Test drive Ford Explorer 2001 - 2005 SUV

American SUV with European manners

Explorer, if translated from English, this is a conductor or guide. It was this name that Ford marketers came up with a new SUV, who debuted in 1990. Today, when the second generation of Ford Explorer has already appeared on the market, this name is still relevant for this model. Even though she completely changed her image and underwent serious constructive changes ...

A real American SUV is the same stable image as the American currency. Ask someone to describe the Korean, Japanese or German SUV, and get confused and vague explanations. But the American SUV is simple. Huge, massive, luxurious, powerful.

Indeed, the American models always differed from European ones, it is a lot of car for acceptable money in size and full compliance with the concept. True, now American cars have become much more like European, but the sample remained - full -size American SUVs.

One of them is visiting today: Ford Explorer with a 4-liter six-cylinder engine, in the Limited configuration. The second -generation model, which debuted in 2002, and in the Belarusian market, lit up only in the past. Two versions are offered-with a 213-horsepower V6 and 242-horsepower V8, combined either with five-speed mechanics, or with a 5-band automaton. There are also two configurations: standard XLT and more luxurious Limited.

Before starting my story about a new explorer, I would like to make a small digression - to mention the old explorer. A trial trip made a couple of years ago on the Ford Explorer of the first generation brought me only disappointments. The track on which testing took place entirely consisted of pardon, holes, hills and rifts, and on it the exploher proved himself in all its glory. It was necessary to hear what sounds he made - the transmission howled, the springs creaked from behind, as in a tractor, and the engine somehow gurgled strangely, as if choking with gasoline, which he devoured in unmeasured quantities. In addition, when dumping gas, somewhere in the bowels of an all-wheel drive transmission, a strong blow was heard, as if the cross-shaped crosses were worn out. In general, then I realized that not all the gold that costs about thirty thousand dollars. And then he was once again impressed with this car, when he found out that his mileage was only a few thousand kilometers, that is, the explorer was almost new ...

The Ford Explorer of the second generation, which debuted in 2002, is a completely different car. From the American there were only dimensions, a wide list of equipment and a multi -liter engine, but everything else is almost like European analogues. I would probably have even given this SUV to this SUV in the place of Americans so that it would not cause associations with a first -generation car.

Because everything is now different in it: instead of an archaic, dependent rear suspension on sheet springs, a modern multi -link independent scheme. Pact stability stabilizers in the front and rear suspensions, disc brakes on all wheels. The transmission also underwent changes, but the supporting foundation remained the same - its role is played by a strong spar frame on which the body rests. By the way, in the second generation, the explorer’s frame is located noticeably lower, under the body, so as not to conceal the space in the cabin. Its longitudinal elements are also a kind of protective box, in the bowels of which the nodes of all -wheel drive transmission are hidden.

And even the appearance of the new explorer can be called more perfect. The point is not only in novelty, but in general in the very style of design. The first generation attracted primarily with elaborate forms and an abundance of chromium, which, in general, is quite normal for an American. The new explorer is a more stylish, more European car.

Although the dimensions, of course, give it out with the head. Ford Explorer. There are a lot of it. So many. And a lot everywhere. Almost five meters long, almost two are width. The equipped mass of more than two tons, and all this is painted in an exquisite white mother of pearl. Brutal ...

It is possible to fully evaluate the dimensions of the explorer only inside the SUV. He is not as sweeping as Chevrolet Tahoe, but its internal size is really impressive. The driver and the front passenger are kings, the second row is almost a VIP person, and behind them there are still a number of seats. More precisely, a whole sofa on which two or three can sit down, and absolutely not embarrassing each other.

If you prefer to travel a closer company, the sofa of the third row can be folded - this is easily done by pressing a special key on the back of the sofa. And it is necessary to do this, because the seven -seater explorer cannot accommodate a lot of luggage - only a narrow niche remains in place of the trunk, into which only a pair of bags fit.

