Ford Explorer (or other mid size SUV's) ?

The wife is ready to unload here Edge and we are looking for a replacement. More looking for a mid size suv. Anyone have any experience with Ford Explorers? Specifically the XLT's with the NA 3.5 V6. We don't want anything with a ecoboost.

Open to other options as well if anyone has any.

We went and looked a 4 door Jeep Wrangler and wasn't impressed at all which blows balls as I have had a few from the 4.0 straight 6 days. They just seem cheap.

we purchased a used 2017 gmc acadia slt. has basically everything a denali would besides the exterior styling. My wife loves it. We had to get something that we could fit 3 car seats across. this works great for this. kids can still walk through in front of the car seats and it still leaves tons of room in the back. Its awd. It is (in my opinion) under powered. i prefer driving a vehicle with some get up. Its more noticable from the stop. Once you are going it rides nice. My mother has a 4 door wrangler. while i think they look nice, they are way too small for my needs and im rather unimpressed after driving it a few times. Def seem cheap for what they want for them imo. One good thing with those is you can buy a 5 year old wrangler and it looks just like a new one to me. The v8 hemi would be fun in one of those though.

you owned an I6 YJ/TJ wrangler and think the new one feels cheap? lol. if you want a fancy/nice wrangler i would suggest a loaded Sahara.

i went from an Explorer Sport to a Wrangler Sport. the Explorer was loaded with all the high tech, leather, dual sunroofs, etc.. it was a sick suv no doubt. we actually got rid of it for a suburban, then i picked up the wrangler. the explorer was just too narrow for 3 people in the 2nd row, when one is in a car seat. and we often used all three rows. we loved it though. i love the Sport and ST. the lesser models looking a bit boring to me with the black trim..

a wrangler shouldnt be compared to a family suv like an explorer. its an off road machine that people try to make into a DD/soccer mom mobile. i test drove JK and JL back to back and we could immediately tell the upgrade in driveability and interior quality on the JL. the wrangler still has about as much cargo space as a porsche 911 lol. unless of course you fold the rear seats down and pack shit to the roof.

check out the grand cherokee. those are nice. we were going to check out the Telluride as well. due to short supply, dealers are asking stupid money for them though, unless its just the base model.
my mother recently picked up a CX7. we test drove everything in that class and the mazda was by far the most impressive. compared to new RAV4 (blah), CRV and hundai. the CX9 should be just as nice, only bigger.

BMW X3. they aren't as pricey as you think when you get into the Explorer ST and platinum range. I'd look for a CPO X3 m40i...IT WOULD WALK THE DOG on the ST, and have a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty.

I've got a 2014 Explorer. 4WD, flex fuel, N.A. V6. The interior is fine but it's a slug in the motor department. Woefully underpowered for it's almost 7000 pounds. Mileage is meh. I do mostly city driving and get between 19-20 mpg. It's been very reliable though.

venmos1 said:

we purchased a used 2017 gmc acadia slt. has basically everything a denali would besides the exterior styling. My wife loves it. We had to get something that we could fit 3 car seats across. this works great for this. kids can still walk through in front of the car seats and it still leaves tons of room in the back. Its awd. It is (in my opinion) under powered. i prefer driving a vehicle with some get up. Its more noticable from the stop. Once you are going it rides nice. My mother has a 4 door wrangler. while i think they look nice, they are way too small for my needs and im rather unimpressed after driving it a few times. Def seem cheap for what they want for them imo. One good thing with those is you can buy a 5 year old wrangler and it looks just like a new one to me. The v8 hemi would be fun in one of those though.

