91469972

Picked up a Ford Explorer Sport Twin Turbo V-6 365 HP to use more for business and keep lower miles on my Carrera S. My wife has a Audi Q7 S-Line which we are also keeping and it's funny how much Ford tried to copy the Audi. I haven't owned and American car in years and Ford has really stepped it up as to design and quality.

pfbz

The Ford 3.5 'Ecoboost' twin turbo is really an awesome engine, especially coming from Ford! I've been enjoying my F150 twin turbo for a couple of years now. The ECU has been decoded, and several shops are offering plug-in tuners for a few hundred bucks that unleash a ton of extra power on stock engines with great reliability, and can easily go back to stock programming for any trips to the dealer.

An extra 50+ HP with an otherwise stock engine running reliably on 91 or 93 octane pump gas for about $300. Some guys are turning high 12's/low 13's in the 1/4 mile... impressive on a 5,500 pound truck. I imagine it wouldn't be hard to get mid 12's in the significantly lighter explorer. While I personally have zero interest in drag-strips, having that power is really nice at altitude in the mountains with a full load of passengers, dogs & bikes.

Ford is totally mis-marketing this engine... Forget about it being a great "fuel-economy" engine, it's just *way* too much fun to put your foot into the throttle on every drive!

CamsPorsche

We have a new Explorer as well and love it. Tows the seadoo's and hauls the family everywhere. We are really impressed with the interior quality and its drive-ability.

westgate997

kept my paid off 06 RR Sport SC for this reason- so great to have a utility vehicle and take the pressure off the S!!

pfbz

Give us some more feedback on the Explorer, especially in comparison to the Audi... I was about to pick up an Audi Q5 2.0T for my wife, but now am wondering if I should look more carefully at the Explorer.

As I mentioned earlier, own an F150 Ecoboost so I know/love the engine and have seen some of Ford's dramatic improvements in interiors, but haven't looked closely at the Explorer Sport. With the invoice/incentives, an Explorer Sport is about the same or cheaper than a Q5. It's bigger than what we really need, but as it is 6K+ GVWR I actually will get a nice tax break if I buy it before the end of the year.

wheeler

We test drove a couple of Explorers when replacing my wifes Acadia this year, drove nice, had great power. Both of them we drove had a weird drone or what best can be described as a wind buffeting sound like when someone cracks a rear window, coming from the cargo area...very odd and was really bugging me. Anyway, that wasn't a deal killer but the rear seats were. The second row is definitely not for adults of any stature, and the 3rd row even smaller. We have a 15 son that's 6'3" plus and haul up to a half dozen 10 yo girls to cheer, basketball and volleyball, so that wasn't going to happen. Ended up with another Acadia...Tahoe room in a smaller package. The power is uninspiring but the but everything else trumps the Ford for the price. I REALLY wanted the Explorer to work, just like the styling better and I've been VERY happy with my 2010 F150 DD. A buddy just picked up a 13 F150 supercab (extended cab) with the ecoboost...very nice as well! A little quieter than mine, a little better ride and handling. He also just got a tuner for it and said it's worth every penny of $600...said it hauls ***! This is coming from a guy that runs a 600 hp Mustang drag car.

CamsPorsche

The Q5 is tiny inside. We are at the infant stage of family life and we brought our stroller (Quinny) and placed it inside the Q5 - it filled the trunk never mind a diaper bag, groceries etc. The backseats are way too small for adults so we left the Audi dealer.

My wife loved the styling of the new Explorer so we went and checked them out and I can easily sit in the rear row behind my seat adjusted to how I like it and there's tons of room (I'm 6'0). Even in the 3rd row I've sat back there and its fine for around town jaunts or even longer. Its quite good on fuel and with the full leather interior its well appointed so I suggest going into the Ford dealer and looking at it and driving it yourself.

We ended up buying it with a super discount and so far are really pleased with its space, comfort and quality.

Para82

Congrats man, Ford makes some sweet cars

Para82

Anyone try a BMW X1? I might have to add a family car soon myself, not sure what to get.

Quadcammer

an X1 is only a family car for a family of midgets (little people, whatever they wish to be called).

That is a small vehicle.

Para82

Midgets lol

mdrums

Timely post for me.

I currently have a Audi Q5 as my work vehicle. It's 2.5yers old 59k miles only issue was the air temp switch stopped working last week.

No kids here but I have to haul drums and stuff around so I'd like:

More room
87 octane SUV
26+ mpg highway

Dave's911

What do you guys think about the new Grand Cherokee? Looks pretty nice, but haven't driven one yet.

Coloradoheel

I just picked up a '14 Toyota Sequoia for the family hauler. Big vehicle, and sucks gas. However, the wife drives maybe 5000 miles per year so it won't be too costly to operate(maintenance should be a non-issue).

Primary reason was I wanted one vehicle which could haul our kids and their friends (wife always seems to have our 2 kids and another 2-4 kids in the car at any given time), and wanted a vehicle that would be capable of hauling a Spec Boxster and trailer (at 7200 lbs towing capacity it fits the bill).

We looked at the Explorer and liked it but towing capacity was insufficient, and that would have necessitated the purchase of yet another vehicle to haul the toys.

91469972

The new Sport has all the SHO components as to engine also with paddle shift. The suspension and unibody are also tuned up. The brakes are also larger then the other Explorer models I believe to compenstate for the 365 HP. They also added more insulation which makes the interior very quiet. 20" rims and even the seat AC. It also has the Terrain Management System with Hill Decent Control. Mine is fully loaded othet then the self park and got it for $44,000 including the Group 401A package. I looked at the Audi Q5 SQ5 but didn't qualify for the Section 179 $25,000 Tax which I beleive ends in 2013.