Potentially new Explorer owner

My wife and I are considering upgrading her 2012 Nissan Rogue to a newer Ford Explorer. I was wondering if you all could give any insight on year models and trim levels to look at. I’ve read some things about the quality of the 2020+ models not being so great. We’re not opposed to something a little older either like a 2017 - 2019. We’re looking to spend around 30k on it. It doesn’t need to be 4x4 either. Any insight from you experienced guys would be helpful. Thank you!

My mother in law owns a 2016 XLT 4WD, my mother owns a 2018 Limited FWD, and my wife owns a 2022 XLT.
The 2016 definitely feels dated now. It still has MyFordTouch which is annoying to use. This one has the non-turbo V6 and it feels very sluggish. The interior is still holding up quite well, the leather seats are comfortable on long trips. They haven’t used the 4WD so I can’t comment on it. It’s a nice SUV but the refresh for this generation make it a lot nicer. One thing that bugs me is that it has LED low beams, LED fog lamps, but Halogen high beams.
My mom’s 2018 is the refreshed model of my MIL’s. It’s got full LED headlights (including high beams). Her Limited comes with Sync3, the same system that’s in my Focus ST, and it’s light years better than MFT. The Limited has heated and ventilated seats which are great. It still has the 3.5l V6 so it’s still sluggish imo. Overall, I like my mom’s 2018 over the 2016.
My wife has a 2022 XLT that we bought new in February of this year. She’s got the XLT with the 200A package. It comes with heated cloth front seats and captain seats in the back. It has Sync4 which looks a lot like Sync3 and I still really enjoy using it. It has the Copilot 360 which means it has automatic high beams, blind spot monitoring, rear parking assist, and active lane keep assist. The XLT comes with the 2.3l turbo 4 that the Ranger, Eco Mustang, and Focus RS come/came with. According to a master tech I talked to, the 2.3 is a really solid engine (really the only issues it has had was the first half of the first year of production for the Focus RS: the wrong head gasket was installed and a bunch blew head gaskets because of this. After the fix, they’ve been rock solid). It has 300hp and 300ft-lbs of torque which means it’s faster than the non-turbo V6s in the older Explorers. It comes standard with several driving modes: towing, normal, eco, sport, dirt, and slippery/ice. The sport mode is actually great if you need to scoot, changes the shifting significantly. Eco is great for cruising on long road trips; my wife and I managed almost 33mpg one trip. The only things I would say negatively so far (we’ve put over 14k miles on it so far) is that the first couple of years (2020 and 2021) had some QA and reliability issues. That’s why we only looked at a new one. I’m on the 6th gen explorer facebook group and by far the most issues seem to come from 2020 and 2021 model years. Also, if you’re looking to get the bigger TT V6 then you’ll have to move all the way up to at least the Explorer ST. But I’ve got my fill of performance from my ST and my wife couldn’t care less (plus, 300hp is plenty for a family hauler unless you plan on towing). My only other suggestion would be to spring for the 202A package, I know we wished we had as it adds things like fog lamps, heated steering wheel, and leather seats.

Edit: Forgot to add that we got my wife’s for right at $35,500 after tags, title, fees, and taxes (which is the main reason we didn’t go for the 202A package as it would’ve put it over $40,000). We traded her 2020 Edge Titanium in, which we was paid off, for $33,000. So altogether we were out of pocket just under $3,000.

@Tarian
“The 2016 definitely feels dated”,
Meanwhile, me living the high life with my loaded '94 Eddie Bauer as my only currently functioning automobile… pfft.

Alva said:
@Tarian
“The 2016 definitely feels dated”,
Meanwhile, me living the high life with my loaded '94 Eddie Bauer as my only currently functioning automobile… pfft.

Lol I mean in comparison. Plus, at least you got a V8, right?

@Tarian
Nope, first gens only came with the venerable 4.0l OHV V6, which’ll last a hell of a lot longer than the modern ones at the cost of fuel economy. But damn those first gens look good.

