jscozz Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Well, it has now been 2 months since I took delivery on my new 2007 Explorer Limited V8. I was going to write a review on the third day, but decided to wait a while longer and see what I really like and dislike after a couple months… so here it is. In general, I have to say that I am impressed with the workmanship and quality of the product. I have not had any problems since I took delivery and have been very impressed with the power, fit and finish. The V8 has much more power than my old 1996 Explorer V6. The 6-speed transmission is smooth, except for an occasional kick on the first shift… not sure what that is from. Black interior looks great. I am also very happy with the silver exterior. Great combination. So, I think the crew in Louisville has done a great job in putting this baby together… and in most areas, I think Ford has given them a good product to assemble. BUT, it is the other areas… many areas… that I scratch my head about, wondering if Ford gave it any thought… or did any real-world testing… or even tried to use it themselves… these things I am talking about, many of which are just so ridiculous and cheap to have done right, that I really have to question Ford’s design process. So, here is my list of things I don’t like: 1) The instrument cluster looks like it was designed by a child. It looks bare in the center… the two main gauges (speed and rpms) are so recessed that the shadows cast on them at different times of day and sun orientations makes them unreadable at times. The numbers on the speed gauge are at intervals that do not match normal highway speeds in the US, so I have to constantly figure out what my speed is instead of just glancing and knowing. At dusk and dawn, when there is some sunlight but the gauges are also backlit, it is almost impossible to read since the numbers and lines almost disappear. Bright light is OK (besides the shadow) and no sunlight and full backlight is OK. The fuel gauge is tucked down in the lower left corner… and I have to really work hard to even see it. The red lines on the fuel and temp gauges are the same width as the needle, so you have to really look hard sometimes to figure out where the needle is… and, what happened to voltage and oil temp/pressure? No gauges at all! The dot matrix display is OK… but it looks like it just got slapped in the middle with little to no thought. And the font used is a bit 1980’s computer type face… a few extra dollars here could have made it look like it was designed sometime in the last 10 years. 2) The steering wheel controls are poorly labeled. Buttons that rock are not clearly differentiated from those that press in the center. There is an empty button… not sure if it has a use on other models, but I got most everything I could get on this baby and it is still empty. Instead of a false button, that I tried to press and is not recessed with no way to get it out, why not make it do what the “Info†button does on the dash? Would seem easier to just press a button on the wheel to see the message center change instead of having to look over to the dash and find a button behind the shift handle. 3) One of the things I used all the time was the lock/unlock button in the cargo area on my 96 Explorer. Unfortunately this is gone from the 07’s. WHY? For a few bucks and some wire, a great convenience was removed. 4) The door handles are just ridiculous! I am hoping the 2007 change that added the handle on the arm rest is just a stop-gap fix and that in 08 they are redesigning the whole door… the handle to open the door is just terribly placed. It is unintuitive and non-standard compared to all other vehicles on the road today. It requires two hands to open the door if you are parked near another vehicle or there is any wind… you have to unlatch with one hand while holding the armrest handle with the other. The lower handle is way too far forward and awkward to reach if you need to grab it quickly to catch the door from hitting another car or flying open in the wind. The arm rest and controls extend too far into your leg/knee space. I think a 2 year old could have designed this better. I understand there were some constraints based on the door beam design, but it seems that most other car manufacturers have made it work… a lot of work needed here! 5) Another thing I liked on my 96 was the dual visors. When the main visor was flipped to the side, and smaller visor still could be flipped down at the windshield. The 07 has only one visor… AND it is CRAP! When flipped down, it cannot be folded all the way to the windshield… it just drops back down about 6â€â€¦ because the side edge hits the door frame. So it is either nothing or full down… no in between. TERRIBLE design. Oh, and the vanity mirror… I guess people must like only half their face lit up… ???? Why not spend a few extra dollars and have a light on both sides of the mirror like most other manufacturers do? 6) The shifter if a bit awkward to use. If you rest your arm on the center console and try to grip the shifter fully you cannot… unless your wrist bends in a way mine does not. So you have to grab it from an awkward side position or just grab the top of it. The shifter also blocks easy access to the heating/cooling controls but even more so to the heated seats and windshield controls. Just a bad design in general. 7) The placement of the plug next to the trailer hitch prohibits many locking hitch pins from being used… I had to hunt around a long time to find one that would fit, and even then I have to open the plug cover to slip the pin in properly. 8) My 96 had a power jack on the passenger side of the center console… none there in 07. Just right behind the shifter under my hand and rear bottom of console, right where kids feet in the back will kick it and break it off. Why not inside the console? Passenger foot area? 9) No valet key!!! Ok. So, I have to give a parking attendant full access to my car. Every other car I have bought recently had a valet key. 10) Entry keypad. The buttons are slow to register. On my 96 I would just whip in the code and it worked every time. On the 07 I frequently have to reenter… either the contacts are not closing or there needs to be a certain pause between each press. Also, the old one was horizontal… very easy for a human hand to place fingers on and access while hiding the code from other people around… the 07 keypad is vertical and up higher and more visible. Much more difficult to use multiple fingers and almost impossible to hide the code from others unless you use two hands. 