
| Vehicle | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 Ford Explorer | $13,995 | $13,995 |
| 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited | N/A | N/A |
| 2012 Honda Crosstour | N/A | N/A |
| 2012 Toyota Highlander | N/A | N/A |
| Average | $13,995 | $13,995 |


| Vehicle | Min | Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Ford Explorer | $238 | $238 | |
| 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited | N/A | N/A | |
| 2012 Honda Crosstour | N/A | N/A | |
| 2012 Toyota Highlander | N/A | N/A | |
| Average | $238 | $238 | |
Based On: 10% down, 5% APR, 60 months


| MPG | city | hwy |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 Ford Explorer | 11 | 14 |
| 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited | 16 | 21 |
| 2012 Honda Crosstour | 19 | 28 |
| 2012 Toyota Highlander | 18 | 24 |
| Average | 16 | 22 |

...new rear suspension also allows engineers to lower the floor by seven inches in the back.- AutoWeek
A unique feature is optional power adjustable brakes and accelerator pedals.- Canadian Driver
Handling and ride quality are improved with a new frame and an independent rear suspension.- New Car Test Drive
...same overall length as the previous model, but it sits on a (two-inch) longer wheelbase and a much wider track, making it more stable and more comfortable.- New Car Test Drive
...the rear glass window, cut low for easy rear access, swings up separately from the metal door.- AutoWeek
All new for 2002, the Ford Explorer is better than the previous version in every respect.- New Car Test Drive
Braking. No longer sloppy and vague...- USA Today
... the Ford Explorer is better than the previous version in every respect.- New Car Test Drive
Performance is quicker with new or improved overhead-cam engines.- New Car Test Drive
...the biggest news for the Explorer is the availability of third-row seating, allowing it to carry up to seven passengers.- New Car Test Drive
There's more ground clearance and plenty of new safety features.- The Car Connection
The headliner is a new safety canopy... designed to protect occupants during a rollover in addition to protecting them from a side impact by staying inflated for a much longer period of time.- New Car Test Drive
...larger door openings with a lower step-in height for ease of entry and exit.- Edmunds.com
...designed for greater towing capacities.- Canadian Driver
...the V6 is fine for around town. But it's a long time passing Peterbilts on a freeway grade.- Popular Mechanics
Unfortunately, some of the [new for 2002] suspension's benefits are lost by the hard, flat seats.- Popular Mechanics
Unfortunately, some of the suspension's benefits are lost by the hard, flat seats.- Popular Mechanics
While it robs storage space, the Explorer's extra seat is more comfortable than the [Dodge] Durango's.- Popular Mechanics
...3.5 times as stiff in torsion... By modern model-upgrade standards, that's a leap of several quanta.- Car and Driver
The mud was slick and deep. [But in the] redesigned Ford Explorer... the goo might as well have been asphalt.- USA Today
...Explorer had shed its buckboard behavior." It tamed the wretched path without jostling the occupants.- USA Today
Ford Explorer is the modern American station wagon. Ford sells more than 400,000 Explorers a year, making it the best-selling SUV and the sixth best-selling vehicle in America, and it's held these titles for a dozen years. Though quite capable as a tow vehicle and able to venture off the highway, most Explorers, like most SUVs, spend their entire lives shuttling people and performing the duties station wagons performed when Baby Boomers were growing up. The Explorer answers this call admirably and comfortably, which is part of the reason it's so popular.
The Explorer is roomy and comfortable. It's capable of seating seven people when equipped with the optional third-row seat that folds flat into the cargo floor when not being used. For more luxurious comfort, second-row sport bucket seating is now available on Eddie Bauer and Limited models.
Buyers can choose between V6 and V8 engines, but the V6 provides plenty of power unless you're pulling trailers or live in the Rocky Mountain states where the air is thin. Part of the reason for this is that the Explorer benefits from a superb five-speed automatic transmission.
Safety features abound: Anti-lock brakes come standard, and side-curtain air bags, designed to provide rollover protection, are optional and highly recommended. Ford's AdvanceTrac electronic stability system is available for all XLT, Eddie Bauer, and Limited models, providing improved traction and safety. Full-time all-wheel drive is available, providing better handling stability on slippery surfaces, and a tire-pressure monitoring system is available.
