- Editor:
- Sam Moses
- Price As Tested:
- $31,315
“A new kind of Explorer gets a new kind of engine.”
The re-invented Ford Explorer reminds us why sport-utility vehicles started climbing up the sales charts back in the 1990s. It's an excellent choice for active families, particularly if there are more than two kids.
The Explorer has most of the practicality, function and family friendly features of good minivans, with a more rugged emotional appeal and real off-road capability for those who need it. Yet the Explorer is smoother and more car-like than SUVs back in the day, and it gets much better mileage. With the optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, it gets better mileage than ever.
New for 2012, the 2.0 EcoBoost is one of the most sophisticated engines in Ford's lineup. With features like an advanced turbo-charging system, fully variable valve timing and extra-efficient direct gasoline injection, it packs significant wallop for its size. With a peak of 240 horsepower, the 2.0 EcoBoost makes 50 fewer horsepower than Explorer's standard 3.5-liter V6, or 17 percent less. Yet the four-cylinder is nearly 50 percent smaller than the V6 by displacement. It has more torque than the V6, and better EPA mileage ratings.
Ford pitches the EcoBoost as the best of all worlds, with the power of a V6 and the economy of a four-cylinder. The marketing claims are true, sort of. If an engine is running at full throttle and producing 240 hp, it's using essentially the same amount of energy (or gasoline) whether it has six, four or two cylinders. So if a driver uses full throttle and all 240 horsepower a lot of the time, actual fuel economy gains with the EcoBoost will be much less significant.
But that doesn't mean there are no fuel savings. The four-cylinder will use less fuel than the V6 when it's idling, coasting down and sometimes when cruising at a steady pace, and if the driver is more judicious with the throttle in daily driving, the EcoBoost engine could deliver substantial fuel economy gains. Ford claims that, at 20 mpg City, 28 Highway, the Explorer EcoBoost has higher EPA mileage ratings than any seven-passenger crossover or SUV.
The problem with the EcoBoost in the Explorer is that a lot of drivers will in fact be keeping it floored a lot of the time. While we like this engine in Ford's smaller Edge crossover, we're less enamored in the Explorer. The Explorer is larger, punching a much bigger hole through the air than the Edge, and about 500 pounds heavier. The 2.0 EcoBoost will get and keep the Explorer rolling in satisfactory fashion, to be sure, but for a lot of drivers that will mean a fairly constant, heavy foot on the gas pedal, and that could obviate the purported fuel savings. Moreover, the 2.0 EcoBoost often seems like it's working really hard in the Explorer, with a lot of sound and fury to minimal effect.
Consider some numbers. Base on the EPA's combined mileage rating, the four-cylinder Explorer will use about 650 fewer gallons of fuel than a front-drive V6 over 100,000 miles. At $4 per gallon, that's $2,600 less spent on fuel, though those lifetime savings are reduced by an extra $1,000 at purchase for the 2.0 EcoBoost engine. Put another way, at $4 per gallon and 15,000 miles per year, the four-cylinder Explorer will save its owner just under $300 a year in fuel costs, and it will take 3 years to recover the up-front cost of the 2.0 EcoBoost option.
Bottom line on the four-cylinder: If fuel-economy is a very high priority, the 2.0 EcoBoost will get the job done. But we'd guess that most owners will be a lot happier with the 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6. And owners who want all-wheel drive will have to take the V6, because AWD isn't offered with the four-cylinder.
Ford's dual-overhead cam, all-aluminum V6, called Ti-VCT, is quite efficient in is own right. The company already claimed the best fuel-economy ratings in larger, seven passenger SUVs with this engine (17 city, 25 highway). Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with optional manual shifting, the V6 is smooth and responsive, with good acceleration and plenty of torque to maintain 80 mph on an uphill freeway, after a smooth and welcome kickdown to fifth gear.
We drove nearly 200 miles in a V6 Explorer, mostly at about 60 mph on casual two-lanes with about a dozen freeway miles running uphill to 80 mph, and averaged about 17 mpg. Before we got on the throttle on the freeway, we saw a 20-mpg average.
Ford put all the engineering effort it could muster into the Explorer, and got the ride, handling, and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) results it hoped for. The rigid chassis and careful tuning of the independent suspension produce a superb all-around ride. It takes corners and undulations flat, and the speed-sensitive electric power steering allows it to turn relatively tight and quick.
The front suspension uses short and long arms with a fat 32mm stabilizer bar. Engineers gave the rear suspension a name, SR1, because for each wheel movement, the shock absorbers are tuned to make the same motion in the same cadence, which they say eliminates undesirable ride motions. It must be true because we felt no undesirable motions when we drove the Explorer.
Not even off-road. We sampled the AWD Explorer on an off-road course, and we've never tested anything off road that absorbed deep ruts and huge humps so smoothly. We're talking 10 mph here. It was as if the Explorer had a few extra feet of travel in the suspension.
The Explorer's optional all-wheel drive system has no transfer case. That saves weight, and minimizes the fuel-mileage penalty that invariably comes with AWD. Instead, the Explorer maximizes off-road traction with a fancy electronic-control system called Terrain Management.
There are four modes to the system, which the driver sets with a knob behind the shift lever. In the Normal mode, on dry pavement, the vehicle runs at about 90 percent power to the front wheels, 10 percent to the rear. Torque shifts to the rear as needed, if the front wheels lose traction and can't do as much work. Normal mode is what you'll use most of the time, rain or shine.
The Snow/Gravel mode allows less wheelspin, provides conservative throttle control, and enables earlier transmission upshifts. This should help stabilize handling, making the Explorer easier to control in sloppy conditions, though you'll still need to exercise care when slowing down.
The Sand mode provides more aggressive throttle, holds the transmission in gear longer, and desensitizes traction control. Because, unlike in snow, to make progress in sand you need wheelspin. Mud/Ruts allows more torque as throttle increases. Stability control is desensitized to help maintain momentum over soft or uneven surfaces.
It all works very well. Even with all-season tires (as opposed to all-terrain tires which improve traction in snow, sand and mud), the Explorer blasted around a sand pit no problem. With the AWD model, you'll never fear going to the beach and exploring. Go have a family picnic atop the far dune. If your family travels include far-flung adventures off the paved path, the AWD is a valuable tool.
Terrain Management also includes Hill Descent Control, which proved itself on a steep downhill on the off-road course, holding the Explorer's speed to 4 mph without driver input. It's proven itself in many vehicles we've tested, including many Land Rovers. On an icy hill, it could save your life or at least help you avoid crashing and damaging your vehicle. If you think you'll need this feature, it's worth learning how to use it most effectively.
Of course, the standard front-drive Explorer and its various traction enhancing systems do an excellent job in their own right, even in a driving snow, if the travel surface is pavement. Based on the EPA ratings, the AWD model will use about 300 gallons more fuel over 100,000 miles, if you never take it off road, and it costs $2,000 more to begin with. In California, Texas, Florida or large swathes of the South, if owners rarely leave the pavement and plan no significant towing, we'd recommend the front-wheel drive.
The Explorer will tow 5000 pounds when equipped with the tow package, and it includes things you might wonder how you lived without. There's trailer sway control, which works with the stability control, and is another thing that could save your life, or your trailer and whatever it's carrying. There's also a rearview camera with zoom, which will guide you to position the hitch ball directly under the trailer hitch cap, and make you feel like an astronaut docking his spacecraft.
