- suv 168,439
- Aiea, HI
-
- autoshopper.com
- suv 168,439 gasoline white automatic
2001 ford explorer review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. The world's best-selling suv evolves back into a hybrid pickup. introductionthe vision in ford's crystal ball was sharp when it presented the adrenalin concept vehicle at the los angeles auto show in january of 1996. The adrenalin was the first prototype for the hybrid pickup/suv genre-a new style pickup truck built with the full cabin of an suv. The suv, in turn, had been built on the platform of the old style pickup truck. This new invention in the vehicle world had not come full circle so much as around a tight s curve. that's the purpose of concept vehicles: to toss out an idea and see if it floats into the reality of the future. When it does, the carmaker looks like it had seen it coming all along. It actually may be less of a box than an suv, but it's more square, twice over: first the five-seat cabin and then the bed, whose walls are nearly 20 inches high. Overall, it's high and bulky looking. The problem is not the basic shape, it's the styling; the nissan frontier crew cab five-passenger compact truck has very similar dimensions but looks way cool. the sport trac frame has been lengthened by 14. 5 inches over the explorer, and its lateral stiffness has been increased by 40 percent, says ford, by the addition of gussets, a new tubular crossmember, and thicker side rails. Urethane body mounts, replacing rubber, are used to smooth the ride. visually, the sport trac is not very smooth. It's a rugged, utilitarian look with chunky gray cladding along the sides, and bulges along the body. The standard roof rack consists of just two longitudinal bars, with the crossbars sold as an option, but they are necessary. We carried a nine-foot-long duffel bag full of sailing gear, and had to flop it right down on the roof. the cargo bed is 50 inches long and made of a lightweight composite material, which serves as a bedliner. There is an optional plastic bed divider, but more valuable is the optional bed extender, called a cargo cage, a hinged stainless steel tube frame that flips back to the edge of the dropped tailgate, increasing the bed length to 72 inches. When it's in position inside the bed, it creates a compartment 25 by 45 inches and can securely contain bags of groceries and keep other small cargo from sliding around. It's removable, but it takes too much fiddling to get it out and back in. there's also an optional lockable hard tonneau cover, which is two-piece, foldable and lightweight. interiorwe noticed two things immediately: it was a long reach to the emergency brake release, and the removable nylon pack under the center armrest was … curious. It was awkward when in place, and as a result we never used the compartment because we didn't want to deal with first raising the armrest, then lifting a limp material top secured by velcro. thankfully, ford is also trying hard with the big-ticket engineering things, an area where the company excels. A lot of effort went into reducing the noise level in the cabin, successfully. there are big fixed cupholders forward of the armrest, along with a little slot good for coins and tickets. Last but definitely not least, the seatbelt warning dinger won't give up. They were quite comfortable, however, and the pattern and easy-cleaning material is original, at least. The back seat also contains three child seat tether anchors, standard. driving impressionford's 4. 0-liter sohc v6 is a very sophisticated and nifty engine, with an aluminum head and pistons. It likes to rev, and it's smooth, responsive and great fun at speed. The 240 foot-pounds of torque come way up there at 4000 rpm, and 205 horsepower is produced at 5250 rpm, with redline at 6250. That's with the standard 3. 73 final drive rear axle ratio; a 4. 10 is optional 355), and would allow the engine to better do its thing, although at the expense of gas mileage. we wish we could have had a boat along on this test, to tow in the mountains behind the sport trac. That's a reasonably likely situation for sport trac owners, who might find themselves working up a sweat. The total torque is certainly ample, so it's not as if the engine can't handle it, but because the maximum oomph comes so far up the powerband, hauling a load will take concentration on the part of the driver. As it was, the engine occasionally rattled very lightly for us, as if it needs a higher octane than 87. The timing is electronically variable, which is supposed to compensate. with five speeds in the transmission, we were surprised by how far the tach needle jumped when the tranny kicked down, as more gears mean closer ratios. But overall, the transmission matched the engine for smoothness and sophistication. There is some weave and pitch, sway and jounce. It's not heavy, but the rougher the road and the higher the speed, the stronger it gets. Once we accelerated full throttle along a bumpy freeway onramp, and got the feeling the suspension limits could be found if we tried hard enough. The bushings, spring rates, shock valving and stabilizer bars have been modified, according to ford, for 'improved ride, handling and noise/vibration/harshness' over the explorer. Why should the truck have a more carlike ride than the suv? tight parallel parking was a pain. Ford boasts that the brakes meet federal passenger car safety brake requirements not mandated on trucks until 2003. Still, they lightly squealed, with gentle application at both high and low speeds: 70 mph and 10 mph. summaryif we listed all the flaws mentioned above, this review would sound terribly condemning. The explorer isn't the most popular suv for nothing. Sport trac might actually have the biggest effort behind it. Bucket Seats✔ Cruise Control
Aiea, HIAiea, HI at autoshopper.com