Avis Preferred « Rental Car Reviews

Ford Explorer XLT

PROs:Steering Wheel Controls, Rear Parking Sensors, 4WD, 3rd Row Seat
CONs:Bulky, No Line-In (AUX), Mileage

Days Rented: 5 Miles Driven: 565
MPG Observed: High Teens City / Mid-20s Hwy / 19.5 mpg Overall

Comfort: *** Engine: **

Space: *** Handling: ***

Ride: *** Ease of Use: **

With my trip this week taking me to Yuma where rain was in the forecast, I decided to request an upgrade to the Ford Explorer. I specifically requested this car as it is one that I have recently considered buying for myself.

Initially I was impressed with the interior of the Ford Explorer. It was well appointed with plush leather seats, a colorful center display, controls on the steering wheel, and touch sensitive center controls. I think the center controls are very cool. Instead of clicking buttons, you simply touch them much like you would an Android or iPhone. The drivers side space felt a bit cramped. I continuously found myself adjusting the seat as I could never quite find a comfy position. On a positive note, I did like that the lumbar was adjustable both vertically and horizontally. The rear seat had plenty of leg room for two adults to survive on a short road trip. The third row seat is conducive for hauling a group around, only without luggage. The cargo space in the trunk of the Explorer has its ups and downs. With the seats folded flat, there was massive amounts of space, on the flip side with the seats up, I severely doubt that 6 carry-ons would fit. (See Pictures Below)

The center display was impressive at first, but proved to be a bit cumbersome, laggy, and inefficient. It is impressive how much information Ford allows the driver to see on both the dash and center console, and in so many forms. In reality though, this is counter productive. The data on the dash is controlled by the buttons on the steering wheel and were very finicky. Switching from the trip mileage to the fuel economy would often require me going up twice and down once to get the right screen. I did like that the center screen was touch sensitive and had a “Home” screen. This split the screen into 4 quadrants: Phone, TraveLink (not active), Radio, and Climate. This is a good idea by Ford, but could still use some perfecting. The Climate part only controlled the seat heaters. The Phone portion offered quick links to your phone book, speed dial, etc. Unlike the Chrysler 300 scrolling through your contacts took a lot of button pushing and waiting. I found it quicker using the voice dial, or the classic method: picking up my phone. The voice recognition was OK, but took a few tries to get used to. Even by day 4 I still had not quite mastered it. The satellite radio did say it was expired and after pushing the ignore button to renew the subscription I found I was still able to scroll through the channels. A trick I found was that the renewal notice only popped up when you viewed the radio screen. On the home screen where you can see the 6 presets, the notice would not pop up. So despite the subscription being “cancelled” I was still able to enjoy the satellite radio all week.

This Explorer came equipped with the 3.5L V6 AWD. Even at highway speeds, this engine was pretty thirsty. On my initial 200

mile drive from San Diego to Yuma, the Explorer barely averaged 24mpg’s though this did include driving through the Peninsular mountains. The engine’s power was decent, probably lacking for a V6, and did require what seemed like extra effort to climb any sort of grade. Though it never ended up raining, the car did give the vibe that it would fare well in inclement weather. Driving along I-8, the car did handle well for an SUV. Even coming down the windy mountains I always Explorer was balanced and in control.