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Thanks. So the Acadia is on our list. We are going to test drive one this weekend

Steve@TF said:

you owned an I6 YJ/TJ wrangler and think the new one feels cheap? lol. if you want a fancy/nice wrangler i would suggest a loaded Sahara.

i went from an Explorer Sport to a Wrangler Sport. the Explorer was loaded with all the high tech, leather, dual sunroofs, etc.. it was a sick suv no doubt. we actually got rid of it for a suburban, then i picked up the wrangler. the explorer was just too narrow for 3 people in the 2nd row, when one is in a car seat. and we often used all three rows. we loved it though. i love the Sport and ST. the lesser models looking a bit boring to me with the black trim..

a wrangler shouldnt be compared to a family suv like an explorer. its an off road machine that people try to make into a DD/soccer mom mobile. i test drove JK and JL back to back and we could immediately tell the upgrade in driveability and interior quality on the JL. the wrangler still has about as much cargo space as a porsche 911 lol. unless of course you fold the rear seats down and pack shit to the roof.

check out the grand cherokee. those are nice. we were going to check out the Telluride as well. due to short supply, dealers are asking stupid money for them though, unless its just the base model.
my mother recently picked up a CX7. we test drove everything in that class and the mazda was by far the most impressive. compared to new RAV4 (blah), CRV and hundai. the CX9 should be just as nice, only bigger.

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Let me rephrase, it wasn't totally about the fit and finish, (which was cheap for sure) it just felt lifeless. I can't explain it. I guess I am just I6 fan with the low end torque even though its slower.

I love the Grand Cherokees but aren't they unreliable as ****? I will take a look at the CX9

KingBlack said:

BMW X3. they aren't as pricey as you think when you get into the Explorer ST and platinum range. I'd look for a CPO X3 m40i...IT WOULD WALK THE DOG on the ST, and have a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty.

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Thanks, but she's not big on BMW. She doesn't want anything with a ecoboost either. Neither do I.

VegasMichael said:

I've got a 2014 Explorer. 4WD, flex fuel, N.A. V6. The interior is fine but it's a slug in the motor department. Woefully underpowered for it's almost 7000 pounds. Mileage is meh. I do mostly city driving and get between 19-20 mpg. It's been very reliable though.

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Thanks for that. We are going to test drive a 18 XLT today. Reliability is the most important thing really. Its just a DD for her.

We bought a used ‘15 Traverse AWD back in 2019.

It is a relatively basic 3-row kid hauler.

It’s been reliable thus far (small sample size admittedly) and does well enough in winter. Fuel mileage isn’t great, but I guess that’s expected.

Having said that, it’s just a vehicle. There’s nothing exciting about it. It blends in with every other vehicle, has no personality, and just plugs along.

I would’ve preferred an Explorer, but they were several thousands more used to get the same set up. And while I wanted a Flex above all, there just weren’t that many available on the used market, especially with split seats in the second row.

Wife’s cousin just bought a Telluride for his wife and they like it.

Dirks9901 said:

Thanks. So the Acadia is on our list. We are going to test drive one this weekend



Let me rephrase, it wasn't totally about the fit and finish, (which was cheap for sure) it just felt lifeless. I can't explain it. I guess I am just I6 fan with the low end torque even though its slower.

I love the Grand Cherokees but aren't they unreliable as ****? I will take a look at the CX9



Thanks, but she's not big on BMW. She doesn't want anything with a ecoboost either. Neither do I.



Thanks for that. We are going to test drive a 18 XLT today. Reliability is the most important thing really. Its just a DD for her.

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just noticed youre in CO. most guys who live there (at least in Denver area) go for the 2.0 Turbo motor. more down low torque and less loss of hp. there's also the diesel option as well.

i have 3.5 V6 JLU. its on 35s with 8spd trans. its no slouch. it makes my suburban feel like a slow behemoth lol. the rubicon has shorter gearing which makes them feel even faster. especially when you get rubi turbo. i bet even the base model feels quicker than an n/a explorer. also, keep in mind the new explorer is RWD, with AWD as an option. the prior explorers were fwd/awd. if that is a concern for you if you live in a snowy area.

VegasMichael said:

I've got a 2014 Explorer. 4WD, flex fuel, N.A. V6. The interior is fine but it's a slug in the motor department. Woefully underpowered for it's almost 7000 pounds. Mileage is meh. I do mostly city driving and get between 19-20 mpg. It's been very reliable though.

