Sure, Jeep had its Grand Wagoneer, Ford its Bronco and Bronco II, plus the hulking Chevrolet Blazer and Dodge Ramcharger. Then came the idea for a family-friendly SUV in 1991, and the Explorer was a hit.
Over the intervening years, the Explorer has grown up atop a ladder frame, and been part of a Firestone tire controversy in 2000 before it got lower and wider. But there was still that truck bit underneath – until now.
In a move as grand as a movie premiere, Ford executives premiered a new Explorer back in July, 2010, in hot spots all over the country including New York City and Art Deco Miami Beach. Lighter than the last edition by about 100 pounds thanks to material like the aluminum hood, with better aerodynamics aided by the front air dam and rear liftgate, Ford’s chief of design, J Mays, told me it was nothing less than the “reinvention” of the SUV.
Let’s check out the invention.
· Explorer exterior – One look at the 2011 Explorer XLT, with its well-done golden bronze metallic paint job, and you see some Taurus in its shape, as well as a bit of Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover LR2. Sitting on a 112.6-inch wheelbase, 197.6-inches long and 71 inches tall with roof rails, our bronze road warrior is an inch shorter in wheelbase to the 2010 Explorer, about four inches longer overall, and .9 inches shorter in wheelbase. The three-bar grill gets perforated bars above and below the center one bearing the blue oval, a bit of macho F-150 Raptor there if you squint. It’s flanked by headlights that wrap around the more aerodynamic nose and into the fenders, using the hood shut line as part of its design. The lower air intake is part of the black lower fascia with integrated fog lights and a lower air dam, the black plastic becoming the framing for the front and rear fender flares and lower rear tail design with twin chrome exhaust tips. There’s a high beltline like the Taurus, the greenhouse with side window openings riding the high side line. A sculpted channel grooves the flanks between flares, with a chrome-accented lower sill line. Five-spoke alloy wheels wear 18-inch Michelin rubber. Gloss blacked-out windshield and B pillars help the side design, with a familiar forward-angled C-pillar and wrap-around-style rear side and back window, the look aided by gloss black D-pillars, tinted glass and a slight rake to the rear window with aero spoiler above. The LED taillights mimic the headlights. All in all, it has a smoother, lower and more modern look than the last Explorer, a shape that Mays told me is “what the great SUV of the 21st century should be.” And it’s built in Chicago. Program Supervisor Brian Berkmyre.
· Explorer environment – Black over tan with some silver plastic accents – that’s the color scheme inside our new Explorer. But under that padded black dash top lies something less than in the past – less knobs and buttons in a clean design. We counted – there’s four knobs in the driver’s reach, for headlights, volume, fan speed and the four-wheel-drive system. Sixteen buttons control the basics of the audio and climate control system, and they aren’t really buttons. They are “touch cells” on a hard plastic center dash, not unlike the Chevrolet Volt. Tap or brush one with a finger, and they work as you break a small electric field. An audible electronic “tock” confirms selection. So where did all the buttons go? Within the new MyFord system, which works the audio system, climate control, navigation and Bluetooth cell phone functions via SYNC voice control or the 8-inch center touch screen. Then there’s Ford’s attempt to mimic the control interfaces on an iPod, cell phone or television remote with five-way “smart” buttons on the steering wheel’s upper spokes. Right in line with my thumbs, the buttons let me scroll up and down the twin 4.2-inch LCD screens that flank the large 140-mph speedometer. On the left, vehicle information and driver settings, gauge functions and gauge readouts – my favorite combo was a speedometer with gas