Ford Impresses My Foreign-Loving Husband!

My husband and I just purchased a 2003 AWD v8 Ford Explorer Limited. This is the vehicle that I primarily drive now, and I traded my 1998 Chevy Cavalier for it, so with that in mind, almost anything would've been a vast improvement, but we have been blown away by this SUV!

I knew I wanted an SUV when we went car-shopping. Statistically, alot of women are jumping on this bandwagon, and now I see why! We initially looked at and test drove many different SUV's. We started with the Honda Pilot after my husband's success with his 1998 Civic. He was dead-set on buying foreign at the time. Although I liked the look of the front of the Pilot, the back lacks styling. The ride wasn't as smooth, and, petty or not, we were surprised to learn the Pilot doesn't offer a sunroof/moonroof of any kind! And as my husband always says, once you've HAD a sunroof... you can never live without one! Very true. Pilot was out. Then we tried the new Kia Sorento. While we loved the look on the outside, on the inside we found the dash and interior too "cheap-looking" and cramped. The wood in the dash looked entirely too fake. To drive it, we heard the engine whining the entire time. Pick-up was a bit sluggish also. The Sorento isn't a bad SUV for it's price class, but we were not thoroughly impressed knowing this purchase was to be the vehicle I will be driving for MANY, MANY years! We also considered the Toyota Highlander, GMC Envoy, and even the Chevy Trailblazer... but after how unsatisfied I was with my Cavalier, I wasn't thrilled about the idea of owning another Chevy product (sorry, Dad!).

So then we tried Ford. My husband griped about how he didn't want an American made SUV... but his griping ceased once we hit the lot and took a test drive in an Explorer! We initially test drove a 4-door XLT with a v8 engine that had leather interior and a few other goodies. We loved it. But always wanting to be "top dog" as he is, my husband was more interested in what was top of the line... bringing us to the Explorer Limited.

We learned early on that the Limited version is not easy to locate. The only dealerships that had them on the lot only had 1, maybe 2 at the most to pick from. Not that there are many color choices. They only come in White, Mineral Gray, Silver Birch, or Black. This wasn't a problem since my Cavalier had been red and I was tired of that, and I didn't want any other bright or offensive colors. We bought the Silver Birch with the dark gray leather interior. I love the silver because it doesn't look dirty too quick after washings, and the interior is perfect as it should work well at hiding any dirt or stains between cleanings (as opposed to the medium tan color interior you can also choose from).

As far as options go, this baby is loaded. It's got every bell or whistle a person could ever want. The only thing missing I can think of for this price class would be a navigation system. I personally prefer using Microsoft's Streets & Trips program and printing my directions beforehand, because I rarely go somewhere new where I would need directions, but I do see the benefits to the navigation system. My husband and I also looked at the Eddie Bauer edition of the Explorer and we were told the only differences in the two are... the Limited has the exterior chrome package (17-inch chrome wheels, chrome grille, and chrome roof rails), and the Limited also has more thickly-padded leather seats. The chrome package alone is well worth the extra $800 in MSRP price between the two. As for the other options... the front dual climate control is great for those couples like us where one of you likes it cooler/warmer than the other; the sound system is GREAT; we don't have an opportunity to use HomeLink yet, so I don't know about that one; I love the Message Center which tells you when you haven't shut a door properly and gives you your average miles per gallon on gas, etc.; the heated seats are a DREAM in winter; we love the power seats & pedals with memory since we both have different settings; the 3rd row of seats seems great for kids and small-to-medium-sized adults, but I believe anyone of a large or very tall build would be uncomfortable back there on a long ride; perfect amount of space for storage and seating, especially once we have a family of our own; I love not having to reach for the stereo controls and controling everything on the steering wheel itself instead; my husband LOVES the chrome wheels; we haven't tried the keyless entry keypad yet; we love the power moonroof w/shade; the DVD entertainment system has AMAZING surround-sound style to it; we haven't towed anything so we don't know how well it does, but we imagine the v8 engine won't have a problem handing it; the Reverse Sensing System is great for preventing backing into anything and we've found it notices some curbs and even medium-sized piles of snow!; and last but not least, we have the side curtain airbags which we're told are in case of rollovers, but God-willing, we won't be doing any rolling over!!!!

I only drive 8 miles to and from work each day primarily and then we drive it on the weekends, but it's mostly highway miles and I can tell you the gas mileage isn't great. However, like I saw another reviewer of a 2003 Explorer say... why do people buy SUV's and then complain about the gas mileage?! Don't buy it if you want 32 miles to the gallon. We've averaged 14 so far. And gas prices differ slightly depending on where you live, but it's expensive now everywhere and it costs us about $35 to fill it. I've heard the v6 version can be a little sluggish for the size of the Explorer this year, so I'm glad we went with the v8. According to Ford's website, you'll only get on average 1 mile per gallon more in a v6 anyhow.

I love driving this SUV!!! It's fun, it's loaded with goodies (tons of buttons and cool functions that are easy to learn how to use), and more than anything, I feel safe. Driving it has made me drive slower, safer, and with more caution. True, you can't always predict what other drivers will do out there, but riding around in this I do feel more protected -- and spoiled! Who needs a Lexus when Ford is offering so much?!?!


!!! UPDATE !!!

We have now owned our Explorer for 10 months and I don't love it any less than the day we bought it. And since snowy Maryland winters are now the trend, we can feel confident to take on the roads even in bad weather! The auto 4 wheel drive function is great because I'm a "typical" woman and therefore only realize a vehicle needs gas & oil. I don't have to touch a button yet I can feel the 4 wheel drive grip kick in when I've started to slide on slush. So far we've taken it out to and from work (8 miles each way) in 8 inches of snow and then during a storm of snow, ice, and sleet and it never slid beyond a second's loss of traction. I feel extremely safe driving in or riding in this SUV. I drive it every day to work and have been getting 16 mpg, which isn't bad for a v-8 engine (or so I'm told!). We even took it on a week-long trip to South Carolina (8 hour drive each way) back in July and it performed beautifully. We had a slight problem a month ago with the steering wheel shaking, but think that was due to a bad tire-balancing on the Ford dealership's part, which they fixed free for us. There are about 12,000 miles on the SUV... and still going strong! As a final note, I'd have to say the best part of owning this SUV is the look on our nieces' faces when they get to ride in the middle seats and watch Disney DVD's... priceless! It makes us think having children during car rides isn't so tough!!!