Long Term Test: 2011 Ford Explorer XLT
Coming of automotive age in the late 1980′s I watched the Ford Ranger blossom into the Bronco II SUV. Soon the Bronco II grew a 4-door model and became what we have long known as the Explorer for over two decades. Through the years the Explorer became enormously popular due to its reasonable size, its strong utility, and its high style.
It evolved into a more and more refined SUV as popularity of the segment exploded as did its competition. In the last generation it had an available V8 option, a fully independent suspension and easily tipped past $40,000 for a fully loaded model. It remained true to form with truck style body on frame construction which made it increasingly unique in the market.
Times change however and when Ford set about redesigning the Explorer for the new age of higher corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) ratings and brutal competition from around the globe, the decision was made to base the reinvented Explorer on the car based crossover format. The new Explorer would be lighter, more efficient, yet still have all the space, style and utility of the old one.
Ford started with the same car based platform that underpins the Taurus, Flex and Lincoln MKT. Its lineage traced back to Volvo, the stellar architecture allows for both front wheel drive and all wheel drive configurations. It was a marked risk however moving a hugely popular truck based SUV to a car based crossover. So did the translation work? Read on.
Our week testing the 2011 Ford Explorer XLT was spent doing what most families do in them. We went grocery shopping, took the kids to karate, and took a weekend excursion in the mountains both on and off road. We fed it a tank of gas, washed it once and took it out to play. Our Red Candy Metallic tester was equipped about mid level with options. It had all-wheel drive, MyFord Touch, Driver Connect Package, Dual Zone HVAC, Rear View Camera, Premium Plus CD sound system, and Trailer Tow Package. The three row dark charcoal interior had sturdy handsome cloth seating for seven
As the new 2.0 liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine is still some time off, our Explorer was equipped with the 3.5-liter Ti-VCT V6 engine. With 283 horsepower and a six-speed automatic transmission, we were surprised at the available power and delivery it had given its 4695 lb curb weight. It provided a nice punch for passing on the freeway with a pretty throaty growl too.
Around town the drivetrain proved to be mild mannered and refined. On the freeway the Explorer is quiet as can be. In our week with the 2011 Explorer we averaged 19.5 mpg city and highway combined. This also included an afternoon spelunking about the dirt mountain back roads. All said that is about exactly what the EPA estimated numbers on the window sticker promised – and a huge improvement over the outgoing model.
The chassis brings us to one of the first cross roads in getting our hands around what this new Explorer actually is. With the new unibody car based architecture it’s no longer the roughneck offroad go hunting with the guys Explorer it used to be. Instead the Explorer is a car with SUV proportions that can also go offroad when need be. On the highway it rides like the road is paved with clouds. The chassis is definitely tuned more for ride than crisp handling with a little bit of softness in the steering on and off center.
We took it down our favorite washboard roads and found the chassis to resist rattling and vibration well. It handled just like a car on a gravel road, but had enough rigidity to give you confidence. When the going into rougher rutted and pot holed roads we found that the low front fascia and slim ground clearance limited the realistic go anywhere capabilities a bit. Navigating the rough roads, it was not as proficient as the 2011 Jeep Cherokee we recently tested which also has a unibody architecture.
It its defense it does have a traction mode selector on the console that allows for various programs for sand, snow, and even a hill descent mode. And it can still tow some 5000 lbs. We tested the hill descent control and found it useful and confidence inspiring. We didn’t have snow this April here in Arizona so we didn’t a true opportunity to test some of its more advanced traction modes.
The interior is the place we had the most difficulty getting comfortable with the new Explorer. You sit “in” this Explorer where in the past you sat “on” it. The high belt line of the side windows and hood makes you feel safe, but you also lose some of the commanding SUV view the Explorer once had. Seeing over the long high hood is hard for shorter drivers. The door sill was too high and far from the seat to rest your arm on and the armrest too low. The high door sill made using a drive up ATM for instance nearly impossible without opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle. Adding to the challenge to get the right spot was a surprisingly narrow foot well that had cramped foot room. This forced you to push the seat back and telescope the steering wheel to get it right, but then you cant easily reach the dash controls.