By folding the third row, you can increase the volume of the trunk. Now the bags can not be loaded, but thrown into the salon, because they will still fit there. True, the shape of the luggage compartment can be called not entirely successful: the folded back of the rear sofa rises above the trunk floor, like a mound of glory. The bags will move back to the door itself, or fall into a niche designed for the legs of passengers from behind, which remains undisguised. However, there are two special overlays on the back of the rear seat, which close both niches - and the one that is designed for the legs of the third row passengers, and the one that is formed after folding the back. But who, tell me, will do this when you need to quickly load everything?

Everyone who participated in the test drew attention to how comfortable and convenient an exploher is. His care for passengers begins from the moment you pressed the button on the key key. The door locks are unlocked, and at the same time special backlight lamps are light up in the rear view mirrors. These lamps illuminate the space near the front doors of the car so that the owner or his passenger does not step into the puddle, getting into the car or leaving it.

As soon as the driver inserts the ignition key into the castle, his chair, the buzzing of the servo, moves forward until the position in which it was previously adjusted. And if the key is removed, then the seat drives back, facilitating the process of leaving the car.

Another key can come in handy when you leave the store, loaded with packages to the top. There is a special key on the key fob. After pressing it, the glass of the rear door itself rises up to the horizontal position. He threw bags into the trunk and you can go. Well, let's go ...

All the way I compared an explorer with a 4.2-liter six-cylinder Chevrolet Trailblazer. Firstly, it was the last of the real ones that I tested lately. And secondly, it is Trail that is the closest to the Ford SUV both in external sizes and in the range of power units. The only difference is that Chevrolet has a dependent rear suspension, and Ford has an independent one, which gives the latter a huge advantage both in smoothness and controllability. But in all other respects, these cars are very similar ...

For example, when turning or starting from a place with wheels turned aside, the rear axis of the car is almost always trying to leave in the ski. Turning to the left, it is only worth slightly pressing the gas, and immediately it becomes audible how the tire squeals from behind, leaving a black mark on the asphalt.

For the first time, those who are driving an American SUV with a multi -liter motor for the first time cause this shock - such a volcano under the hood inspire fear and respect. And if there were eight cylinders?

But by and large, eight cylinders are not needed for an explorer: having traveled to the six -cylinder version all day, I only felt a lack of power in one case - when overtaking a truck on a narrow road, clogged with transport. And, as it turned out, for a more dynamic acceleration, I just had to crush the gas early so that the machine was able to accept the command from the Kick Dawn and turn on the lowering gear.

In all other cases, the four-liter 213-horsepower V6 behaved almost exemplary. Not rude, i.e. He behaved quietly on the overclocking. He was not lazy, quickly and confidently dispersing the heavy all -wheel drive carcass of the SUV. And he did not even burn, content with 15-16 liters of 92nd gasoline per hundred city traffic. After, when time was already running out and more often had to advance from the heart, the on -board computer gave out another figure - 21.3 liters, but this can be considered a good result for a car of this class.

Not bad (adjusted to the class) can also be recognized as the controllability of an explorer. The main thing is not to confuse it with a sports car. Snake? Sorry, Monsieur, you were mistaken in the address. Yes, the explorer is equipped with an independent rear suspension, but he did not become a competitor to Ford GT from this. And an attempt to pass the turn in sliding someday can end with ears.

No, you do not think that the explorer is poorly adapted for dynamic driving. It is quite normal (adjusted for the mass, dimensions and weighting) stands on the turn, and it is not necessary to keep on the tail of a powerful car. But, given the impressive rolls, as well as the American steering, you are unlikely to want to do this. In the end, for this there is sports SUV, like BMW X5.

While we rode on the asphalt, everyone admired the exquisite color of the explorer and reflected on how interesting an SUV could be if we abandon the traditional black color. But when it came to off -road tests, they all shouted as one: - In his quarry, in the quarry!. And no one was worried about what shade there would be a mother of pearl after this trip. Well, in the quarry so in the quarry ...

And in his career a surprise was waiting for us - a huge castle on the gate. On the proposal, as in American militants, to break through the gate with an enormous powerful bumper of the Explorer, the representative of the dealer answered a long eloquent look, after which we went to look for another road.

