What's up with the new Explorer?

[rshaw125]

It will take a couple of years to determine if Ford's product is a winner. I know that it is already selling much better than the old one. But that maybe a newness effect.
I saw another one last night it is so much more attractive than the Highlander or Pilot. Toyota and Honda make good cars but they are as dull as dishwater.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I'm not sure I've seen as much of a fleecing of a new vehicle as I have with Motor Trend's job on the new Explorer. It (the brand new model) finished 6th out of 6 in MT's last comparison test and now they tested the 4-cylinder EcoBoost version and disliked it as well. Strong demerits include poor vehicle packaging, lifeless dynamics, and the Ford MyTouch.

Ford has had undeniable success with their car program as of late. The Fusion, Focus, and Fiesta are all successes, in terms of both media praise AND sales.

Did Ford simply miss it with the new Explorer, or is Motor Trend way off base, in two different reviews now?

MotorTrend review: 2012 Explorer


I'm thinking Ford snubbed MT on a TOTY award.

MT's initial Explorer review:

Originally Posted By: Motor Trend
The Flex makes great, capacious, boxy use of Ford's big D4 platform, while the Taurus on the same platform brings crossover-utility vehicle handling and dynamics to a big, yet cramped, four-door sedan. Based on this limited drive, it appears that with the new Explorer, Ford's D4 has finally met its perfect mate.


Initial MT Explorer review

Pretty stark contrast, no?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT

I'm thinking Ford snubbed MT on a TOTY award.


Ha! About fell off my chair. That's freakin' funny!

 

[fdcg27]

The new FWD Explorer is perfect for the real SUV market.
The average SUV is driven by a woman, is rarely if ever used off of paved roads, and is seldom or never used for towing.
The new Explorer hits all of the high points with none of the truck-like lows.
MT may not like it, but Ford is more concerned with retail buyers than MT.
The new version is smartly out-selling the old.
Proof that Ford has hit this market nail square on the head.
This may be another example of why some American nameplates had to file for bankruptcy, while Ford didn't.
I should note that neither the Edge, the Flex nor the Freestyle did particularly well, but the current Explorer looks like the right answer to the desires of the SUV/crossover market.
We'll see whether my opinion holds in the next year or so.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
The new FWD Explorer is perfect for the real SUV market.

The average SUV is driven by a woman, is rarely if ever used off of paved roads, and is seldom or never used for towing.

We'll see whether my opinion holds in the next year or so.


You just might be right..In the last 3 months I have seen around 10 new Explorers [all white] and all of them were driven by woman.

The Miami-Dade PD is testing at least one new Explorer..

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Everyone talks here like the old Exploder was a hero. Maybe to some but not here.

The new one is just like everybody else... a dolled up car.

Much more sensible for the typical buyer in this market.



You got it. Most trucks/SUVs are on their death bed here...


Next, people will whine when GM kills the Tahoe.....

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Everyone talks here like the old Exploder was a hero. Maybe to some but not here.

The new one is just like everybody else... a dolled up car.

Much more sensible for the typical buyer in this market.

+1

I'm honestly suprised the name was carried over.

Given the amount of negative press the Exploder received for it's alleged propensity to rollover, you would think that it would be as dead as Nader's Corvair or the exploding Pinto.

Instead it seems that it had enough defenders to survive. Maybe like side-saddle tanked Chevrolet trucks

In my humble opinion, it it a very nice looking, if somewhat overweight, station wagon that has been styled to look like a truck. Which is just what most people are buying today.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Everyone talks here like the old Exploder was a hero. Maybe to some but not here.


Never said the old Explorers were for everybody, but they have definitely worked well for a lot of people. The original 1991 model outsold everything else in its class in a matter of months and became the 7th best selling vehicle in the US by the end of its first year in production. The Ranger-based ones were still selling at a rate of over 400,000 per year when they went out of production in 2001. Lets see the blob do that.

 

[kkreit01]

MT does seem quite harsh about the new Explorer. I like them. I have not driven one though. I'd probably pick the Durango over it. C&D ranked the Explorer 2nd to the Durango, and ahead of the aging Pilot.

MT says:

It looks roomy, but it's not...The third row is absurdly cramped, and the second row isn't much better.

C&D says:

Huge front doors open to a vast interior with 56 cubic feet of front-seat space...The Explorer’s interior makes me feel like I’m five feet tall,” wrote six-foot-tall associate online editor Jon Yanca...As long as the second row isn’t reclined too far, the two-seat third row has decent legroom, and the seat itself is well contoured

Maybe the MT editor was a 7-footer?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
I'm thinking Ford snubbed MT on a TOTY award.

MT's initial Explorer review:

Originally Posted By: Motor Trend
The Flex makes great, capacious, boxy use of Ford's big D4 platform, while the Taurus on the same platform brings crossover-utility vehicle handling and dynamics to a big, yet cramped, four-door sedan. Based on this limited drive, it appears that with the new Explorer, Ford's D4 has finally met its perfect mate.


Initial MT Explorer review

Pretty stark contrast, no?


Well yeah. That's why I wanted to see if there were any owners here or anyone with direct experience with one to see if Motor Trend is just way off-base. I'm most interested in Motor Trend's description of a complete lack of driving dynamics with the Explorer, because that would be a backwards step for Ford. Most of their cars have successfully been infused with good driving characteristics, and it would surprise me if this one isn't.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
MT does seem quite harsh about the new Explorer. I like them. I have not driven one though. I'd probably pick the Durango over it. C&D ranked the Explorer 2nd to the Durango, and ahead of the aging Pilot.

MT says:

It looks roomy, but it's not...The third row is absurdly cramped, and the second row isn't much better.

C&D says:

Huge front doors open to a vast interior with 56 cubic feet of front-seat space...The Explorer’s interior makes me feel like I’m five feet tall,” wrote six-foot-tall associate online editor Jon Yanca...As long as the second row isn’t reclined too far, the two-seat third row has decent legroom, and the seat itself is well contoured

Maybe the MT editor was a 7-footer?

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Well yeah. That's why I wanted to see if there were any owners here or anyone with direct experience with one to see if Motor Trend is just way off-base. I'm most interested in Motor Trend's description of a complete lack of driving dynamics with the Explorer, because that would be a backwards step for Ford. Most of their cars have successfully been infused with good driving characteristics, and it would surprise me if this one isn't.


The MT article seems like a deliberate hatchet job. I haven't driven the new Explorer, but I have been in them and the interior is without a doubt class leading. For MT to go so far as to say that the new Explorer makes them question whether there are really no bad cars anymore leads me to suspect that Ford [censored] in their corn flakes behind the scenes.

The new Explorer is exceedingly nice inside, I'm not sure about its "driving dynamics" but the absence of that trait hasn't prevented MT from heaping praise on the Camry.