Lhymes
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- November 14, 2011
- Messages
- 180
- Reaction score
- 26
- City, State
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2021 Explorer Platinum
I figured I’d share my car buying experience with others in case anyone else is in the same boat - I figured it might help.
The past few weeks I decided it was time to upgrade my 2016 Explorer Platinum.I had upgraded the APIM and was running SYNC 3, so all-in-all I was in a pretty good place with it, but even after making the mistake of financing for 72 months I have positive equity on it, which speaks volumes for the vehicle in my eyes.
I’ve been through 2 Explorers so figured it was time for a change. Obviously the reviews of the Telluride and Palisade have been glowing, so they were my first options to really research and try out. The first time I checked out both in person I was really impressed. The sticker prices were way more reasonable than the Ford and they had very nice interior amenities. I figured I was sold.
After test driving both, neither really particularly wowed (they drove like my wife’s old Sedona). Of the two, the Telluride drove the most Ford-like. The Palisade had a very cush, clean ride, but wasn’t exciting at all. If you want a luxurious drive feel, though, the Palisade was where it’s at. The Telluride felt like driving an Explorer without any turbos, but it could go and you could feel the drive more.
On the outside, I preferred the Telluride with nightfall. It looked great and they have a really solid color line-up to compliment it. The Palisade has a kinda-fugly, but grows on you charm and it looks like it came out of the world of Judge Dredd. On the inside, the Palisade had a level of opulence I was not expecting, while the Telluride was more in-class. Both vehicles pretty much have the same offerings, but fed to you in different ways. I preferred the diamond stitching in the Palisade along with the additional front storage, but came to the personal conclusion those cubbies would end up either being irrelevant or turning into traps for stuff to pile up in and end up with clutter. In the end, I was ready to buy the Telluride as it felt more like a driver’s car and not an attempt to replicate a luxury SUV experience on a budget. Not to mention, it boggled my mind that the side view mirrors didn’t fold on the Palisade for who knows what reason, but that’s a nit-pick.
Well, I started my day today going out to get a Telluride and ended up with a loaded 2020 Explorer Platinum. What happened? Well, first off, the buying experience on the Telluride sucks. The nightfall package is in short supply currently, so I’m pretty sure the local dealers’ lobby got together and decided to all go $5k over sticker, which makes a good-for-the-price SUV not appealing at all. I would hope no one would ever fall for this ploy as they’re essentially throwing that money away to depreciation immediately. I would’ve preferred to order the vehicle and wait. Additionally, the driving experience and little nit-picks like lack of dual exhaust and kinda-wacky infotainment, and “why does the palisade have this but this one doesn’t?” goofy build choices just really nagged at me. Also, going back to my first paragraph, I really feel deep down that the Ford will retain its value much better.
So I decided to test drive the Explorer despite its significantly higher sticker price and lower reviews. Well, I’m glad I did. The reviewers pretty much clearly focused on the first-impressions. The Explorer drives as much like a performance vehicle as can be expected for a relatively large SUV. It has insane pickup and handles surprisingly nimbly. On the inside I feel like the design choices Ford went with were more muted and not as wow-factor (a white leather option would’ve given them that), but it’s much bigger than it was previously and it pretty much offers everything the others do, but not as in a, “hey look we put soft touch here!” or “look at this extra faux luxury material accent!” sort of way. Pretty much the only thing lost is some extra USB charging ports, but let’s be real - there is never a situation where you will have 6 people all juicing their devices at the same time and if there is you’re probably going with a large SUV anyway. It’s true the Ford did have fewer points of soft touch, but I felt it made sense - It leads to fewer areas of physical wear over time. Also, outside of the first-impression features, the Ford actually has way more customizable features inside and honestly better amenities for daily use (smarter catch-alls and materials that will wear better). Also, the wider second row is way more spacious than it used to be. Additionally, the comfort of all the seats in the vehicle have greatly improved and the front seats shine as having the most significantly improvement of comfort. Ford did a good job of taking what I loved in my 2016 and improved it across the board. The nail in the coffin was how easy it was to negotiate down the price of the Explorer vs the competitors. I ended up getting them to come $3500 off sticker, they threw in a bunch of incentives, and came up $2000 on my trade in over what the other dealers would do. In the end I paid very similarly to what I was planning on spending on a vehicle priced nearly $12k over the one I intended on buying. In the end, the Explorer really is a super fun car to drive, while having tons of space for my family, and not compromising on features.
