Very quiet, excellent visibility, tight turning cicle(much tighter than my 1994 extended cab Ford Ranger), good power uphill and passing. Oil changed every 3000 miles. Excellent engine breaking in 4x4Low on steep dirt road descents. No roadside failures.

Bought with 7 year 70,000 mile extended warranty, but have not needed it (knock on wood, based on the bad experiences of many other reviewers of the 2002 Ford Explorer). Original equipment tires lasted 26,000 miles. Replaced original equipment battery 1/2 year ago (was still OK - preventive maintainance), rear gate window hinge failed and window exploded - Ford reimbursed me for the repair - this is now a recall item, oxygen sensor failed - replaced under warranty. Overall gas milage is 16 mpg. Getting into the third row seats requires clearing the trunk, and hard to get into, good for kids.

Bought in February 2002. 4 liter V6. limit slip 3.73 rear differential, 2+3+2 seating. Excellent vehicle, on long drives it is more comfortable and quiet than my wifes 1999 Honda Accord and gets 20 mpg, compared to 30 mpg for the Honda. Smooth 5 speed automatic with overdrive, which feels like a 6th gear when going up long interstate grades at 70 mph+ at 3500 rpm.

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Much more refined ride and engine than my 1994 Ford Ranger ext.cab. Much quieter than Ford Escape (rental car). Much better auto 4x4 than the manual select 4x4 F150.

Overall I love this vehicle. It has a very solid four wheel drive system that has propelled me through mud, up hills, across rivers... the usual... For an SUV I've noticed it handles quite nicely, making it almost as fun to drive on road as it is off. Also, the sunroof is a nice touch - the ability to poke your head out the roof while driving can be fairly amusing.

Excessive transmission noise (probably due to the insane amount of miles it has been driven), stiff suspension.

Beginning my driving experience around the time of this vehicle's purchase, having an on/off road capable vehicle such as an explorer has been a privilege. Though it was purchased during its "golden years" at nearly 300k miles (not known at the time of purchase) it has been a very acceptable vehicle both on and off road. It handles nicely and with its 5 spd. transmission I have been able to achieve up to 23 mpg during long highway trips.

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1993 explorer w/eddie bauer package

Good, strong motor and smooth shifting transmission. Power is there when needed. A general all around excellent vehicle.

Gas mileage is not as good as the hybrids and smaller vehicles.

Very pleased with vehicle. Second Explorer and this one is even better than the 1992 that I had. Vehicle is not only highway/city driven but has been on some serious back roads in Northern Ontario without a glich. Lots of power when needed and the 4X4 works excellent in serious conditions. Have driven the vehicle to the Rocky Mountains and back, and some back roads while out there, and the only problem encountered was an ABS sensor which acted up. This Explorer gives a much nicer ride that the '92 and the handling is more efficient. Mileage is as good as an other heavier vehicle and the instrument panels is well laid out and easily readable.

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1992 Explorer, 1998 Blazer

Rides very well

Severe windshield glare....Ford says its a normal glare. That's a lie. The gm and manager both sat in car and agreed with me. It is unsafe to drive because of this.

Nice truck. Rides very well

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eddie bauer (1992)

Trim line power for 4.0L V6 colors and options aftermarket parts.the good motor life.

the rusting at the rocker panels the millage 160,690 org and 15 mpg city no opt for the 302 for the 1992 no 4 wheel disk brakes or 4 wheel abs no air ride sup or front or side head air bags cost of fuel $50.00+ for 19 gallons no third row seat

A great truck for a teen or a offroad exthusist like me.The Eddie Bauer trim is great fully loaded and comffy with leather seating the opt JBL sound system with a CD Player is good

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my dads 2000 Ford Explorer XLS 4x4 My Moms 1999 Ford Expedition XLX 4x4 with 5.4L V8

Folding 2nd and 3rd seats, good power, nice looking, nice sized vehicle very versatile

very hard and uncomfortable seats, bad radio, lots of noise in front and rear end, parts had to be re ordered by dealer due to confusion which meant 3 weeks without car

Noisy rear axle whine turned into major overhaul @ 67K Mi. All rusty parts, defective original equipment oil blamed, no warranty coverage by Ford despite a Service Bulletin warning to dealers. Also, 4000 people ahead of me waiting for parts, Service Mgr told me. Dealer tried to cut prices to help, nothing from Ford. All highway miles, kept car in great condition. no warning from Ford about likely problem despite the fact that they know they have a major problem. Not an honorable approach and I am fed up with Ford after 30 years of buying their tractors, engines, cars and trucks.

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Yukons, Dodge and Ford Pickups - 34 in fleet at our company. owned 2000 Expedition, was much better car

Attractive, comfortable seating. Good handling for a truck. Easy to handle in tight quarters.

Many niggling problems including rear axle faults. Get the extended warranty. Alarming depreciation rate.

Nice looking, nice handling, comfortable truck. Questionable long term reliability and shockingly poor resale value.