11) Radio: The layout is absolutely terrible. For a premium sound system, this sucks. The sound quality is OK, but the button placement was obviously done to look pretty instead of being functional. The AM/FM button is tucked along-side the volume knob and a regular sized human finger has trouble getting around the knob and pressing the button. At night the volume knob and the right tuning knob have NO lighting and CANNOT be seen. You have to guess and grope. 12) The reverse sensing system is really only for objects DIRECTLY behind the vehicle. If you are backing up and turning at the same time, it does not see to the sides at all. My wife’s Honda Odyssey DOES alert you if you are going to back/turn into a vehicle or object, but I could back out of a space and hit a car while cutting the wheel and never hear a beep. Poor design. How often do we back up straight? It is really only useful for sensing a vehicle when parking, not as a general backup sensor. It should be stated like this in the literature so people do not pay extra for it and not get what they expect. 13) Heating/AC: It would be nice to be able to see outside temp and the inside temp at the same time. You have to select either one or the other. 14) TPMS: Why can’t the message center show me the actual pressures in the tires? My wife’s Odyssey has this feature. How hard would that have been? The computer has the info already… 15) The fuel cut-off reset switch is visible to the interior of the car… a simple cover would have been a cleaner way to do it. 16) The parking brake still uses the pull handle to disengage. Most other vehicles use the press on / press off type brake. The handle is way down under the dash and while not terrible, it would just be more convenient to be able to use your foot to engage and disengage the brake. 17) Fuel filler cap on the passenger side. I am used to my old Fords and other vehicles being on the driver side. It is much more convenient to just hand the attendant your ccard on the same side they are pumping. Or to not have to walk around the car to pump gas… minor but not sure why they changed this. 18) You should go test drive a vehicle with the heated windshield if you are thinking about buying one. Most of the time it is unnoticeable, but if the sun hits at the right angle or night headlights at the right angle the wires are VERY visible… sometimes to the point of being very distracting. 19) I won’t even bring up the fact that the “New†navigation system looks like it uses 10 year old technology. I did not get this option since I am putting my own aftermarket unit it. But, come on, Ford… partner with Pioneer or some real nav system manufacturer and offer a factory unit that is actually current technology and upgradable for the life of the vehicle. People would notice this and it would be a big plus for Ford. 20) Plus: There are plastic deflectors at the oil pan drain and the oil filter area… these are very nice in that they keep oil from splashing all over the frame and me having to clean it all up afterward. They direct the oil to the pan below. Very nice. Why couldn’t Ford have been this thorough in the design of the rest of the items above? All-in-all I like the vehicle from a power train and comfort perspective… I don’t mean to dwell on the negative… I am happy with most other things about the vehicle… many people may think I am just being picky… but, it is just very frustrating to buy the top of the line Limited model and have to put up with these ridiculous little things (and so many of them) that some intelligent design and human factors engineering and VERY little cost could have fixed… and gone a long way to a better reputation for Ford. Just my two cents… Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldracer Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 i will add a couple things you didn't mention... We have a 2007 Sport Trac Limited V8 with no Nav or heated windshield but all the rest of the options.. Power seat controls, what idiot put them at the bottom of the seat in an area that you can barely get your hand down between the door panel and the seat and cannot actually see them without looking away from the road? Mercedes has them right behind the window switches, everyone ought to do that. Related complaint; where the hell is memory seats in the Limited? it's damn annoying to screw with that recalcitrant seat switch every time we change driver's to get comfortable.... My final complaint is where is the auto up feature on the power winows??? I think if you pay for a Limited it should have all the toys except Nav in the price. I echo the excellent drivetrain and ride comments, but for a few hundred $$, this could have been a way better presentation....from the instruments to the ergonomics.... As a fun problem, me being older cannot read the numbers without my reading glasses, which then precludes me from seeing where I'm going!! My solution is to memorize needle position for a given speed.....and because I drive several different vehicles, this is some fun I'll tell ya. I see Trac surviving 2-3 yrs in my fleet and being replaced at most.....I'm thinking A4 Audi Avant as my utility next time...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betaiota Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 It is interesting that your #19 complains about the Nav system looking old. Actually, if I'm not mistaken, the Ford nav radio IS made by Pioneer. If you read enough reviews in the car rags, the Ford nav unit is usually the only one that gets positive reviews for the way it works and because of how intuitive it is. #5- I have the single light on the vanity mirrors in my Fusion, and my wife thinks it's bright enough. However, she's probably just thrilled to have one light as opposed to none in my 02 Mustang GT! #9- If a parking attendant wanted to get to the luggage area in your Explorer, trust me, a valet key wouldn't stop him. You aren't missing anything there. #17- Don't lump all Fords except your Explorer into having the fuel door on the driver side, ask any Fox body Mustang owner, and I'm sure there are countless others! Enjoy your new truck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fllcobra Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Dude, there are very few vehicles out there within this class that have as nice an interior. But I understand some of your gripes. One thing you need to look for is you manual. In it you will see the power lock switch in the cargo area is located on the upper left side panel at the base of the rear left side window. The other thing you should appreciate is that nearly all of the buttons and switches on the Explorer are illuminated. Not all manufacturers do this. As far as the radio volume button goes, Ford could have opted for an illuminated version, but some people found it too bright