Getting your player ready...
Well-timed, some might say, in the delivery to me of the 2011 Ford Explorer within a couple hours after it was named “truck of year” at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday a week ago.
The new Explorer, fully redesigned into a roomier and more efficient SUV, beat out the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango for truck honors, while the Chevy Volt was selected as “car of the year.”
And timely, too, for Colorado Ford dealers, who have just begun displaying the new one in their showrooms.
Ford has done a nice job with its remake of the Explorer, which was the best-selling SUV in the country for 10 years before a falloff around 2000. Roundness at the front and roundness at the rear are stylish for ’11, and its unibody construction and wide track give it a ride that surpasses most of the competition in comfort.
The streets in my neighborhood up north were still deeply snowpacked last Saturday when Jan and I drove away for an all-day venture. The Explorer’s four-wheel-drive system is controlled from a terrain-management dial on the center console, similar to that of Land Rover and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. I got over the snow and ice with normal set, which moves torque from the front wheels to the rear as needed; the dial’s other offerings, which adjust torque, throttle and shift points to meet the conditions, are for driving in snow or mud/ruts or sand.
We drove across U.S. 34 to the I-25 interchange near Centerra shopping complex, then increased the tempo as we headed south toward Denver in the Explorer. Traffic was heavy, of course, though moving steadily, and the Explorer maintained a good pace from its 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. The V-6 is the only power offered for the Explorer 4wd; response is plenty, though on a couple occasions I noticed a bit of a lag compared with the model’s former V-8 on recovery of highway speed. The V-6 delivers improved fuel mileage. EPA rating is 17-23 and I averaged 20.3 miles per gallon for a week’s worth of driving.
We slowed the Explorer in Westminster to join cousin JoDell McDonald, who liked the spaciousness for the front-seat passenger as we continued on to lunch at Black-eyed Pea in Northglenn. Jan and I chose a stop-and-go route down Lowell Boulevard to a convalescence center near Colfax Avenue, where we visited former co-worker Marywyn Germaine, recuperating from heart surgery. The ride and handling and parking smoothness of the Explorer belie its bigger size. Improved calipers and linings lend superb braking.
We continued the busy afternoon to WOW Furniture out southeast, where, inside, Jan and I were looking over a nice, brown leather chair, and someone across the store said, “Bud Wells.” I was delighted to see former Denver Post executive Tim Matthews, and he was delighted to see my interest in the chair. He called over another fellow and said, “Meet my friend, Dave Dolan, the owner of this store,” and the next thing I knew, Jan and I had agreed to the purchase. Not so fast, though, as I said, “That is, only if it will fit in the back of the Explorer.” Matthews and Dolan are former Explorer owners and seemed excited to see the new one, as I backed it up to a loading door. The big impression, though, was, after opening the liftgate, I pushed a button marked “stow,” and the third-row seats, already folded, automatically turned over and dropped into the well at the back, creating a flat cargo floor. Of course, the chair fit, for the Explorer is not only 4 inches longer than a year ago, it is also 5 inches wider.
I-25 was especially busy through Denver Saturday evening with Stock Show travelers, and especially helpful in the three- and four-lane traffic was Ford’s blind-spot monitor in the side mirrors.
Technological marvels Sync voice activation, MyFord Touch and MyKey parental controls are among amenities which pushed the Explorer Limited’s sticker price to $41,555. It includes navigation, satellite radio and rearview camera. Leather and woodgrain trim highlight the interior.
A trailer-tow package boosts capacity to 5,000 pounds, a drop of about 2,000 pounds from the previous model.
Twenty years ago, I reviewed a Ford Explorer when it was introduced in 1990 as a ’91 model. Though wheelbase has remained about the same through the years, overall length has grown about a foot. A line in that review said, “The one-upmanship award in the tire-changing department goes to Ford Motor Co. – placed beside the jack is a pair of rubber-coated white cotton gloves for use in changing a tire.” That Explorer was borrowed from Freedom Ford in Pueblo.