The past few weeks I decided it was time to upgrade my 2016 Explorer Platinum.I had upgraded the APIM and was running SYNC 3, so all-in-all I was in a pretty good place with it, but even after making the mistake of financing for 72 months I have positive equity on it, which speaks volumes for the vehicle in my eyes.
I’ve been through 2 Explorers so figured it was time for a change. Obviously the reviews of the Telluride and Palisade have been glowing, so they were my first options to really research and try out. The first time I checked out both in person I was really impressed. The sticker prices were way more reasonable than the Ford and they had very nice interior amenities. I figured I was sold.
After test driving both, neither really particularly wowed (they drove like my wife’s old Sedona). Of the two, the Telluride drove the most Ford-like. The Palisade had a very cush, clean ride, but wasn’t exciting at all. If you want a luxurious drive feel, though, the Palisade was where it’s at. The Telluride felt like driving an Explorer without any turbos, but it could go and you could feel the drive more.
On the outside, I preferred the Telluride with nightfall. It looked great and they have a really solid color line-up to compliment it. The Palisade has a kinda-fugly, but grows on you charm and it looks like it came out of the world of Judge Dredd. On the inside, the Palisade had a level of opulence I was not expecting, while the Telluride was more in-class. Both vehicles pretty much have the same offerings, but fed to you in different ways. I preferred the diamond stitching in the Palisade along with the additional front storage, but came to the personal conclusion those cubbies would end up either being irrelevant or turning into traps for stuff to pile up in and end up with clutter. In the end, I was ready to buy the Telluride as it felt more like a driver’s car and not an attempt to replicate a luxury SUV experience on a budget. Not to mention, it boggled my mind that the side view mirrors didn’t fold on the Palisade for who knows what reason, but that’s a nit-pick.
Well, I started my day today going out to get a Telluride and ended up with a loaded 2020 Explorer Platinum. What happened? Well, first off, the buying experience on the Telluride sucks. The nightfall package is in short supply currently, so I’m pretty sure the local dealers’ lobby got together and decided to all go $5k over sticker, which makes a good-for-the-price SUV not appealing at all. I would hope no one would ever fall for this ploy as they’re essentially throwing that money away to depreciation immediately. I would’ve preferred to order the vehicle and wait. Additionally, the driving experience and little nit-picks like lack of dual exhaust and kinda-wacky infotainment, and “why does the palisade have this but this one doesn’t?” goofy build choices just really nagged at me. Also, going back to my first paragraph, I really feel deep down that the Ford will retain its value much better.
So I decided to test drive the Explorer despite its significantly higher sticker price and lower reviews. Well, I’m glad I did. The reviewers pretty much clearly focused on the first-impressions. The Explorer drives as much like a performance vehicle as can be expected for a relatively large SUV. It has insane pickup and handles surprisingly nimbly. On the inside I feel like the design choices Ford went with were more muted and not as wow-factor (a white leather option would’ve given them that), but it’s much bigger than it was previously and it pretty much offers everything the others do, but not as in a, “hey look we put soft touch here!” or “look at this extra faux luxury material accent!” sort of way. Pretty much the only thing lost is some extra USB charging ports, but let’s be real - there is never a situation where you will have 6 people all juicing their devices at the same time and if there is you’re probably going with a large SUV anyway. It’s true the Ford did have fewer points of soft touch, but I felt it made sense - It leads to fewer areas of physical wear over time. Also, outside of the first-impression features, the Ford actually has way more customizable features inside and honestly better amenities for daily use (smarter catch-alls and materials that will wear better). Also, the wider second row is way more spacious than it used to be. Additionally, the comfort of all the seats in the vehicle have greatly improved and the front seats shine as having the most significantly improvement of comfort. Ford did a good job of taking what I loved in my 2016 and improved it across the board. The nail in the coffin was how easy it was to negotiate down the price of the Explorer vs the competitors. I ended up getting them to come $3500 off sticker, they threw in a bunch of incentives, and came up $2000 on my trade in over what the other dealers would do. In the end I paid very similarly to what I was planning on spending on a vehicle priced nearly $12k over the one I intended on buying. In the end, the Explorer really is a super fun car to drive, while having tons of space for my family, and not compromising on features.