and distracting at night to have a ring of light around a large button. Ford could have illuminated a notch, but that would have jacked up the cost considerably, because the button would then have to be motor controlled to match button inputs from the steering wheel. As far as the door panel and pull handle, any further changes other than the cup in the arm rest would have required another round of crash tests. Frankly, I think GM does it better by intergrating a handle in the arm rest and not cups. I have a 2006 Mountaineer Premier and my truck detects objects behind me as I turn the wheel. It will detect pedestrians as well. If yours isn't you should have it checked out by the dealer. Some of your points, I disagree with. For instance, I prefer a pull mechanism to release the parking brake and not the foot release. The reason is it is difficult to tell if the brake is engaged in the dark. A one hand pull ensures it is disengaged regardless of whether or not the pedal is pressed down. But with the foot operated releases, you end up engaging it if it was not engaged. Then you have to go through another motion to release it. That is a pain if you have multiple drivers where some leave it engaged and some don't after they leave the vehicle in park. And finally, I like the fuel door on the passenger side. It means I can swing my door wide open and not have to worry about hitting it against the curb or the the concrete poles used to protect the fuel pumps. In many respects, we agree on other features. I too would have preferred a better looking instrument cluster and navigation system. I would have also preferred a two tone interior and better looking, more functional door handles. Hopefully, this will be addressed in the next update. But for now, I love those power folding running boards and power folding rear seats. Those two features really stand out. Edited December 13, 2006 by fllcobra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBN LEISHA Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 I do not like how the new transmissions cannot be shifted betwwen drive and neutral wiothout depressing the lock mechanism. When on slippery surfaces I often shift into neutral when stopping when it is icy. Now I risk hitting reverse as when you depress the lock you can miss neurtal and hit reverse. This really bugs me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscozz Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 >>>One thing you need to look for is you manual. In it you will see the power lock switch in the cargo area is located on the upper left side panel at the base of the rear left side window. fllcobra... even though I have been through the manual before, just to be thorough, after seeing your message i went through it again... also crawled around in the back of my Explorer again... I see no reference to any cargo area lock button in the manual and i see no physical button in the cargo area... in the area you describe, are my power 3rd row seat controls... is it possible that the power 3rd row seat controls REPLACE the lock control in the same space? Meaning the wires are in there for me to add a 3rd switch??? Does anyone else have a lock/unlock button in the cargo area of your 07 Explorer? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betaiota Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I haven't gotten my new Explorer yet, so I can't verify if it is a feature on non-power-bench models, but I do have a suggestion if you really miss that feature- go to a dealer or a boneyard and get a lock switch from a previous generation Explorer. The door locks in these trucks are a simple negative ground trigger. So, ground the input to the switch, and run 2 wires to the driver's kick panel for your lock and unlock from the switch. Lock is grey with a yellow stripe and unlock is purple with a yellow stripe. If you aren't comfortable doing this, any decent 12 volt shop that installs car alarms should be able to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ150 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Very nice review of the V8 equipped Explorer. I have been debating if I should purchase a new Explorer with the V8. Can you tell me what you fuel econ has been like? City, Hwy and mixed bag of driving? Now that you have owned the vehicle awhile have you found any rattles have developed or any other annoying squeeks? To help make my decision I rented an Explorer for a recent trip that I had to make. A total of about 2200 miles and the V6 equiped XLT was a nice suprise. I averaged 22-23 MPG pushing 75-80mph on the trip. I also have to note that I had to fight a pretty stout head wind on my way to South Carolina. I was impressed with the overall comfort of the ride. The Explorer has come a long way since the original was released. It does not compare to the comfort of my wifes XC90 but its not far off. The XC is V8 equipped and it gets 23MPG on the Hwy and about 17MPG city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeden Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I do not like how the new transmissions cannot be shifted betwwen drive and neutral wiothout depressing the lock mechanism. When on slippery surfaces I often shift into neutral when stopping when it is icy.Now I risk hitting reverse as when you depress the lock you can miss neurtal and hit reverse. This really bugs me!!! Just curious, why would you ever do this? Your taking away one of your assests on a dangerous road surface: Power. You can use the engine to change the direction of a vehicle and to brake the vehicle. This method probably creates confusion for the RSC system, braking, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofer Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 See photo of switch location (06 Exp Eddie Bauer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscozz Posted July 22, 2007 Author Share Posted July 22, 2007 See photo of switch location (06 Exp Eddie Bauer) If you were referring to the rear lock switch with this photo, thank you... but that switch does not exist on my 07 Limited. And after owning the truck for 9 months (and my last explorer with teh rear lock switch for 10 years) I can tell you that 7-8 times a week I wish it were there, when I have to go to the driver door to lock it after getting something out of the hatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofer Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 If you have the keypad, you could simply press the 7*8 and 9*0 key simultaneously to lock all the doors. Or just use the keyfob remote to lock the doors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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