2021 Ford Explorer Timberline adds legitimate off-road chops
The 2021 Ford Explorer Timberline is the Explorer you want if your family vacations often venture far from the pavement.
www.autoblog.com
2021 Ford Explorer Timberline
- Thread starter buster
- Start date
www.autoblog.com
Wilderness Outback , Sienna Woodland Edition; when will the madness just stop?
Why design a vehicle to "get away from it all" with enough space to "bring it all with you"
Why design a vehicle to "get away from it all" with enough space to "bring it all with you"
You need room for the kids, the grandparents, the dogs, the camping and fishing gear, and everything [and everyone] else you want to take with you to get away from it all.
There is definitely an increase in factory/OE equipped off-road vehicles hitting the market. They are throwing skid plates/off-road shocks onto every SUV they can come up with. Subaru just made a more off-road capable Outback...forget the name of it.
In years past, it was Subaru, Jeep and your typical 4WD pickup truck off road package. It's now expanding due to increase in demand for overlanding/off-road. Some of this is a result of Covid, with more people hitting public parks and land areas.
In years past, it was Subaru, Jeep and your typical 4WD pickup truck off road package. It's now expanding due to increase in demand for overlanding/off-road. Some of this is a result of Covid, with more people hitting public parks and land areas.
Yes we are.
Ground clearance increased by 0.8 inches and approach angle increased by 2.5%. Oh my.
Definitely soccer mom rated.
You know what they say, "A fool and his money are soon parted"
Automakers know this, and will make this kind of stuff all day long if it gets people in the dealership (oh sorry...the "Ford store" as they like it to be called
).Overall, it is a nice looking package but overkill for the 99% of Explorer buyers that would be perfectly served by an XLT trim model.
Some styling cues borrowed from Jeep marketers, like the mountain etching on the wheels and bumper. Is this thing fwd or RWD? No complaints about the turbo 4, I find it well-sorted for the exploder. They’ve got the look dialed in nicely too for todays “escape ready” crowd.
I saw a bronco in the wild today ... no ground clearance, looked like an escape mated with a compass and had kids with no ground clearance, with a gen 1 crv somewhere in its DNA with the narrower width at the rearmost windows. It looked like it was “trying.” At least the exploder has a couple real features like the torsen lsd, and might almost be a little more honest as a people hauler with dreams of almost but never really touching a trail.
im too old for the target audience... hence my criticism.
I would not turn the explorer down if it landed in my driveway. But as a bitog faithful I’m not captivated by extra plastic and branding.
I saw a bronco in the wild today ... no ground clearance, looked like an escape mated with a compass and had kids with no ground clearance, with a gen 1 crv somewhere in its DNA with the narrower width at the rearmost windows. It looked like it was “trying.” At least the exploder has a couple real features like the torsen lsd, and might almost be a little more honest as a people hauler with dreams of almost but never really touching a trail.
im too old for the target audience... hence my criticism.
I would not turn the explorer down if it landed in my driveway. But as a bitog faithful I’m not captivated by extra plastic and branding.
You saw a new Bronco sport, not the same thing as the new Bronco.
Ford has kind of created an identity crisis of sorts with the Bronco Sport vs Bronco.
My friend told me their neighbor just got a new "Bronco". I replied that it must be the Bronco Sport. They replied that it was a Bronco because it has the word Bronco across the front. I gave up at that point.
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2018
- Messages
- 193
Gonna go with a nope, Cotton. Still waiting on the actual Bronco. Screw this family SUV with some off-road tires and "retuned" suspension.
Its the Cherokee versus the Grand Cherokee brand crisis all over again... Just a different name and nameplate,,,
I'm not surprised Ford has tried to milk the name as much as possible, but I really think they have confused the general public. Releasing the car based spinoff model way ahead of the real thing (will it ever actually be offered for sale?) has made it worse. I think if Ford ever actually brings the Bronco to market, the difference will be more clear when people see them in person, but right now people just see a boxy vehicle with Bronco Sport badging and assume that's the Bronco.
I'm beginning to wonder if the "real" Bronco is just dead in the water now. There's no telling with Ford these days. They seem to have gotten the Mach E and Bronco Sport out really quickly, but a Ranger based SUV that competes with the Wrangler is apparently really freaking difficult.
As I recall it's a supply chain issue at Webasto (who makes the roof systems) that had been causing the delay. Who knows what else it could be with the current semiconductor shortage though.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 29,558
Those things are
For that kind of money, it should come with a turbo V6 - not the 4-banger.
You could get the original with a 5.0.
I’d take an EcoBoost V6 any day over a 5.0.You could get the original with a 5.0.