Ford redesigned and completely re-engineered the four-door Explorer two years ago (for model year 2002), and it's a much better vehicle. The current model rides on a wider track and a longer wheelbase, giving it a more solid, more stable stance. Its newly developed independent rear suspension gives it a smoother ride and better handling than SUVs with traditional live rear axles.
New Car Test Drive chose the Explorer as the best all-around sport-utility vehicle for 2003. It earned this title for its ability to carry four to seven people in comfort, pull a trailer, and venture off-road. The Explorer is rated to pull a trailer of up to 7,140 pounds when properly equipped, and though it does not excel at off-road travel, it can go most of the places most of us need to go.
The current Ford Explorer is the same length overall as the pre-2002 models, but it rides on a longer wheelbase (by 2 inches) and a wider track. Pushing the wheels out toward the corners makes the Explorer more stable and more comfortable. Lowered frame rails keep its front and rear bumpers at about the same height as those of a Ford Taurus, improving safety for the non-SUV drivers around you.
Explorer's styling is fresh and contemporary. Though ubiquitous, it is a handsome, good-looking vehicle. Front and rear fascia are smoothly integrated, while jeweled headlamps and tail lamps give it a sophisticated look. Yet, it clearly evokes the previous-generation Explorer. No one will have trouble identifying it, and few will notice it at all. Don't expect people to turn and stare when you drive by. Turning heads is not always the objective, however, and the more time we have spent with the Explorer the more its looks have grown on us.
Hitting the Unlock button on the key fob illuminates the approach lights mounted on the bottoms of the outside mirrors, enhancing security and making it easier to find your way at night. Uplevel models come standard with an illuminated keypad on the door for keyless entry. The keypad doesn't improve the appearance of the Explorer, but it continues to be a popular feature among loyal owners.
The Explorer is a comfortable vehicle, even on long trips. The Eddie Bauer seats were comfortable throughout nine-hour driving stints on a 2,700-mile cross-country trip, and its many convenience features make it pleasant while driving and when stopping.
The Eddie Bauer model comes with the traditional beige steering wheel and pinhole leather seating material. Handsome pecan wood accents lend a luxurious appearance. Light-colored trim on the inside A-pillars and grab handles add to the light, airy atmosphere. It's a successful execution, though the mouse-fur roof liner is nothing to write home about. The leather-trimmed upholstery is attractive. However, we wish Ford would have stitched leather all the way around to the inside edge of the seat bottom instead of using carpet there to save money.
The front seats are comfortable. They are wider and offer more fore-and-aft travel than before. We found the cloth seats in the XLT comfortable, firm, and supportive, with lots of adjustments. The same held true for the leather seats in the Eddie Bauer model.
Seat heaters are part of the Eddie Bauer way of living. They keep you warm while the truck is still heating up. The buttons that control them are mounted in an awkward location, on the sides of seats. Reaching down to the side of the driver's seat, the left hand is confronted with an array of seat adjusters; finding and pressing the seat-heater button is a challenge. When you succeed, however, a small indicator lights up on the climate-control display. Likewise, it isn't always easy to find the seat-height adjuster. Rake is easy to adjust, and there's a knob on the up-level seats for cranking in some lumbar support.
Adjustable pedals, a tilt steering wheel, and long seat travel help the Explorer fit a wide variety of body types. Big coat hooks accommodate thick hangers and big loads of dry cleaning, something few manufacturers get right. Nicely designed cubbies with rubber mats provide space for wallet, sunglasses, a pen, cans, and bottles. A relatively large center console keep odds and ends in check. Interior door handles seem a bit awkward at first, but that went away with familiarization. Map pockets on the insides of the doors are handy and swell at the end to hold water bottles, but wouldn't accommodate a one-liter water bottle. The front power outlet was positioned well for a cell phone, but like most, was a bit of a reach for a radar detector. The trip computer came in handy, calculating the distance to an empty fuel tank.
The six-disc in-dash CD player sounds good and is easy to operate, with large, clearly marked controls; it worked very well for books on CD, which take up multiple discs, and I found I could easily rewind to replay passages missed while concentrating on driving.
The second row of seats, the row we recommend for those who don't get to drive or sit up front, is quite comfortable. Sliding your feet under the front seats increases legroom. Many people prefer second-row bucket seats, which are more comfortable but only accommodate two passengers.