and temperature gauges, and the odometer underneath. On the right, you can access and display entertainment, navigation, phone and climate control information, such as satellite station information. Under the left hand control are the cruise control buttons; under the right ones are the audio system volume and seek controls, plus Bluetooth and voice command buttons. Using a military term, these dashboard screens are repeaters for a lot of what’s on the central 8-inch touch screen display. The main screen has been reconfigured too, with “Smart Corners” - predetermined buttons with the most popular top level functions displayed in a different color in each corner. Cell phone is upper left; navigation buttons are upper right; audio access is lower left; and climate control is lower right. The center of the screen showcases whatever the driver wants, from navigation map, Sirius TravelLink weather/sports/movie listings/gas prices, etc, or the full audio control panel, navigation menu or Bluetooth. You can split it and show two things, like a map on the left and the upcoming exit info on the right. There’s also a main information and menu button bottom center to get to those screens. Sounds busy, right? Well, voice command worked pretty well, Ford claiming it understands us better, and accepts simpler commands. It did, prompting me with possible commands if I said the wrong thing. All of the touch cells worked well with a simple brush of the fingers, and were intuitive. And after a day or two, the steering wheel buttons were easy to remember. If you don’t want to fiddle with the temperature buttons, MyTemp lets the driver save a temperature, then one tap of the MyTemp button and it is there. My favorite function – the odometer reading flips its numbers like the old analog version, even though it’s a digital display. To add music, photos or video to the system, an audio system-like media hub under a center dash pop-up door had two USB ports, an SD card slot and RCA inputs, plus a 12-volt outlet. The side mirrors incorporate blind spot detection icons that flash when someone is out of sight right or left, with a beep if a car is coming up as you are backing out. There’s back-up sensors, and a back-up camera that can be zoomed in to see what’s there, or help center a trailer hitch without getting out. What about the car stuff? The tilt and telescoping steering wheel had a thick leather-padded rim and allowed a good view of the digital/analog gauges. The AM-FM-Sirius Satellite/CD-DVD/MP3 audio system sounded great and was easy to use. The heated front seats were comfortable and supportive, the driver getting 8-way power adjustments, the passenger four-way with manual seat back adjust. The glove box is dual level and big, the center console offering twin cup holders and a deep center storage area under a padded armrest, with coin storage, 12-volt outlet and cell phone nooks. The door map pockets have water bottle holders and two nooks to hold stuff. Fit and finish up there was good, the controls offering a precise feel. In back, adequate leg room and good head room for two adults with a fold-down center armrest. One option we didn’t have (about $300) was checked out at a Ford event - inflatable rear shoulder belts that spread impact forces. There are also rear and overhead air vents, plus climate controls, another 12-volt outlet and a set of fold-out cup holders at the rear of the center console. The rear seat backs recline and split 60/40, folding to expand the rear cargo area, which houses twin third row seats that either fold flat into the floor like some minivans, or flip seatbacks forward. Leave them up and you can fit two adults back there for short trips, although the fold-down head restraints restrict rearward vision when deployed. Seats up, and there’s a nice deep storage compartment. Fold them back and flat, flip the second row down, and you can haul a lot. There’s also a 12-volt outlet there too. This is a real world six-person hauler with some cargo space.
