The girlfriend got into our Long Term Ford Explorer EcoBoost last night and sighed. At first I thought she was just bummed that she'd have to go through 92 menu screens to turn on the seat heater, but then she surprised me by saying, "I'm not really feeling this car. It's just, why did they give a mom car such a boy interior?"
"It's so cold and uninviting" she continued. The thing you need to remember here is that, as a a girlfriend of one of the editorial staff, she is in-and-around more cars than almost any enthusiast. She may not drive them, but she has her own way of evaluating the cars as do all of the WAGS of IL.
"The seats are ok but the black-and-silver dash is so clinical and sterile. The lines are too computer-designed and soulless."
I'm not sure I agree so I point her in the direction of our Full Test of a 2011 Ford Explorer Limited. That car had lighter leather and wood accents instead of the metallic ones in our car.
She didn't budge.
"You remember the Flex? That one had style; an Art Deco-ish feel. This just feels like a dude's car even with that interior. It's not tough, it's just not inviting. And what's with the Lela-eye in the dashboard?"
Again, I'm not sure I agree with her take here but I can see the point. I'll leave this one open to the floor: Is the Explorer a boy's car?
roar02ram says:
10:27 AM, 01/24/12
HAHAHAHA @ Lela-eye
louiswei says:
10:34 AM, 01/24/12
I am not sure why the Explorer is a 'mom car' to begin with so the rest of the conversation is meaningless to me.
greenpony says:
10:37 AM, 01/24/12
My wife and I had a similar discussion, although not as in depth. What it amounted to was that I think the Explorer is a pleasant-looking vehicle inside and out, and she doesn't.
church123 says:
11:15 AM, 01/24/12
Louis, if I had to guess, I'd say that the current Explorer is not something your average single male between the ages of 20 and 39 would buy, or even put near the top of his list.
That doesn't make it a mom car necessarily, but if most of the purchases are by women or couples, it would create a certain perception. I know a lot of women that, when faced with a family and the need for a larger family vehicle, absolutely refuse to consider a minivan, and so choose a large crossover to accomodate both space and image needs as best as possible. My SO certainly falls into that category (pre-emptively).
Just my take.
rx400h1 says:
11:17 AM, 01/24/12
Is the passenger side door slightly open? look at how misaligned those panels are
half_ton says:
12:13 PM, 01/24/12
"Louis, if I had to guess, I'd say that the current Explorer is not something your average single male between the ages of 20 and 39 would buy, or even put near the top of his list."
As a single male in that age group I think you're 100% correct. I have a hatred for crossovers that burns very deep but Ford really disappointed me with this design. The JGC is all I have left without stepping into full size SUV territory.
@rx400h1
Good eye on the panels. That is my fist time seeing such a bad misalignment so I hope the door was open.
nelsonlu says:
12:17 PM, 01/24/12
I think it's the all black-and-metalic interior. I am a male, and I would find such an interior uninviting.
greenpony says:
12:18 PM, 01/24/12
"SO"?
alpha01 says:
12:42 PM, 01/24/12
@half_ton - what about the Xterra? I think Nissan's let this one languish, but leading up to the release of the unibody PF at the 2012 Detroit Auto show, I remember reading the next Xterra will still be BOF. And honestly, I like the "butchness" and edges of the current, if long-in-the-tooth design.
csubowtie says:
01:24 PM, 01/24/12
Louis: I think Church did a good job of explaining it. I would add that this vehicle is a "mom car" because it fails to be a traditional "man car". It doesn't do anything exceptionally well, and men don't typically go around bragging about how they are mediocre-poor at almost everything. It doesn't go off-road, is underpowered, it can't tow heavy trailers or haul heavy loads, it's slow, it doesn't handle, and it looks as intimidating and cool as the ladies from that quilted toilet paper commercial. Funny, because my take on this thing has always been it's intended to be the minivan for men who think minivans are too momish.
As for the interior it does look soulless, but then again, almost all modern cars seem to be working hard to remove any of the soul from driving, so why shouldn't the interior just give up and focus on letting people live in the virtual world like everything else?
nomercy346 says:
02:44 PM, 01/24/12
@rx400
I don't think the panels are misaligned, they are not designed to be flush for whatever reason (half-assed design IMO)... which also was one of the biggest hate points against the Aura you guys had...
teampenske3 says:
04:24 PM, 01/24/12
"WAGS of IL"
I think you could turn that into a reality show for Speed Channel. Or at the very least a feature story for the main page.
explorerx4 says:
05:34 PM, 01/24/12
When I was around Mag's age I bought my first new car, an '83 Turbo Coupe which replaced my Scirocco S.
Replaced the T'bird with an '86 Mustang GT.
Since I didn't want to drive the GT in the winter I bought a used F150.
It was a heavy duty half ton with V8 and 4 speed.
I upgraded the shocks and added some BFG T/A's on gold nuggets.
Did the other usual upgrades, tinted sliding rear window, stereo, etc...
Once my first kid was born, I couldn't take their little head bouncing around in the F150, so I traded it for a nice family sedan, an '89 SHO.
When I was Mag's age, there is no way I could have appreciated an Explorer, and there is no reason to, for him or the future Mrs. Mag. ;)
I have a 2011 Explorer and am pretty happy with the decision to buy it.
teampenske3 says:
06:53 PM, 01/24/12
@ explorerx4
God those 1st gen SHOs were fantastic, that Yamaha engine was a masterpiece. These days there are a bunch of them racing Lemons.
half_ton says:
06:58 AM, 01/25/12
@alpha01
I haven't driven one personally but I've heard that the Xterra rides fairly harsh and I know it's need of an update; hence the long-in-the-toothness you mentioned. If priced and optioned correctly though it could give me another option that I hadn't considered . . .
lucien4 says:
08:51 AM, 01/25/12
In the picture it does look somewhat clinical so I can see the point. But I don't see the point to generalize that this was designed for men. Don't care for it much either.
htr_hardtech says:
08:56 AM, 01/25/12
Its a male minivan, what do you expect? Plus it was always geared more to the guy anyways. If you wanted a girl minivan, go get a minivan and if you insist on a higher riding minivan, then get one of the many merc SUV's. Almost every single SUV they make now days is a chick SUV. But you would not catch me in a new explorer.
Ill take one of the old real SUV's over this. Otherwise ill just get a real van if I have more than 3 kids, or if I have less ill take a truck. Current gen explorer is more minivan than SUV.
banhugh says:
11:53 AM, 01/25/12
Ts ts ts, don't you know not to sink your pen in company ink?
explorerx4 says:
05:36 PM, 01/25/12
Sometimes things are just timing. I could have been ok with a Taurus X although the interior quality was closer to my '02 Explorer.
The interior of the new Explorer looks and feels pretty upscale to me.
I looked at the photo's of the Limited referenced above, and something has definitely changed where the door panels and the dash meet.
Mine are just like IL's long termer.