2008 Ford Explorer

Throughout the years, I have owned far too many vehicles. I guess you could call it my one true obsession besides snowboarding. I find that I typically purchase a new vehicle once every couple of years. I know that this isn't the most practical thing to do, but I truly love new cars and with how much driving I do on a regular basis, it is important for me to always have a fresh vehicle.

My vehicle obsession became even more clear when I started working as a Sales Manager for a Ford dealership in the Orlando area. While this job was somewhat short lived after I received a much better job with another company, I was able to experience Ford vehicles in a way that most people would never have the opportunity to. I was also able to learn more about the car industry and the major players which will aid me in future purchases.

Through my tenure as a sales manager, I drove every Ford vehicle numerous times on a regular basis. Since I was provided a new vehicle to drive to and from work, I was constantly testing out different vehicles so that I could be well rounded in the variety of features, functionality, and performance of the different vehicles. This of course aided me in the training of new sales professionals.

One of the many vehicles that I have used over the last year on a regular basis, and one in which I drove for the better part of the last few months before leaving my job was the 2008 Ford Explorer 4WD.

Style/Features
The 2008 Ford Explorer has made some pretty awesome improvements over previous models. A lot of the reasoning for this was the incredibly competitive car market. Car manufacturers have been pushing each other harder to produce better cars with more luxury than ever before in an effort to fight for the more knowledgeable and picky consumer.

The new Explorer has done a lot of work to bring luxury to the Ford lineup that was never truly there before outside of the minimal luxury in the Expeditions of the past. One of the major additions to the vehicle is the implementation of wood grain interior down the center panel, which features a disc changer, sirius satellite radio, and of course a navigation system.

Other features to the 4WD Explorer on the Limited package includes items such as fold away side mirrors with quick thaw so that you will easily be able to get going in the morning regardless of how fogged up your vehicle may be.

Another excellent internal feature is the perfect fit pedals which are completely adjustable for the individual rider. For me this was a major improvement that really added to my own personal comfort. Since I am so used to driving cars and racing, the addition of adjustable pedals allowed me to pull the pedals forward for a much more aggressive feel while in the seat. Just because I drive an Explorer doesn't mean I should feel like I am driving a bus.

Other features that haven't changed much but have always been good, are the in steering wheel radio and cruise control panels. From the steering wheel you have full control over the radio and the ability to make your adjustments without having to take your eyes off of the road. This has been a pretty steady feature in the line for a while now, but it is nice to see that it is continued.

Some of the models, include a moonroof with sunshade. While this is pretty much a standard feature on most vehicles in this class, it is a nice feature, especially with the one touch opening/closing.

If you are looking for comfort, the seats themselves are pretty awesome. I was most impressed with the heated seats in the Eddie Bauer edition. Since I had never had this on my own personal vehicle, it was a nice luxury, although being that I live in Florida, not something that I will utilize often.

Some of the other lesser but attractive options include a universal garage door opener. I used this feature on a regular basis. This allowed me to give up my single remote to my girlfriend while I was able to use the universal remote.

If you are concerned with the temperature zones, which is of major importance for me, there are dual zone temperature controls. I know that my girlfriend and I are constantly battling for temperature control. She is always cold and I am always hot, so having the dual temperature zones makes it a perfect mix for both of us. This is a great feature for the longer trips especially. I typically can handle her temperature issues for a short period of time, but having this feature is great for the longer trips.

If you have children like I do, then the DVD system is a great extra feature. I opted to have the wireless headsets and infrared remote, but they don't come standard with it. Some dealerships include this in the vehicle price automatically, but if you don't want them, make sure that you disclude them. These are great extra options, however if you want to cut the costs a bit, you can easily get your own from any store for considerably cheaper than the ones that are provided.

Storage is another major area of importance for me. Being that I have always driven a car, I needed something that would allow me to haul product from Lowes so that I could do work on my house. With my car I am unable to hual much more than a few things at a time. With the ability in the 2008 Explorer to completely fold forward seats, remove the back seats, and essentially make a flat surface all through the back to carry stuff, I am able to carry considerably more than I ever would have been able to with a typical Explorer of the past or any other SUV. In addition if you choose the powerfold feature, from the rear of the vehicle you can push a single button and have the 3rd row of seats fold down for you automatically. This was always a nice feature to have when I had my hands full with groceries or when carrying my son. There is also a cargo shade that you can use in the rear to cover up anything that you may have in the back. This is great for keeping items of value hidden from those that are walking by that may be tempted by them. It is also nice for a bit of privacy. There are times when you just don't want anyone to know what you have in the back.

