abe2np
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Be careful what you wish for. The 2020 Explorer has amazing engine options, but the interior and quality can only be described as Sh*t.
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New to car sales
- Thread author charleygfx
- Start date
Is it really that bad? Such a shame... Explorer used to be such a great vehicle. Sad to see such trouble with the 2020. I haven't seen interior yet.
TxAggie
Telluride Junkie
I don't know about the Explorer (aka Exploder) ever being a great vehicle. We had a 1999 Explorer 2-door Sport that was an absolute piece of junk. Between that and my previous experience with a 1992 F-150 and a 1985 F-150 prior to that, I swore I'd never own another Ford product.
Fair enough. My first car was a '93 Explorer, then a '98, but I was young and so maybe I'm waxing nostalgic. I admit I haven't driven one since 2004! Now that I remember, I did have the Bridgestone blowout on the freeway! I maintained control, but that was a big scandal. I do remember a ton of cheap plastic...
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abe2np
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When my first KIA dealer screwed me over (said he ordered but never did), I briefly considered the 2020 Explorer (ST or Platinum). Took a test drive of the ST and while the engine/drivetrain is amazing, I just couldn't get past that moment I stepped into the vehicle and was immediately turned off by the cheap interior. Super cheap bargain bin looking buttons and knobs, and on the top level trim they oriented the infotainment in portrait - while not a sin in itself, when you use the 360 camera it doesn't fill the screen rather it's just the top third and everything is TINY. Just bad decisions and priorities.
Yeah, I questioned that vertical screen too when I saw it in pictures. Seems very inefficient for displaying information... Especially compared to the Telluride widescreen. Oh well, maybe Ford will get it's act together one day. But bad launches don't help. I agree that the ST drivetrain sounds amazing and fun to drive.
raydog9379
Well-known member
Back in 2012 when we bought our 2013 Infiniti JX35 (was just traded in on the Telluride), a redesigned Explorer had just come out. We test drove it, it was ok but definitely had that cheap plastic interior feeling, and quite honestly even with the so called beefier HP engine than the Infiniti... it felt cheaper/not as well put together. Price tag was over $55k, maybe pushing $60k for what we wanted. Left there and found the Infiniti which had just come out too. For $53k it had way more included, much nicer feel, and styling was much further beyond what Ford had. Ford struck out in my opinion, where they could have offered the same vehicle for at least 10-15k less and made more sales (prob. had to resort to huge incentives to move them in the end).
Then this year, Ford did the redesign. If you didn't know a lot about cars, you couldn't tell from the outside it was an all new Explorer. It looks about 95% the same to most of the population. Inside, yes a huge shift. Wasn't even a consideration for us due to size or lack of interior wise. Strike out #2 Ford.
Now the Aviator, they're going to sell just fine. Issue might be price, but a decent alternative for those with 2 or less kids. For us a non-starter because of the 3rd row legroom (it's worse than an airline seat).
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Me and my wife test drove a ford explorer st after driving a telluride sxp and the power was the ONLY thing that stood out on the st. The interior fit/finish and layout was lame. Just for the hell of it, we drove an aviator that was comparable interior wise and had plenty of power, but the 3rd row was a joke plus it was 70k. We ended up test driving a gx 460, pilot, highlander and q7 too just to be sure. Telluride was the best for us. Now just the waiting game!
raydog9379
Well-known member
Yeah, checked out a lot. SXP beat out all of them. Yeah there are things that could be softer touch / less plasticy on the Telluride (thinking bottom parts of door panels and rear of seats), but for the most part the fit/finish for the price doesn't seem to be beat. Suede headliner, HUD, all the heated/ventilated seating (front and 2nd row), ridiculous amount of tech., swipeable/like a phone center screen, etc.. Then tack on the looks of the Telluride over the competition and it's why the demand is so high.
If you don't want to wait, you can use the spreadsheet and the tools to hopefully shoot some luck your own way and cut that time way down like I did.
MarcinTexas
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I wanted to like the Explorer ST. We test drove one and loved how it drove. But it has much worse fuel economy (real world) than the Telluride and the interior is horrible. It would be bad for a $40K car...much less the $55K+ they are charging. Had Ford given the ST an interior on par with the Telluride - and offered a HUD with a vertical navigation screen - I would be driving one today. But I just couldn't imagine getting in that hard plastic horribly designed interior for the next 8 years...
