2006 Ford Explorer

[BMWDave]

2006 Ford Explorer
Protecting Turf: Ford spends big to sell fewer Explorers
J.P. VETTRAINO
Published Date: 8/15/05
2006 Ford Explorer XLS
ON SALE: Fall
BASE PRICE: $27,175
POWERTRAIN: 4.0-liter, 210-hp, 254-lb-ft V6; awd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 4440 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 8.2 seconds (est.)

Ford?s marketing staff expresses so much enthusiasm for the 2006 Explorer that its collective voice sounds like a carnival barker, even if it?s delivering a fairly convincing pitch. More, more, more! More power, safety and mileage, for considerably less cash!

They might add: All that and less volume, too. As gasoline prices rise and alternatives to the conventional sport/utility vehicle proliferate, few at Ford?or anywhere else?expect Explorer sales to reach new heights. The market is changing again, surprise, but that has not kept Ford from investing in a frame-up redo for one of its bread-and-butter products, nor from confidently predicting Explorer will remain the bestselling SUV in the world.

Explorer has been the bestseller 14 consecutive years, which happens to be every year it has been built. It has weathered the Firestone tire affair, and a 15peat looks like a safe bet. Some 5.5 million sales later, give credit where it?s due. Ford has never rested on Explorer?s success. This SUV has been consistently improved, collecting an impressive list of firsts-in-class, including several considered risky in the truck market: first domestic SUV with all overhead-cam engines; first with a V8, a five-speed automatic and independent rear suspension; first with dual front airbags, head protection airbags, side-impact airbags and anti-rollover electronics.

Firsts aside, we might think of Explorer as the Toyota Camry of SUVs. It?s exception?al in no particular way, except it?s quite good in so many ways. ?Explorer?s success lies in achieving the right mix,? says chief engineer Judy Curran. ?We find the sweet spot.?


The sweet spot is shrinking. When Explorer was launched as a 1991 model, the 928,000 SUVs sold accounted for 6.6 percent of the new-car market. In 2004 4.8 million SUVs comprised 28 percent of new-car sales. Yet the growth these days is in so-called crossovers?unibody, car-based people haulers like Ford?s own Freestyle. The numbers for conventional, truck-based SUVs are flat at best, and in many cases declining.

Explorer sales have not increased since calendar 2002, when the third-generation was launched. 2005 deliveries are off 20 percent from 2004, on pace for 300,000 or less for the year?down from nearly half a million in the late 1990s. In Ford?s view the ?06 Explorer is not suture for a gaping wound. It is staying ahead with a very important vehicle.

The development catchphrase was ?tough luxury,? according to Curran. With Freestyle sharing space in Ford showrooms, Explorer could be more emphatically a truck, and the ?06 carries a strong flavor of Ford?s other bestseller?the F-Series pickup.

The styling is evolutionary to the point it may mask the depth of change under the body panels. The obvious differences from 2005 are the front end and double-circle tail- lamp lenses. The new Explorer?s nose is more vertical in its visual impact, with dual-beam headlamps and a bolder grille molded in the image of the F-150.



Exterior dimensions are nearly identical to 2005. If there is an underlying thread to the changes, it?s a quest to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, and it starts with a new frame. Section height and width is increased, and the Explorer adopts the F-150?s tube-through-tube frame design. Each crossmember passes through the inside section of the frame rails and each joint is welded completely for a fully boxed seam. Ford also invested considerable time and money in new materials for bushings and body mounts that more effectively dampen vibration between frame and body.

Explorer?s short/long-arm rear suspension is replaced with trailing arms, which are both more robust and lighter, according to Ford. Airflow is redirected to more effectively cool the brakes, and pad material is upgraded. The improvements contribute to a nominal increase in payload to 1520 pounds, and a 260-pound increase in maximum towing capacity, to 7300.

The standard engine remains Ford?s 4.0-liter sohc V6, and output is identical to 2005 (210 hp, 254 lb-ft of torque). Improvement was geared toward reducing vibration and, particularly, emissions. The V6 is now classified as ULEV II, Bin 5?identical to the Escape Hybrid, which Ford bills as the cleanest SUV in the world, producing fewer emissions than the Honda Accord Hybrid.

The big improvement comes in the V8. The Explorer?s 4.6 gets three-valve heads used on the Mustang and F-150 5.4, with 50 degrees of cam phasing to broaden the torque curve. Horsepower increases a substantial 53, to 292. With 300 lb-ft of torque, the upgrade engine is now competitive with V8s in other midsize SUVs. It is also mated to a first-in-class six-speed automatic, which Ford expects will increase EPA mileage numbers by 10 percent.