· Explorer exercise – With no V-8 offered in an Explorer now, can it haul six people and cargo, or a trailer? Our XLT had the base 290-hp V-6 that can tow up to 5,000 pounds, while an optional 2-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder has 237 hp thanks to twin turbochargers, more horsepower than the 5-liter V-8 back in 1996. The V-6 did the job, getting us to 60-mph in a decent 7.8 seconds with precise shifts from the new 6-speed automatic. Passing power was decent too, as were downshifts. The 210-hp V-6 in the last-gen Explorer took more than 9 seconds to get to 60, and got less than 18 mpg. Our 2011 model, with 5,000 miles on it, averaged 19-mpg, on the low side of its 17-mpg city/25-mpg highway EPA range. Ford claims 20 percent better fuel mileage for this model than the 2010 version. The V-6 Jeep Grand Cherokee hit 60-mph in 8.3 seconds and averaged about 20-mpg; a Honda Pilot averaged 8 seconds and about 18-mpg; and a V-6 Dodge Durango’s numbers were 8.2 and 18 to 20 mpg respectively. The Explorer’s suspension has a short/long arm independent design up front, with an independent multilink in back, all on a car-based platform that was stiff and creak-free. The result was a smooth, well-controlled ride with a buffered rebound that easily handled most bumps. In curves, the Explorer was stable and tracked well, the four-wheel-drive putting power where needed seamlessly. Body roll was well controlled when the road got twisty, a roll stability system there, as was Curve Control, that senses when a driver enters a turn too quickly and applies brake pressure to stabilize it. With the big joke these days that most SUV owners never go off-road, can this new car-based Explorer explore the dirt as well as its truck-framed predecessor did? The answer seems to be yes. Ford claims the same eight inches of ground clearance as the 2010 truck-based model, while our XLT model’s four-wheel-drive system has a Land Rover-style terrain management system. It offers snow, sand, mud or normal four-wheel-drive modes, controlled by a center console-mounted knob, again like a Rover. Each setting provides a different engine throttle map and tip in, changes the traction and stability control settings, and how the transmission shifts. A foray down forested trails and up and over some sandy sections showed good traction and an easing of stability control to allow some wheelspin. In short, it worked, although our fairly gently off-roading did pop one side of the front air dam. It clipped back in. The ride was well damped over bumps, no shaking of driver or passengers. The Explorer also offers Hill Descent Control, which taps the brakes to walk the Explorer down a hill under control. The electric power steering, which is supposed to help with the fuel economy, had decent feel and just the right amount of assist at speed. The disc brakes had a nice pedal feel and worked well, with minimal fade after heavy use. Overall, the new Explorer was assured and comfortable to drive, although the new Dodge Durango is probably the most athletic handler in the bigger SUVs we’ve tested of late.
· Ford funding – A base front-wheel-drive V-6 Explorer starts at $28,995, while our four-wheel-drive XLT had a base price of $33,190. That includes standard MyFord driver connect technology, MyKey owner control (speed and stereo limits), air filtration, media hub, capless fuel filler system, cruise control, power windows/door locks/mirrors, tilt/telescoping steering column, four 12-volt power points, cargo hooks, automatic headlamps, six-speed SelectShift automatic, heated side mirrors with LED signal indicators and puddle lamps, keyless entry keypad and backup sensors. Our options included a $3,200 Rapid Spec package with MyFord Touch, SYNC voice-activation, dual-zone climate control, backup camera and a single CD player; a $570 trailer package, $495 blind spot monitor and $795 voice-activated navigation system. With a discount and destination fee, the price was $38,355. That’s compared to $29,195 for the base 290-hp Dodge Durango, $30,995 for the base 290-hp Jeep Grand Cherokee, and $28,045 for a base 250-hp Honda Pilot.
· Bottom line – Our Explorer XLT was less expensive, with more kit than the premium Durango we just tested, looked chiseled and 21st Century, and had all the right moves on and off road. The new voice command and touch controls do simplify life, but might be a bit much tech-wise for those who don’t live with it every day. Still, I’d go Explorer-ing due to its design, technology and drive.
2011 FORD EXPLORER XLT
Specifications
Vehicle type - four-door, seven-passenger four-wheel-drive SUV
Base price - $33,190 ($38,355 as tested)
Engine type - aluminum block 24-valve DOHC V-6
Displacement - 3.5-liter
Horsepower (net) - 290 @ 6,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 255 @ 4,000 rpm
Transmission - 6-speed automatic w/manual shift
Wheelbase - 112.6 inches
Overall length – 197.1 inches
Overall width – 90.2 inches
Height - 71 inches
Front headroom – 39.1 inches
Front legroom – 40.6 inches
Middle headroom – 38.3 inches
Middle legroom – 39.8 inches
Rear headroom - 37.8 inches
Rear legroom – 33.2 inches
Cargo capacity - 21 cu. ft./43.8 w/3rd row folded/80.7 with 2nd and 3rd row folded
Curb weight - 4,695 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 18.6 gallons
Mileage rating - 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway
Last word –Ford’s 21st Century SUV
By Dan Scanlan - MyCarData
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