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Unless you're loaded up with a family of 7 and gear, you're closer 5,000lbs. Regardless, the NA 3.5 certainly is lackluster compared to the EcoBoost.

black92 said:

Unless you're loaded up with a family of 7 and gear, you're closer 5,000lbs. Regardless, the NA 3.5 certainly is lackluster compared to the EcoBoost.

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Yeah you're right on the weight. It can handle an extra 1500 pounds of cargo/people for a max of around 6,500 lbs.

We have a 2011 Explorer and have been very happy with it. We are right around 160k miles and they have been mostly trouble free.
2011 Limited 3.5 NA V6

We are looking to pick up a new Pilot later this year, by no means am I saying its best in the segment and I don't particularly care for the looks but it will be my wife's car and she likes the look. We rented one and filled it with 7 people and it still felt like it had plenty of power to do what we needed. They are pretty nice vehicles and drive great. I work for Honda so I know whats common and what to expect. They have been pretty solid except for some fuel injector issues from 16-18.

I've leased a Grand Cherokee in the recent past. They are really comfortable and great in the snow. I didn't have mine long enough to comment on reliability but the V6 is pretty basic and the transmission has been around awhile in a bunch of vehicles. I love my current Explorer Sport. Plan on keeping it for quite awhile.

Brother in law has a 16 Explorer. It's nice from little I've been in. Any interest in a Toyota Highlander? I rode in one and was pretty impressed.

noco5.0 said:

I've leased a Grand Cherokee in the recent passed. They are really comfortable and great in the snow. I didn't have mine long enough to comment on reliability but the V6 is pretty basic and the transmission has been around awhile in a bunch of vehicles

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I really like my Grand Cherokee. Kind of wish it was bigger, but the next size up would be something like Tahoe/Expedition.

I had a 4-door Wrangler and it's great for the summer, but not that great of a daily driver especially on the highway. Tiny as well! Hold their value well. Sold it for what I paid for it after almost 2 years.

Steve@TF said:

just noticed youre in CO. most guys who live there (at least in Denver area) go for the 2.0 Turbo motor. more down low torque and less loss of hp. there's also the diesel option as well.

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Yep. Starting the day with 15% less power really sucks. OP, why no ecoboost?

NA Explorer is a turd, you'd almost be afraid to pass the amish in a buggy

SHOdown220 said:

We are looking to pick up a new Pilot later this year, by no means am I saying its best in the segment and I don't particularly care for the looks but it will be my wife's car and she likes the look. We rented one and filled it with 7 people and it still felt like it had plenty of power to do what we needed. They are pretty nice vehicles and drive great. I work for Honda so I know whats common and what to expect. They have been pretty solid except for some fuel injector issues from 16-18.

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Thanks, we might look at those.

capnkirk52 said:

Yep. Starting the day with 15% less power really sucks. OP, why no ecoboost?

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Frankly, I think they are garbage. My wife’s prior ecoboost 2.7 Edge was nothing but problems. She got the NA 3.5 Edge and its been spot on. Point is, not for me. On top of that a few family members have had quite a few issues with them.

PC03GT said:

NA Explorer is a turd, you'd almost be afraid to pass the amish in a buggy

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My wife’s 3.5 na edge is fine. We honestly don’t give a shit how fast her DD is.




Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

MDX. Awesome car. V6. Have had 0 problems in 4 years. New one is supposed to be better.

I will say the Mazda cx-9 is the nicest interior for the money. Wish it had a bigger engine.

Dirks9901 said:

Frankly, I think they are garbage. My wife’s prior ecoboost 2.7 Edge was nothing but problems. She got the NA 3.5 Edge and its been spot on. Point is, not for me. On top of that a few family members have had quite a few issues with them.

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That sucks. I've got 250,000 miles between a '15 and '18 F150s and they are solid. I have a Hybrid on order.