The interior sticks with the F-150 theme. Seats have more bolster than before, and the center stack is brutally vertical in design. This is the first Explorer with a floor-mounted gear selector, and switch placement is improved?particularly secondary switches such as the power pedal adjustment and seat heaters.

There are oddities in the cabin nonetheless. Door releases are set at the forward end of the armrests and are easy to use, but door pulls are stuck down below the armrests and are awkward. The chrome ring that trims the gauge binnacle looks as if it were snipped with scissors on either side of the steering column. Explorer has the roomiest third-row seat among midsize SUVs, and flexibility for seating/cargo configurations is improved. Yet maximum cargo volume actually decreases two cubic feet, to 85.8.

On the road this Explorer is what we?ve come to expect, only more so. Ride quality is the class standard; potholes and big bumps hardly upset the truck?s trajectory through curves. Steering is slightly more crisp for 2006, but Explorer remains a 4400-plus-pound SUV, and not much fun to drive fast. Doing so will only encourage motion sickness in those prone to it. This Explorer stands out most for its impressive lack of interior noise and vibration. We?d venture this is the smoothest, quietest body-on-frame truck ever?smoother and quieter even than some $30,000 unibody cars.

The pipeline will fill with new Explorers by the model-year change in September. The base XLS starts at $27,175 (five bucks less than 2005!), with keyless entry, cruise control, CD player, compass, ambient temperature indicator and tire pressure monitoring. Further up the food chain price reductions are real. The Limited is $2,470 less than 2005 ($33,160), the Eddie Bauer package is $3,900 less. The V8/six-speed adds $1,200, and an off-road package, $2,225.



Given its struggle to earn a profit the last several years, Ford?s desire to protect its most valuable assets is understandable. Explorer sales might shrink faster without the investment, and there is still money to be made in 300,000 units. The plan might also backfire. The company retooled two plants for Explorer production, and in two or three years one may prove optimal. We might prefer Ford spend the money giving the Five Hundred and Fusion sedans more zip, or retooling the Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant to build the all-new Focus sold in the rest of the world, rather than our warmed-over, dumbed-down version of the old one.

We got the Mustang, at least. So let?s go way out on a limb: At the end of 2006 Explorer will be the bestselling SUV anywhere for the 16th consecutive year.
2006 Ford Explorer
Protecting Turf: Ford spends big to sell fewer Explorers
J.P. VETTRAINO
Published Date: 8/15/05
2006 Ford Explorer XLS
ON SALE: Fall
BASE PRICE: $27,175
POWERTRAIN: 4.0-liter, 210-hp, 254-lb-ft V6; awd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 4440 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 8.2 seconds (est.)

Ford?s marketing staff expresses so much enthusiasm for the 2006 Explorer that its collective voice sounds like a carnival barker, even if it?s delivering a fairly convincing pitch. More, more, more! More power, safety and mileage, for considerably less cash!

They might add: All that and less volume, too. As gasoline prices rise and alternatives to the conventional sport/utility vehicle proliferate, few at Ford?or anywhere else?expect Explorer sales to reach new heights. The market is changing again, surprise, but that has not kept Ford from investing in a frame-up redo for one of its bread-and-butter products, nor from confidently predicting Explorer will remain the bestselling SUV in the world.

Explorer has been the bestseller 14 consecutive years, which happens to be every year it has been built. It has weathered the Firestone tire affair, and a 15peat looks like a safe bet. Some 5.5 million sales later, give credit where it?s due. Ford has never rested on Explorer?s success. This SUV has been consistently improved, collecting an impressive list of firsts-in-class, including several considered risky in the truck market: first domestic SUV with all overhead-cam engines; first with a V8, a five-speed automatic and independent rear suspension; first with dual front airbags, head protection airbags, side-impact airbags and anti-rollover electronics.

Firsts aside, we might think of Explorer as the Toyota Camry of SUVs. It?s exception?al in no particular way, except it?s quite good in so many ways. ?Explorer?s success lies in achieving the right mix,? says chief engineer Judy Curran. ?We find the sweet spot.?


The sweet spot is shrinking. When Explorer was launched as a 1991 model, the 928,000 SUVs sold accounted for 6.6 percent of the new-car market. In 2004 4.8 million SUVs comprised 28 percent of new-car sales. Yet the growth these days is in so-called crossovers?unibody, car-based people haulers like Ford?s own Freestyle. The numbers for conventional, truck-based SUVs are flat at best, and in many cases declining.