She was found, and, crossing the soaked field, we were able to make sure that the Explorer feels good in our directions. The suspension allows you to confidently keep a speed of about 60 km/h, without reducing it in front of the pits and potholes. The energy intensity of the chassis is such that you can only break the suspension on purpose.

It was even more interesting that it seemed to be a standard transmission through the field, soaked after the rain, that is, in the same mode in which we traveled along the asphalt. For safety insurance, it was possible to press the 4x4 Auto key, and then a multi -disc clowing, an acting interdose differential, would automatically connect the front axle when slipping of the rear wheels. But this did not need this: the SUV was confidently moving towards the goal.

Before going down to the quarry, evaluating the asphalt pattern of tires, I specifically involved a more powerful off -road transmission mode - 4x4 High, which should imply a rigid connection of the front axle - like classic, professional SUVs. In this mode, the transmission distributes the torque in the ratio of 50/50 between the axes, and for off -road movement this seems to be the most convenient.

However, High is good, but for confident movement in his career, I still had to resort to the most powerful off -road regime - 4x4 Low. Like everyone else, it turns on the key on the panel, and the sunbathing icon on the tidy informs you that at your disposal is now several times more torque - in addition to blocking the center coupling, a reduction in the row is involved. The car goes slowly, but the thrust is now in excess is what you need to move along viscous soils.

But what is it? While the explorer is traveling, everything works fine: the motor basso rumbles at medium speeds, the wheels are spitting dirty ... But it is worth dropping the gas, and then press again, and somewhere in the bowels of the transmission a sensitive blow is heard. Very strange...

Just in case, in order not to kill the transmission of a brand new car, we decided to quickly complete the career tests and just ride it on the roads. After all, the impressions of the real American SUV Ford Explorer 4.0 V6 Limited would not be complete if we had not rolled along the highway - our ring road. This is where the understanding of why individuals lay out huge amounts of money for SUVs of this kind.

This can be called a drug. The realization that the two -ton block of metal, gently rolling along the highway at a speed of 100 km/h, can instantly accelerate, obeying the lazy movement of your right leg, makes the Explorer sitting at the wheel of a very arrogant. He no longer pays attention to numerous civilians with raider symbols, allowing them to overtake themselves on the left and right. He even gives way to the gaping Opel (urgently rebuilding through three rows, because otherwise he may not fall into the desired turn, and he will have to go to the next interchange). In general, the driver is resting at the wheel of Ford Explorer, looking down at all this worldly fuss.

And he himself has absolutely nothing to fuss: the machine turned on the fifth gear, the tachometer arrow froze somewhere around 2, and the car, gently swaying on the irregularities of the road, moves evenly forward. It should be noted that with the settings of the suspensions, the creators of the explorer fell into the apple itself. Their car turned out to be sufficient: quite comfortable, quite sports, quite imposing. The body sways on irregularities, but does not swing, as it was with the Trailbrayser. There is enough reverse effort on the steering wheel so that you do not have to track the trajectory with search drives, looking for the car with smooth turns of the steering wheel to the right and left. And even the brakes, made deliberately light, but powerful and grabbed, allow you to accurately control the degree of deceleration, if there is a need.

In general, we liked Ford Explorer. If it were not for his all -wheel drive transmission, who upset the incomprehensible behavior of the off -road, the consumer qualities of this SUV could be recognized as outstanding - at such a price! After all, the exploher supplied from the American market is realized for the American currency, and this immediately, without any discounts and bonuses, gives it a price advantage of almost 30%! Of course, in some trifles it is not as thoroughbred as European models: you feel a slight raid of Americanism. But when, when buying an SUV, several tens of thousands of dollars remain superfluous, it is difficult to force yourself to love a prestigious model with a less powerful engine, a less spacious salon and a less impressive appearance. So Ford Explorer, a real American SUV, we unanimously call the car that costs our money ...

P.S. The test car was provided by the official Ford dealer in the Republic of Belarus by Liberti Motors (tel. 201-79-83)

Pavel Kozlovsky
 
 

A source: Autogazet / N 27 (466) dated 07.20.04