And that brings us to the new MyFord Touch driver interface. Ford in their quest to become the brand with the most high tech features has replaced easy to use knobs and buttons with a touchscreen intensive array of controls with menus, sub menus, and two sets of toggling cursor controls on the steering wheel. The center stack does have some plain touch sensitive buttons for quick settings, but they are finicky to the touch and the menu driven escapade is a necessary evil to get to more detailed settings beyond on/off, high and low.
Trying to figure out for instance how to turn the rear air conditioning on while driving by flipping through the HVAC menus was far more dangerous than texting your evening plans to your BFF. After nearly five minutes of three people, one with the manual open, one driving and one referee in the back seat we finally figured it out. Our 2006 Ford Freestyle had a button on the dash in plain sight.
Part of this new array is the new Ford corporate instrument cluster that has one center speedometer dial and two LCD screens. The multiple screens can be set to display any number of things depending on your tastes and needs. You can have a jumpy analog looking LCD virtual tachometer, bar graph gauges, mile per gallon information or a myriad of other choices. On the other side you can have telephone, navigation and other information displayed. Again you are using the steering wheel mounted cursor controls to menu though all the choices, hopefully not when your are driving. We would have been happy with a regular instrument cluster with regular gauges and a simple information center like not that long ago. It’s safer and a lot less difficult to use in our opinion.
The irony here is that while Ford has spent all this priority on the electronic wizardry, fit and finish seems to have taken a lower priority. Around the interior of the Explorer were several mis-aligned panels, inconsistent gaps between dash and doors, and even exposed sheet metal seen around the windshield due to crookedly installed A-Pillar trim. The trim was loose and crooked on both sides, one visibly mounted 1/4″ higher than the other. There was a piece of protruding trim in the rear cargo well who’s only purpose seemed to be grabbing and getting in the way of everything you tried loading until it finally snapped off. Luckily we were able to snap it back on before we handed it back.
The same level of fit and finish went to the exterior with the doors being visibly out of alignment on both sides, the front fascia being mis- aligned and lower cladding that needed to be snapped back on more than once in the week we drive the Explorer. It was honestly surprising to us given the major steps forward that Ford has taken in quality surveys, public image, and in their design to see this many gaffes. In fairness, this Explorer could have been an early pre-production model in which case sometimes these things happen.
All the complaining and nit picking aside, we did find positive vibes in the overall picture. The rear view back-up camera came in handy and is a great feature we recommend you choose. The sound system despite its confusing learning curve sounded positively great – one of the better stereos we have heard in a while. Rear seat room and comfort was reported as excellent by our kids, even the third row was a favorite place to be. We folded the seating all sorts of different ways from full upright to flat cargo floor with ease.
The styling of the new 2011 Explorer is very contemporary and unique. You can see a little bit of Range Rover in its profile but at the same time Ford corporate DNA shines through. We found that the Explorer caught the attention of bystanders wherever we went getting longing double takes. Our tester came in as tested at just over $37,000. That puts it right in the ballpark of the 2011 Grand Cherokee Limited V6 we tested earlier this month as well as other contemporaries.
In the final analysis we have determined that the new reinvented Explorer is really more of a station wagon with high ground clearance and admirable offroad capabilities if needed. It is no longer a truck, and that is honestly what Ford had decided in this equation. This is now a car for mothers to drive their kids to school in and take on picnics, not a truck for guys to lift up and put big tires on. It’s a sign of the times and a realistic aim at where the market for SUV’s is headed. While we complained about some of the details, we walk away saying that Ford is right on target with the 2011 Explorer. It’s got all the same stuff that made it popular, and a lot less of the weight and thirst of the old one.
Model: 2011 Ford Explorer XLT 4×4 3.5
Options: Rapid-Spec 4WD 201A-XLT (Driver Connect Package, MyFord Touch, Sync, Dual Zone AC, Rear View Camera, Premium Single CD/MP3 Stereo, Trailer Tow Package, Metallic Paint.
Price as tested: $37,195 including destination.
Exterior Color: Red Candy Metallic
Interior Color/Trim: Premium Charcoal Black Cloth
Assembly Location: Chicago, IL
Article courtesy of our partner SUV and Crossover news site www.ActivityVehicle.com.
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