Third-row seating is available. In fact, the decision to add third-row seating drove the design and engineering of the current Explorer. As a result, Ford has done an excellent job of making the third row as roomy as possible, while making it flip quickly out of the way when it isn't needed. The third row offers as much headroom as the second row, but legroom, shoulder room and hip room are significantly compromised. After flipping the second-row seat neatly out of the way, you can climb back there, fold the second-row seat back into position and slide your feet underneath, which provides somewhat tolerable legroom. It isn't comfortable for an adult, however. There's little shoulder room, and the seat itself is a bit hard on the outboard edge; it pushes you away from the outboard side toward the center. It'll work okay for small children, but if you need
The Ford Explorer is smooth and stable on the highway and handles well on winding roads. The available V8 engine offers excellent acceleration out of corners. Ride quality and handling are quite good, greatly improved over pre-2002 models.
The Explorer rides on a four-wheel independent suspension with coil springs all around. It's a sophisticated setup and it works very well. (Crude by comparison, the previous Explorer used torsion bars in front and a live rear axle on leaf springs.) The independent rear suspension offers better lateral stiffness yet more fore/aft compliance than a live rear axle. That means both ride and handling are better.
The Explorer delivers a smooth ride on rough roads. Bumpy corners don't upset it, and it feels stable in fast, sweeping turns. The Explorer is very stable at high speeds and feels comfortably secure in bad weather. We felt safe and confident while pulling a trailer all day through a tropical storm in Tennessee. Just knowing the Explorer had Auto 4WD and ABS was comforting when it was raining buckets. It's still a truck, though. Tire whir is heard; road vibration is felt. But the ride is more comfortable, less jouncy than, say, the Nissan Pathfinder.
Off road, the Explorer has never measured up to the Toyota 4Runner or Land Rover Discovery, and the new generation doesn't change that. The Explorer is not designed to tackle the Rubicon Trail or any other seriously rugged terrain. The current model is better than the old one, however, and it is perfectly capable on primitive roads. In other words, it makes a fine vehicle for trout fishermen, kayakers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Ground clearance is increased by an inch over the previous generation, and shorter front and rear overhangs offer better approach and departure angles, all of which means you don't scrape the ground as much as before. If primitive roads and deep snow are the extent of your off-road driving, then the Explorer will serve admirably.
The optional Control Trac four-wheel-drive system (4WD) works great. We were surprised by the amount of grip the Explorer had on a muddy, snow-covered two-track in the Arizona high country near Sedona. Ford has refined this system to make it more transparent to the driver, while improving its abilities in limited-traction situations. The normal driving mode is Auto 4WD; there is no two-wheel-drive mode. In Auto 4WD, Control Trac directs power according to input from sensors that compare grip between the front and rear wheels. If the rear wheels lose traction, for example, the optimal amount of power is transferred to the front tires where there's more grip. Using a dedicated controller, the system checks for slipping tires 50 times a second and can anticipate situations, such as hard acceleration, that are likely to cause the wheels to spin. It feels secure on wet pavement, gravel, mud, and snow. When the going gets rougher, press the 4WD HI button, which effectively locks the front and rear driveshafts together. This can be useful for severe off-road or winter conditions, though Auto 4WD does such a great job of transferring torque that 4WD HI is almost irrelevant in practical terms. Driving on a muddy, primitive trail, I couldn't tell the difference between Auto 4WD and 4WD HI. It may be possible to detect subtle slip in Auto 4WD on slippery, snow-covered surfaces, but the bottom line is that you can leave it in Auto 4WD for all but the worst conditions. 4WD Low works well for creeping over truly rugged terrain. We found it does a good job of engine braking down steep grades, and we suspect it would be helpful on slippery boat ramps.
The optional AdvanceTrac all-wheel-drive system (AWD) takes four-wheel drive to another level with a sophisticated traction-control system that adds stability by regulating side-to-side torque distribution. It does this better than traditional mechanical systems. AdvanceTrac applies braking selectively when it det
The Ford Explorer helped usher in the era of the sport-utility as a family vehicle, and was the first SUV to break into the list of the 10 best-selling vehicles in America (in 1991). Ford Explorer rides smoothly, handles well, and the interior packaging is well thought out and executed. It's a great vehicle for long trips. Comfortable and convenient, it quickly becomes an old friend.
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