make split screen with map and turn by turn. I like it, hate using the phone GPS but phone works well too.

5. Why did you get The Explorer over the Durango, or other comparative SUV.
-Drove a 2012 Durango 4 days, drank gas quite noticably, 2/3 hiway, 1/3 local. Not as nice as newest Durango models, ...but really does look like a true station wagon in its class. Nice interior leather-tough! but no heat/ac seats so not same. 2nd/3rd row seat splits very good, cargo cover heavy duty and quite nice leather roller shade-but is a real heavy item to always keep in car.
-UConnect not very good on small screen, BT connection worked but hard to manage on the go, buried in menu.
-great get up and go, good at low speed and low gear. Decent cargo room with 3rd row up. 6 grocery bags across, 2 deep

-Drove 2013 Buick Enclave 1 week-looks like big car but is very narrow, and drving it it feels narrow, moves like a narrow car-too much side to side rolling, not cushy enough in seats while driving. Pickup nice though-quick to get up and go, 2nd row buckets gave nice access to 3rd row, gas milage seem ok.
Chrome acccents on dash HORRIBLE, reflecting glare and sun into driver + passenger face all day long.
Same Uconnect as Durango, really dont like UConnect-icons are moveable by user and stuff seems randomly placed in default menu mode. Medium to smaller cargo room with 3rd row up. 4 to 5 grocery bags across, 2 deep-packed.

-2013 YukonXL for 5 days-huge but no frills version, gas hog, lacked any low speed/low gear pickup, would wait for 2 sec on hiway before kicking in after flooring it. Quiet car, plenty of room, but is the next size class. FYI can fit 3 child seats in this with 2 adults between 2/3 row to help kids, and ton of gear in cargo.

7. Good family car? I know this is probably obvious, but if you have a family, 4+ people, do you find you can go out as a family, and tote stuff around just fine?
-No joke if 4+ then this car is too small -3rd row access without 2nd row buckets is a climb. Be SURE to test this.
-test out another truck with electric 2nd row/3rd row, test seat tumble and room, may find you dont need electric, or will want it, but access & comfort in 3rd row is key.
3rd row up then limited cargo area, recessed below deck a tad, 4 to 5 grocery bags across, up to seat backs but nothing to hold anything still except cargo net.
Try a Tahoe with all electric 2/3rd row.

Safety in 3rd row-only the newest, yet unreleased 3rd row X series Volvo will be crash tested for 3rd row
(?-updates?). Reportedly until now, all others are not including Lexus GX, its not required. But check, 3rd row testing is the new safety agenda coming up. Reportedly newest Lexus RX (2016 or 2017-reported refresh year to be 2017) will be 3 row and be crash tested.

Overall when getting home I enjoyed driving the Ex better than all these and it feels smoother, more stable,

I like MFT a lot, its very organized, easier to use than the others, too bad it doesnt have plugnplay cabability with cabled devices or more ports or HD. Most new vehilces have multiple USB ports and provide power thru them, looks like 2016 is better about this.
Sony touch system is not so hot, hate having to look at controls before using it, EVERY TIME.
Newest Ex MFT looks better, can at least feel buttons.

Slam doors on any car you test, Ex doesnt make your ears pop, door/frame seals are thin if you ask me, the bottom of all door areas in winter are very cold. The air is passing by the rocker panel and seals. Literally freezing at seat base next to doors, as well as shift console. Kids in car seats in 2nd / 3row feel this all the time.

Good luck!

 

[Halwg]

Honestly, with a growing family, I think The Ex and the Durango are going to be too small. My brother has a Durango and 2 boys ages 11 and 8, and they are jammed in it on trips. For your purposes, look at a Chrysler mini-van.

 

[haggisman]

Luker - thanks for the info!

Hawlg - No way! The amount of room that the Explorer has compared to our Tiguan is insane...my wife and I feel the same way...a small part of you dies when you buy a mini-van!

 

[huie1983]

Luker - thanks for the info!

Hawlg - No way! The amount of room that the Explorer has compared to our Tiguan is insane...my wife and I feel the same way...a small part of you dies when you buy a mini-van!

I agree with Hawlg, look for a bigger vehicle, especially with a little one.

I have 3 kids, 9,8 and 1 year, the EX si way to hard to get in and out of. Even my 9 year old can't release the 3rd row seat to fold forward. That means I have to help them all in and out. They all fit in the second row but it's tight and they get crabby easy. Also, if you do put a kid in the 3rd row that takes up all of your cargo area.

