A Bigger, Better, Safer Ford Explorer
Ford Motor Co.’s 2002 Explorer and its Mercury Mountaineer twin are big improvements over their predecessors--enough, perhaps, to eliminate the unwarranted but frequently used pejorative “Ford Exploder” from the language.
But then it would be ridiculous for any auto maker to introduce a new model these days that didn’t improve the breed.
The real importance of the new Explorer-Mountaineer isn’t that it is merely better but that it encompasses a slew of engineering, design, safety and performance advances that leapfrog an evolutionary step or two. It will create a whole new sport-utility vehicle for the blue oval team--at essentially the same prices as the 2001 models.
And Ford’s timing--with the new versions due to arrive in showrooms by March--isn’t bad, either.
The old Explorer’s reputation has been sullied by the Firestone tire debacle; by repeated claims (denied by Ford) that the company fiddled with tire pressures to reduce the chances of rollovers; and by a major recall last week, involving nearly 900,000 1995-97 models, to fix a flawed suspension component.
Beyond that, 43 models of SUVs are sold in the U.S. today, with 40 more scheduled to enter the market in the next four years. Explorer remains the top seller of the bunch, but it is coming under increasingly heavy threat from the major Japanese and European auto makers, which are just now ramping up SUV production.
So Ford, with 3.6 million Explorer owners out there to be kept in the fold, needed to bump the four-door model up a notch to retain their interest.
New features of the mainstream four-door model--the two-door Explorer Sport and the SUV-cum-pickup Explorer Sport Trac retain last year’s platform--include a third-row seat that increases passenger capacity to seven real grown-ups. Access to the third row (optional in the Ford and standard in the Mercury) is fairly easy: A single pull of a seat-mounted lever lets you fold up the split second-row seat and flip it forward to provide a pathway to the back.
The 2002 model is bigger, smoother, more powerful, easier to use and--Ford insists and its impressive list of safety and engineering features suggests--harder to get into trouble with.
Major safety features available at introduction will include side-impact curtain air bags to protect occupants’ heads; standard anti-lock disc brakes on all four wheels; and a weight sensor in the passenger seat that will deactivate the passenger-side air bag when the seat is occupied by anyone weighing less than 65 pounds.
Additionally, the front bumper has been lowered by 2 inches for compatibility with the bumpers of most standard passenger cars--a change that helps protect the occupants of a car involved in a collision with the SUV.
By midyear, Ford says, there will be a new suite of optional safety devices, including an industry-first sensing system that will deploy the side-curtain air bags if it detects an imminent rollover (the sensors measure body tilt and the speed at which the tilt is developing and the angle of lean increasing). Also coming: dual-stage air bags and a skid-control system.
Other safety-related changes for 2002 include the Explorer’s stance, about 2 inches wider than with the 2001, and 2-inch longer wheelbase, which combine to improve stability and ride quality.
All four-door Explorers and Mountaineers will ride on standard 16-inch tires and wheels. Firestone Terrahawk all-season tires remain the default brand, but dealers will provide Michelin LTX all-season rubber at no charge on the P235/70R-equipped Explorer XLS and XLT models and all-season P245/70R Goodyear Eagles on all Mountaineers and the Eddie Bauer and Limited model Explorers. The two upscale Explorer models can also be ordered with Goodyear Wrangler AP all-season tires.
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For most purposes, discussion of the Explorer automatically includes the Mountaineer: The two are twins, sharing the same platform and mechanicals. But they are fraternal, not identical. They share the same automotive DNA, but each has its own distinct look.
On the Ford side of the family, the look is still Explorer: though significant, the external and interior changes are subdued. On the Mercury side, however, the visuals are quite different, with special side cladding, grille work, front fascia panels, headlamps and interior trim that make it truly a Mercury instead of merely a Ford with a different nameplate.
Key improvements in both vehicles:
* The body is 2.5 inches wider; the seats are about half an inch closer to the road and closer to the door openings for easier entry and exit, while a redesigned suspension brings overall ground clearance to 9 inches, up an inch from last year.
* Ford used full-grip door handles, made the coat hooks big enough to handle the popular new plastic clothes hangers, and redesigned the tailgate with a larger remote-opening rear window to facilitate loading and unloading cargo.