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None

Rear End weightlessness

I'll never forget that day in 1992 when I saw her sitting in front of Jim Skinner Ford. Cute, black w/orange trim, big tires w/shiny wheels - I had to have her. Yes, she's a she. I know it's just an automobile, but she's still cute, strong, dependable, and in it for the long haul. I never once had any regrets for making a u-turn and signing on the dotted line that night in 1992. She's now sitting outside in the hot Florida sun waiting for me to turn the key and add a few more miles to her already 340,000. Yes, you're seeing correctly 340,000 plus actually. Never, ever, not even once, has she failed to start or left me stranded. In return I have taken excellant care of her. I've never missed an oil change, tire rotation, brake inspection, overall annual check-up, and all those other things you need to do to take care of things you love. And, as parts wear out I have them replaced immediately. You can probally tell I've been very happy with my "93 Explorer. She doesn't ride like a limo, but I didn't want a limo - I wanted a SUV. I had to get use to the fact that all her weight is in the front-end making the tail-end light and on a rain slick interstate at high speed that is really felt. So the "Redneck Alabama Girl" in me came out and I got cinder blocks and weighed down the tail-end. Don't you love it? As with probally most auto's at 50,000, 100,000 and 200,000 miles expenses happened due to parts wearing out. But, I realize nothing lasts forever so I've never complained except when I was told "you need rotars"."Oh no" I exclaimed "Look at your records", I reconized that word rotar and knew not to long before that I had rotars. Lord help me I didn't know what a rotar was, but I didn't want him to know that. Ha Ha Yes I had "rotars" before but because I didn't have new brakes installed when I heard that first squeal and because my driving is for long stretches and in hot temps. the groves can't be filed out. Hope you understand this, I'm still not sure I do. But I trusted my mechanic and never let that squeal go unattended again. Haven't had another "rotar" Well I really could go on and on about all the things this SUV has done in sand, snow, water, wind, hail, dirt, marathon driving, and who can forget heat - that she was never manufactured to do. She was made to be cute, dependable, and in it for the long haul and by golly she has. I'll be really sad when that final day comes and she just can't start another day, but for now "I'll think about that tomorrow". For today I'm just gonna take her to the beach and cool her off with a nice cool bath later. Note: my late father taught all us children to take care of our "things" and if they were built right to begin with they will last forever. so very true in this case. the key being "built right to begin with", you can bet your bippy if my Explorer hadn't been "b r t b w" I'd be living at Ford Motor Corp. no consumer should settle for less than perfect. let your voice be heard good and loud with respect to the listener and you can be as happy with your purchase as i've been

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Prior Chevy Women 1972 Laguna 1980 Chevy Conversion Van 1985 Chevy Truck

Great Lines & Appearance Great Ride - Very Comfortable (I'm 6'2") Very Stable with the IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) Very Reasonable Gas Mileage It's A FORD!

I believe you can draw your own conclusion from statements I've made above. If I had anything to add it would be that this was the first model year for a complete Explorer overhaul. Hopefully Ford has addressed many of these issues with the newer models. I've driven the Chevy Trailblazers and they don't even compare to the Explorer. The biggest problem I found in my week with the Chevy was the constant awareness of how top heavy it is, especially at highway speeds. I'd still buy another Ford, and maybe even another Explorer, but I'll never buy the first year of a new model ever again.

First of all, I need to say "Avoid Preferred Auto at ALL COST!" Complete scam w/their 100,000 mile warranty. They don't warranty ANYTHING. As for the Explorer, I'm greatly disappointed. I'm a diehard Ford guy, and they've completely dropped the ball on this one. I purchased the vehicle with 32K miles and I'm currently at 95K. As I'm writing this, it once again sits in the Ford Service Department. That is because Preferred Auto refuses to stand behind their "100,000 mile warranty". With the OE Michelen tires I was able to safely drive 75K miles. Definitely a positive thing. In addition, I still get 19.5 miles to the gallon. When first purchased it was in the neighborhood of 21.5 mpg. This is on the 4.6L V8. Very strong engine, and I consider 20 mpg to be very good for an SUV w/V8. As for some of the bad, there are almost too many to list, but that's what these reviews are for. I've always had a high pitched noise that is directly related to the throttle, and more present in colder conditions, but nobody seems to know what it is. As mentioned earlier, the reason that my truck is currently in the shop is for the second set of rear axle seals, a rear end alignment, two new rear tires (replaced w/less than 20K miles), and some sort of wheel shims to alter the camber of the rear tires for even tread wear. * Side note - I have never taken my Explorer off road or abused it in any way, with the exception of driving over Indiana potholes. Once that repair is completed, then I have a scheduled appointment for next weekend. At that time I will be replacing the radiator (Ford crimps a plastic tank to the aluminum core), belts and hoses for obvious reasons, new brake rotors and pads all the way around (another Ford scam), and hopefully they don't find anything else wrong. As for the rotor scam, Ford builds these vehicles on the assembly line with rotors that barely pass minimum specs. Therefore, the rotors cannot be turned and must be replaced. At that point you either drive it until they grind, or in my case, the pedal is just so soft that it's starting to feel dangerous to approach a stop sign or heaven forbid, a sudden stop light. The only other repair has been a factory recall for the rear hatch glass locking mechanism/gas struts replacement. Some of the things that have not been replaced seem to be a common theme with many other Explorer owners from this year. The six disc in-dash CD player is very tempermental and won't eject the disc half of the time. In addition, there is a design flaw that routes the air duct for the rear air directly behind the stereo, down the dash, and under the console. As a result, the radio has become very hot to the touch during use in winter months.

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Nothing similar, but many Ford products. Always been pleased with the Blue Oval, but this one just didn't produce results for the money and the hype. Regardless, at least there's not a bow-tie on the anti-freeze coated grill!

I really like how this car looks. Sad to say but that is why I bought it. I have learned my lesson well.

Never ending mechanical problems, poor acceleration and endless frustration. Totally unreliable vehicle.

Where to start??? I have never owned a car with so many problems. Everything has gone out...brakes, alternator, starter, fan clutch. Oh yeah and a mystery problem that my mechanic has yet to figure out but has enjoyed emptying my pockets trying...it wont start if the engine is warm...have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous and to top it off the transmission just went out too. I am getting rid of it!!!

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'64 Ford Mustang (make sure you replace the brakes) '86 Mercedes Sedan (best one so far) '89 Honda (*clears throat and walks away*)