I like the EX but next time I will be going bigger and or the mini van route, you already have kids, looking cool is over

 

[LukerDooker]

Go up in size,

Tahoe, nice rims, ... still cool, bigger than Ex, newest had good ratings.

Minivans are a horrible drive, you will loathe the weird gyrations of this class of car ////// * :roll:

...if thats too small

SU B U R B A N

ba-boosh!​

 

[BMan5150]

I strongly considered the hemi powered Durango. i liked it quite a bit actually. Probably would have bought one if any dealer had one in stock equipped the way I wanted it. But I've owned many fords and generally found them to be good vehicles. Unfortunately for Chrysler, I still have memories of the Chrysler K cars, the dodge shadow my wife used to own and seeing many, many v6 powered Chrysler minivans burning excessive oil from prematurely failing piston rings. That being said, my father had a hemi 300 that was a good car.

I find the MyFordSync is not nearly as bad as I have read. It works fine. The only thing I hate about it is how slow it is to respond to touch inputs compared to my iPad or iPhone.

I tow a 3600 lb boat a fair amount, and the hemi with its rwd bias layout would have towed better than my ex sport. But the ex tows very well...better acceleration than the hemi durango.

For a Family of 4, I think the size is perfect. We cart around other kids to and from sports and the second row buckets and third row seat all work great. And it's super easy to flip and slide the second row to access the third row. No need for the power assist system that's I available in the limited. I was worried about this and am glad it didn't stop me from getting the vehicle.

Only thing I don't like about the truck really is how wide it is. Our last two trucks were Honda pilots-both very wide vehicles. The ex is even a bit wider! I hope ford knocks off 2 inches in width by the time we are back in the market for another one!

 

[tmg19103]

With the second row captains and no center console kids can go between to get to third row if seating for four is adequate for 2nd and 3rd row. No worries that way with kids being able to put 2nd row up and down.

The question then becomes cargo capacity. A minivan will have more in the rear. My sister has three kids and went with a Honda Odyssey. She looked at the Ex and said not enough rear cargo space with third row up.

So how much cargo space do you need and when? If locally you don't need much cargo capacity, Ex is fine, and you can use a carrier on top for trips. If you need a lot of cargo area locally, Tahoe or minivan.

 

[haggisman]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

 

[dudefish]

We have five kids ages seven and under, and we manage with a Honda Odyssey and my Ex. I frequently transport four at a time. The only problem I have with the Ex is that the fore and aft space is very tight for an infant carrier. This was also true in our fourth generation Ex and also true to a much lesser degree with the minivan. I'm impressed with the amount of cargo space the Ex has with the third row up, much more than the Tahoe we cross shopped.

 

[dentalpain]

Personally, I would wait for the 2016 refresh using xplan and customer cash (google this). We have 2 dogs and our first kid is on the way. The Ex can be tight with just the two of us and the dogs; but I do have a lot of toys. We upgraded from the edge for this reason. Personally, I think we will be fine and I will just get a hitch haul (so get the tow package) for those longer trips where suitcases are required.

 

[haggisman]

Dental - The longest I could wait is until February, and it doesn't look like the 16's will be coming out until the spring. Buying now actually helps me out of having to pay lease termination fee's with VW since I won't be staying in the VW family.

Ultimately we don't need to bring a TON of stuff with us daily. It's usually just the stroller, and then occasional groceries, and shopping items. I understand when the kids get bigger it might be tight with sports equipment etc., but that's still at least 2 years away, and by that time I'll be getting a new car as well and could always get something bigger, and give that to my wife.

The car will also be used every now and then to tote me, the wife and kids, and then my in-laws, or my folks on little family travels. So i think for that use, the space will work for us.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

1. Not sure what size wheels you run in the tiguan but even with the smaller 18" wheels of the Ex, you'll have a heck of time handling snow, slush, ice with 2wd without dedicated snow tires. Last year was our first winter with the Ex and it was a brutal one. Even with "4wd" with some brand new all-seasons, we had some traction issues, namely an incident that landed us in a ditch performing a slow approach onto a sharp bend in the road near our home that we navigated hundreds of times in the past.

2. We have this exact set up but we bought ours used and paid cash so can't help with monthly payments. In general though, you typically don't want to put down any or very little cash for a lease. Research down payments for leases and you'll get a better idea on where that down payment actually goes towards, HINT: doesn't go towards the payoff amount like you might think.

