Zastava_101

Not what I've expected.
Explorer finished dead last even against "older" crossovers like Mazda CX-9, Chevrolet Traverse and Honda Pilot.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._explorer.html

Evil_Capri

Wish the Explorer tested was an "actual" production vehicle and not an "early pre-production" example. Regardless, some nice vehicles in this segment!

rhumb

Yeah, MAYBE the production version will be better, but that's not a given and certainly not proven and some/many/most of the issues might still be there too as some sound not so easily resolvable as some buzzy or loose trim bits (torque steer, handling looseness, etc.).

Wonder how the Dodge would have fared with its V8? Probably top dog would be my guess.

Evil_Capri

Well, we test drove one (new Explorer) and had zero issues with it. Not sure how long MT gets to "have" the vehicle.

07S197

Sounds lik Ford shot themselves in the foot sending a pre-production mule. Very disapointing considering everytime I see one on the road I like it's looks more and more.

Evil_Capri

Unless FMC didn't know the "early pre-production" vehicle the provided to MT was going to be in a comparison test. . . . .

Moosetang

Being a print mag, this was done months and months ago. If the MT guys said "hey we're doing our first big comparo with the Explorer" and Ford didn't have any production Expys built yet, they were sort of screwed. MT wasn't going to delay to give them time, and if Ford begged off MT would hammer them in the print for "hiding" their new vehicle. So they sent what they had and crossed their fingers.

Considering "unrefined chassis" and "torque steer" are their two biggest gripes, and are also two things I've not seen mentioned by any other review of a production Explorer, I think MT does its readers a disservice by doing the comparison when they did and then not stressing the Explorer's unfinished state. But they're in business to sell issues, not to be fair.

Zastava_101

I don't really think what magazines write in their comparison tests have much of an impact on buyers. All magazines keep saying how much they like Flex; yet, sales are pretty low (~34,000 last year). With Taurus it's the other way around.

MusicMan66

The Explorer, a crossover? Hardly. The Edge and Flex are Ford's crossovers. Let's compare apples to apples, OK MT?

07S197

By definition it's also a crossover, just like the Flex and Edge. It's built on a car based platform (Taurus) as opposed to the outgoing model being built as a body on frame vehicle like a truck. The Flex doesn't work, it's really in a class of its own, maybe equal to a Pacifica if it were still being built. The Explorer really does fall in line with everything it is being put up against in this comparison. It's just too bad it was a pre-production model used and that MT didn't get to test one that was refined.

07S197

They wouldn't would they? Sabotage on MT's part and total




Yeah, I hear what your saying. I'm sure they didn't want their new toy to be left out but maybe in hind sight it would have been smart. Ford has a lot hanging on the success of the Explorer.

Moosetang

No doubt, but judging by the sales to date I don't think MT's article is going to slow the momentum down.

Zastava_101

The weird thing is, earlier this year Motor Trend had Explorer vs Durango comparison.
And it was pretty much a tie (they said if you're using your head buy a Explorer; if you're using your heart buy a Durango).
Yet, 3 months later Explorer is dead last and Durango finished 2nd? Doesn't make any sense at all.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...son/index.html

SyNRG

This serves as a reminder as to why I cancelled my subscription to MT many years ago and to take these "rags" with a grain of salt.

The irony.....they had a poll of "which vehicle would you purchase" on page 1 and the Explorer was the top pick!!