Performance
For any real man, performance is a true issue. Being that I am a major fan of camping, snowboarding, and of course a variety of other outdoor activities, I need a vehicle that can not only perform on the highway but also in the back country. The Explorer has definitely impressed me while operating in some of the most extreme of conditions. During a standard camping trip, I haul loads of gear, several guys, and typically 2-4 All Terrain Vehicles. When I am carrying around this much weight, I need to be certain that the vehicle is capable of towing it first of all, but I also need to know that it can do it while going throw grooves, mud, grass, and whatever else the environment has to throw at it. So far, I have been camping numerous times with the vehicle and I have never experienced an issue, especially while in 4x4 where the vehicle was ever stuck or had issues hauling everything. In fact, I rarely heard even the slightest bit of stress.

As far as the actually pickup of the truck and the on demand performance, the Explorer has definitely made some major improvements. While there is still an annoying hesitation that I am not used to as I typically drive stick shifts, the vehicle does accelerate quickly whenever it needs to and has more than enough performance for whatever you may need the Explorer for.

I found that when attempting to accelerate and pass other trucks or SUVs I was able to quickly pass them up and weave through traffic. This is of course very important to me. I am used to having one of the fastest vehicles on the road at all times so it is nice to have an SUV that is also able to hold its ground against the other SUVs and trucks that are in its class.

Handling
One of the coolest features of the new Explorer is the Roll Stability Control (RSC). With this, the vehicle automatically adjusts in order to handle cornering, quick movements, and even wind and speed adjustments. Using a computer, the vehicle adjusts yaw control, the anti-lock brake system, and traction control in order to better enhance overall vehicle traction, vehicle power, and of course braking if required. The idea is that there are times when the driver doesn't have time to react the way that they should to every situation, so the vehicle aids the driver in reacting. I found that this feature alone seems to give the vehicle a substantial advantage over the competition. Whenever I corner, accelerate quickly, or do anything else with a quick movement the vehicle felt incredibly stable. I used to feel a bit worried about the old Explorer going around corners, but with this new RSC setup, the Explorer feels like a car going around corners or avoiding obstacles in the road.

The turning radius on the vehicle is wonderful as well. The vehicle is able to turn much like a large car. It flows into parking spaces quite well, with large enough mirrors to make it incredibly easy to manuever and avoid obstacles around you. I would have to say that I truly enjoy the way this vehicle handles in virtually every situation. It feels like it is responded to the environment around you and knows what you are about to do and adjusts for that movement.

Safety
Being that I have a son, safety is a major concern of mine. I never really cared about safety in the past, but now that I have to protect a future generation it is important that I have a vehicle that is capable of keeping those that I care about alive.

One very important feature of this new Explorer is the use of full airbags around the vehicle. There are of coure the driver and passenger side airbags. However, Ford has also gone a step further adding side airbags in the front as well as side curtains along the vehicle. This is probably one of the major reasons why the vehicle received 5 stars in its safety rating. This of course is an excellent sign of the overall safety of the vehicle itself. However, one very important note that made me truly love the Explorer was the adaptive sensors for the airbags. The airbags are now timed depending upon the size of the person in the seat. So someone that weighs 300 pounds isn't going to take the same hit that a 100 pound person would. To me this is a major improvement in the performance of airbags and should help to prevent many more injuries during vehicle impact.

If you were to get into a frontal crash with the Explorer the steering wheel has a major improvement that I truly like and that is the ability of the steering wheel to 'give'. What this means to the consumer is that if you are hit in front and you slam against the steering wheel you aren't going to hit something totally solid. That steering wheel is now set so that it will go in a little and has a bit of spring so that the impact isn't as hard as it was in the past. This gives you a much greater chance of reducing your risk of broken bones or having other injuries upon impact.

Fuel Efficiency / Reliability
The vehicle itself isn't really made for fuel economy. If you are looking to save money on fuel, you should consider a different vehicle. An SUV is meant to serve a purpose and that is hauling people and their goods. If you are looking for fuel economy or are even concerned by it, you should consider the smaller Escape or something with better economy. While the Explorer gets much better mileage than it did in the past, it still has a long way to go with just 14/21 miles per gallon.