3. Meh, we could do with out it. We use our phones.

4. It's fine.

7. If you never plan on using the third row, then the Ex is a great choice. If you plan on more kids, not so much. As far as cargo space and the ability to haul lots of people goes, can't beat a minivan or a full size suv and by full size, I mean extra large size, i.e. suburban, yukon xl, expedition EL, etc.

We currently have an Ex, suburban and minivan. We are debating whether to dump the minivan for something smaller and more economical as we don't need three 3-row vehicles. If it wasn't for the suburban though, there is no way we would get rid of the minivan and rely on the Ex as our family hauler.

 

[haggisman]

Spoke with the dealership yesterday (going in on Saturday) and they gave me a quote of $480/month.

Model: XLT 4WD, Leather, Navigation (I think system 202B).

The $480/month is $480 down (first months payment) and then everything else is rolled into the price, taxes, title, etc. Plus rolling in my last 2 months payments on my Tiguan. I think this is a pretty good price, especially since I haven't negotiated with them yet.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Plug your info into Ford's build tool and it will give you an idea of payment amounts both for lease and finance deals. Keep in mind that those estimates are based on MSRP, which no one pays so they may be higher that what the dealer offers. In other words, if the dealer offers $480 and the build tool also estimates $480, the deal might not be so good. With lease deals, the devil really is in the details.

 

[182RG]

3. Navigation: Is the navigation system worth it? We both have iPhones so we can obviously use Google Maps or Apple Maps to navigate to places, so I'm wondering if it's really worth the extra cash for the nav system.

Yes, primarily for the Sirius Traffic Link. We travel to and from our vacation home several times a month and having the traffic overlay with alerts up and down the I-95 corridor is worth it's weight in gold. Have it on both vehicles.

 

[BMan5150]

Good piece of advice: do not focus solely on the "payment" if you want a good deal. Get the cost of the car sorted out, then back into the payments to see what they are. You should be able to get the ex for not more than invoice (even less with any available incentives. And strollers take up a ton of space-way more than my kids' baseball, football or basketball equipment!

 

[tmg19103]

We have five kids ages seven and under, and we manage with a Honda Odyssey and my Ex. I frequently transport four at a time. The only problem I have with the Ex is that the fore and aft space is very tight for an infant carrier. This was also true in our fourth generation Ex and also true to a much lesser degree with the minivan. I'm impressed with the amount of cargo space the Ex has with the third row up, much more than the Tahoe we cross shopped.

There is an extended Tahoe version with much more rear cargo capacity than the Ex with third row up. $$$ for a Tahoe, though.

 

[Fla_15_XLT]

One thing RE the nav that wasn't clear until I dug into the manuals was that the traffic and POI portion of the Nav are subscription-based, and will go away unless you bend over to Sirius. This means that it goes away in 6 mos unless you're willing to fork over the $$$ on a monthly basis. Annoying. Also, like other manufacturer-based nav systems, map updates are a pain in the wallet - and issued on a random basis - and stale when issued. Depending on how much stuff is changing in your area (e.g. construction and detours) it effectively forces you into the Sirius subscription. The combination makes the built-in nav a lousy value in my book - the option will end up costing you around $1300 over a 5-year ownership (original price of Nav + 5 years of Sirius subscription for nav traffic, weather, and POI services - no entertainment content included). Now, could be that you could get a 'sale' on Sirius - which might drop the money-bleed down - but relative to phone-based nav, it's paying lots more for less flexibility and technology update ability..

We would up purchasing a unit with the nav even though we really didn't want it - because we could not find a unit with the other options we wanted that didn't have it, and ordering the car to our spec would have ended up costing more $$$.

 

[tmg19103]

I have a Panavise mount for my Android cell phone that integrates into the dash next to he MFT and is very firm - my cell phone is right next to the MFT and I can press on it like the MFT with no flex.

This is how I do my Nav (as well as streaming music). I find Google Nav to be flawless with free updates. With Bluetooth I can voice command the destination while the turn by turn voice comes over car speakers and I have the map in front of me next to the MFT on my phone.

If I am streaming music, the music stops and starts flawlessly when turn by turn voice directions cut in. This is what I do for all three of my vehicles. Panavise makes a cell phone mount that integrates into the dash of just about every vehicle make out there. These are vehicle specific mounts that screw firmly into the dash (generally have to take the headunit out a bit to screw in - I had to do so with the MFT unit) and placed in a position where the MFT would be in most cars.