Explorer sales have not increased since calendar 2002, when the third-generation was launched. 2005 deliveries are off 20 percent from 2004, on pace for 300,000 or less for the year?down from nearly half a million in the late 1990s. In Ford?s view the ?06 Explorer is not suture for a gaping wound. It is staying ahead with a very important vehicle.

The development catchphrase was ?tough luxury,? according to Curran. With Freestyle sharing space in Ford showrooms, Explorer could be more emphatically a truck, and the ?06 carries a strong flavor of Ford?s other bestseller?the F-Series pickup.

The styling is evolutionary to the point it may mask the depth of change under the body panels. The obvious differences from 2005 are the front end and double-circle tail- lamp lenses. The new Explorer?s nose is more vertical in its visual impact, with dual-beam headlamps and a bolder grille molded in the image of the F-150.


Exterior dimensions are nearly identical to 2005. If there is an underlying thread to the changes, it?s a quest to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, and it starts with a new frame. Section height and width is increased, and the Explorer adopts the F-150?s tube-through-tube frame design. Each crossmember passes through the inside section of the frame rails and each joint is welded completely for a fully boxed seam. Ford also invested considerable time and money in new materials for bushings and body mounts that more effectively dampen vibration between frame and body.

Explorer?s short/long-arm rear suspension is replaced with trailing arms, which are both more robust and lighter, according to Ford. Airflow is redirected to more effectively cool the brakes, and pad material is upgraded. The improvements contribute to a nominal increase in payload to 1520 pounds, and a 260-pound increase in maximum towing capacity, to 7300.

The standard engine remains Ford?s 4.0-liter sohc V6, and output is identical to 2005 (210 hp, 254 lb-ft of torque). Improvement was geared toward reducing vibration and, particularly, emissions. The V6 is now classified as ULEV II, Bin 5?identical to the Escape Hybrid, which Ford bills as the cleanest SUV in the world, producing fewer emissions than the Honda Accord Hybrid.

The big improvement comes in the V8. The Explorer?s 4.6 gets three-valve heads used on the Mustang and F-150 5.4, with 50 degrees of cam phasing to broaden the torque curve. Horsepower increases a substantial 53, to 292. With 300 lb-ft of torque, the upgrade engine is now competitive with V8s in other midsize SUVs. It is also mated to a first-in-class six-speed automatic, which Ford expects will increase EPA mileage numbers by 10 percent.


The interior sticks with the F-150 theme. Seats have more bolster than before, and the center stack is brutally vertical in design. This is the first Explorer with a floor-mounted gear selector, and switch placement is improved?particularly secondary switches such as the power pedal adjustment and seat heaters.

There are oddities in the cabin nonetheless. Door releases are set at the forward end of the armrests and are easy to use, but door pulls are stuck down below the armrests and are awkward. The chrome ring that trims the gauge binnacle looks as if it were snipped with scissors on either side of the steering column. Explorer has the roomiest third-row seat among midsize SUVs, and flexibility for seating/cargo configurations is improved. Yet maximum cargo volume actually decreases two cubic feet, to 85.8.

On the road this Explorer is what we?ve come to expect, only more so. Ride quality is the class standard; potholes and big bumps hardly upset the truck?s trajectory through curves. Steering is slightly more crisp for 2006, but Explorer remains a 4400-plus-pound SUV, and not much fun to drive fast. Doing so will only encourage motion sickness in those prone to it. This Explorer stands out most for its impressive lack of interior noise and vibration. We?d venture this is the smoothest, quietest body-on-frame truck ever?smoother and quieter even than some $30,000 unibody cars.

The pipeline will fill with new Explorers by the model-year change in September. The base XLS starts at $27,175 (five bucks less than 2005!), with keyless entry, cruise control, CD player, compass, ambient temperature indicator and tire pressure monitoring. Further up the food chain price reductions are real. The Limited is $2,470 less than 2005 ($33,160), the Eddie Bauer package is $3,900 less. The V8/six-speed adds $1,200, and an off-road package, $2,225.


Given its struggle to earn a profit the last several years, Ford?s desire to protect its most valuable assets is understandable. Explorer sales might shrink faster without the investment, and there is still money to be made in 300,000 units. The plan might also backfire. The company retooled two plants for Explorer production, and in two or three years one may prove optimal. We might prefer Ford spend the money giving the Five Hundred and Fusion sedans more zip, or retooling the Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant to build the all-new Focus sold in the rest of the world, rather than our warmed-over, dumbed-down version of the old one.

We got the Mustang, at least. So let?s go way out on a limb: At the end of 2006 Explorer will be the bestselling SUV anywhere for the 16th consecutive year.