As for the overall reliability of the vehicle. I have never in the several months that I had the vehicle had any issues with it beyond standard oil changes. Being that I worked in the dealership, I also got to see the number of vehicles that required servicing for issues and the Explorer definitely had the fewest problems. Typically you would see far more issues with the older vehicles than any of the new ones. Ford definitely did a great job at enhancing their current line of vehicles so that they last longer with fewer major issues.

Vehicle Specifications
ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS
Engine type 4.0L V6 SOHC 4.6L SOHC 24V V8
Engine electronics EEC-V electronic engine controls with integrated EDIS EEC-V electronic engine controls with integrated EDIS
Displacement 4.0L (245 cu. in.) 4.6L (281 cu. in.)
Horsepower (SAE net@rpm) 210@5,100 292 @ 5,750
Torque (lb. ft. @ rpm) 254@3,700 300 @ 3950
Compression ratio 9.7:1 9.8:1
Bore x stroke (in.) 3.95 x 3.32 3.55 x 3.54
Main bearings 4 5
Valve lifters Hydraulic lash adjuster with roller follower Hydraulic with roller finger followers
Fuel delivery Sequential multi port electronic fuel injection Sequential multi port electronic fuel injection
Recommended fuel Unleaded regular Unleaded regular
Exhaust manifold Cast iron Cast iron
Fuel economy EPA est. mpg 4x2:
14 city/20 hwy EPA est. mpg 4x2:
13 city/20 hwy
Transmission type 5-speed automatic O/D 6-speed automatic
Engine block material Cast iron Cast iron
Cylinder head material Aluminum Aluminum

VEHICLE DIMENSIONS
Drive system 4x2/4x4
Wheelbase (in.) 113.7
Length (in.) 193.4
Height (in.) 72.8
Width without mirrors (in.) 73.7
Width with mirrors (in.) 84.8
Track front/rear (in.) 60.9/61.8
Minimum running ground clearance (in.) 8.3

INTERIOR DIMENSIONS
Head room (in.)
1st row 39.8
2nd row 38. 7
3rd row (optional) 37.4
Shoulder room (in.)
1st row 59
2nd row 58.9
3rd row (optional) 53.1
Hip room (in.)
1st row 55.4
2nd row 55.5
3rd row (optional) 45.3
Leg room (in.)
1st row 42.4
2nd row 36.9
3rd row (optional) 34.9

CAPACITIES
Max. seating capacity 7
Max. cargo volume (cu. ft.)
Behind 1st row: 5-passenger 85.8
7-passenger 83.7
Behind 2nd row: 5-passenger 45.1
7-passenger 43.9
Behind optional 3rd row: 7-passenger 13.6
Fuel capacity (gal.) 22.5

CHASSIS SPECIFICATIONS
Front suspension Independent short- and long-arms (SLA) architecture with coil-over- shock and stabilizer bar
Front shocks HD gas-charged
Rear suspension Independent trailing blade short- and long arms (SLA) architecture with coil-over shock and stabilizer bar
Rear shocks HD gas-charged
Brakes Power 4-wheel disc, anti-lock
Steering Power rack-and-pinion

TOWING SPECIFICATIONS
Engine/Transmission Axle Ratio GCWR Max. Trailer Weight (lbs.) Transmission
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.55 8500 3,500 (4x2) Automatic
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.55 8500 3,500 (4x4) Automatic
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.55 8500 3,500 (AWD) Automatic
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.73 10000 5,395 (4x2) Automatic
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.73 10000 5,225 (4x4) Automatic
4.0L SOHC V6/Automatic 3.73 10000 5,000 (AWD) Automatic
4.6L SOHC V8/Automatic 3.55 8500 3,500 (4x2) Automatic
4.6L SOHC V8/Automatic 3.55 8500 3,500 (4x4) Automatic
4.6L SOHC V8/Automatic 3.55 12000 7,310 (4x2)* Automatic
4.6L SOHC V8/Automatic 3.55 12000 7,130 (4x4)* Automatic

Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a very comfortable vehicle that has all of the safety features you could ever need, then the Explorer is an excellent choice. The look and feel of the vehicle are better than any other vehicle in its class and it provides a level of sophistication that you typically wouldn't find its price point. The vehicle rides very smooth, has surprisingly little road noise, and is able to handle far better than many smaller cars. For me, I found this to be one of the best SUVs on the market and I would definitely put my name on any Explorer against other vehicles on the market. If nothing else, this vehicle is worth your time and worth spending 30 minutes doing a test drive.