* Door bottoms were lengthened and the rocker panels moved behind them for shielding from the elements. The little strip of metal below the door opening that is usually packed with muck just waiting to rub off on the back of your legs now remains pristine even in mud and snow.
* The solid rear axle was replaced with independent rear suspension for improved ride and handling; shock absorbers were tuned for a firmer, less bouncy ride; and the revamped front suspension provides a tighter turning radius (36.7 feet versus 38.4 feet for the 2001 model).
On the down side: There’s no power port in the rear, an omission Ford might want to address, as just about every other SUV and new small pickup in town has one; the backs of the rear seats (both rows) do not adjust; and the Mountaineer’s two-tone color scheme does nothing for its looks.
Improvements usually come at a cost, but Ford has managed to keep prices of the new vehicles within a few hundred dollars of comparably equipped 2001 models.
The base Explorer XLS starts at $24,620 for the two-wheel-drive model with 4.0-liter, 210-horsepower V-6 engine and five-speed manual transmission, or $25,730 with the optional five-speed automatic transmission. The top-of-the-line Eddie Bauer and Limited series will start at $32,690 in V-6 trim with two-wheel drive and a standard five-speed automatic transmission. All Explorer prices include a $620 delivery and destination charge.
Options can add up to $5,000 at any trim level, the biggies being $2,000 for the new generation of Ford’s Control Trac four-wheel-drive system; $610 for auxiliary rear heating and air conditioning; $670 for third-row seating; and $695 for the 4.6-liter, 240-horsepower V-8 engine. Standard tow capacity is 3,500 pounds; an optional heavy-duty tow package, for $395, boosts that to 7,300 pounds.
Estimated fuel economy ranges from 16 miles per gallon in city use and 22 on the highway for the two-wheel-drive V-6 to 14 mpg city and 19 highway for the V-8 4x4 models.
Over on the Mercury lot, the new Mountaineer will start at $29,230 for a base two-wheel-drive model with the V-6 and five-speed automatic (no manual trannies for Merc’s decidedly older and more, ahem, sedate buyers). The same model with Mercury’s all-wheel-drive system is $31,210. Prices include a $600 delivery and destination fee. A Mountaineer with goodies such as V-8 power, auxiliary air, dual-zone automatic climate control, running boards, remote key-less entry, two-tone leather seats and all-wheel drive will list at $34,920.
And, yes, that’s all-wheel drive; the 2002 Mercury does not offer a driver-selectible 4x4 with low range. Mountaineer brand manager Christine Moore says Mercury’s research shows that its buyers don’t go for serious off-roading and prefer a vehicle that does it all for them.
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During two days of driving in the mountains and deserts of central Arizona last month, both vehicles performed as advertised--the Mountaineer on state highways and the Explorer on a variety of surfaces that included highway, an off-road track thick with oozing half-frozen mud and a 12-mile mountain road buried under a foot of ice-slick snow.
They tracked sure, cornered with remarkably less body roll than their predecessors and absorbed bumps, ruts and potholes without losing their footing or jarring occupants’ spines out of line.
The 4x4 Explorer, thanks to that extra inch of ground clearance and independent rear suspension, seemed especially well-suited to the muddy off-road course, plunging in and out of bogs with a sure-footedness that its predecessors never had.
On the highway, road and mechanical noise in both vehicles was much reduced from just a year ago, thanks to a substantial effort in design and construction to eliminate wind-catching surfaces and to insulate the cabin from engine, transmission and suspension sounds and vibrations.
Final words: Ford has pulled out all the stops to make sure that the new Explorer and Mountaineer continue to appeal. Competition is tougher, but with the advances in the 2002 models, the effort should pay off.
Ford says it is not going to keep referring to the old Explorer’s problems but will be stressing the new model’s improvements--particularly the safety advances--as will Mercury with the Mountaineer. Analysts say that kind of soft-sell should indeed help consumers stay focused on the new models and not on the old ones.
Keeping prices steady even with the added content is sure to help dealers seal many a sales contract. And if new-model recalls are minor and federal crash test data due sometime in the spring are positive, Ford has another winner.
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Times staff writer John O’Dell covers the auto industry for Highway 1 and the Business section. He can be reached at john.odell@latimes.com.