Alva said:
@Tarian
Nope, first gens only came with the venerable 4.0l OHV V6, which’ll last a hell of a lot longer than the modern ones at the cost of fuel economy. But damn those first gens look good.

Hmm I think I’m thinking of a 3rd gen. My parents had a red 1st gen growing up. I remember it being bullet proof for the 10 years we owned it. Always did miss it.

@Tarian
Yeah, 2nd gens ('95-'01) had the 302 Windsor (5.0l) V8, and the 3rd and 4th gens ('02-'05 & '06-'10) had the 4.6l modular V8. That was it for V8’s in Explorers. For as long as they’ve existed Explorers have had V6’s, and as far as I know the Cologne 4.0 OHV V6 that came standard for the first two generations is the least complained about reliability-wise, albeit slow as slow can be. The 4.0 SOHC introduced in '97 that came standard in the 3rd and 4th gens made way more power but suffered reliability issues caused by way too many plastic parts being used as critical components in the engine.

Alva said:
@Tarian
“The 2016 definitely feels dated”,
Meanwhile, me living the high life with my loaded '94 Eddie Bauer as my only currently functioning automobile… pfft.

At this point, the ‘94 is not old. It’s a classic.

@Corey
For insurance reasons it could be, but I drive it too much. It baffles me what people think is “old” these days, though. To me, my dad’s 2016 Honda is basically a brand new car. To others, they’d’ve been swapping it out for the newest model 3 years ago. Hell, to me my '05 Sport Trac is basically new. Has fewer miles on it than a lot of cars 10 years newer, anyways.

@Tarian
Love the review, really great points. Looking over the website, I’m actually thinking of getting one myself within the next year or two. Maybe a 2022 or 2023, depends on how expensive it is. But I did want to mention something that I saw that maybe you didn’t know. All 22 model explorers no matter the trim level did get sync 3. They did not get sync 4, you might have a 10-in portrait style screen. It looks like sync 3 because it is sync 3. It’s just in a different orientation.

I just wanted to mention it because I’ve been looking at the website for like the past year and saw that little bit of info in the build and price feature. Maybe future explorer models like the next generation will get a sync 4 system. I hear the new Lincoln Corsair for 2023 will get a sync 4 screen so maybe that will trickle down into the Explorer? :thinking:

@Luca
Oh crap! Yeah that’s my bad. Not sure why I was thinking Sync4 was already out and in the Explorer. Good catch. And my wife’s XLT still has the base 8in display (the non-iPad style). Maybe I was thinking that since Ford suspended support for my ST’s Sync3 that anything newer was 4🤦‍♂️
Also, I forgot to mention that starting with the 6th gen (2020+), the Explorer is RWD with an optional AWD instead of FWD. Not sure that matters to you but that was a big factor for us.

@Tarian
I don’t think support has been suspended for any sync 3 systems, but there may just be less frequent software updates than there used to be. Right now sync 4 is only in the F-150, Edge, Mustang Mach-e, and Expedition, along with Bronco 2/4 Door.
And that is a big help with the RWD and 4WD. Right now I have a Gen 3 2002 Explorer XLS RWD and having a four-wheel drive would be a big help where I’m at.

But I’ll be honest, I might just be swayed by the 2-door Bronco, it looks really good in Dark Green and Area 51

@Luca
Nah, I got a notification that my ST wouldn’t receive anymore updates. That’s why a lot of people in my car group have been jail breaking the system and uploading an updated Sync3 that came on the MK4 Focus.
Yeah, Eruption Green and Area51 are fantastic colors along with Cactus Grey and Cyber Orange

@Tarian
Thank you for the detailed reply! This will definitely help us with our decision.

Noor said:
@Tarian
Thank you for the detailed reply! This will definitely help us with our decision.

No problem and good luck! One thing I forgot to mention is that with the 6th gen, the Explorer moved from a FWD platform to a RWD platform. So now, the standard layout is RWD with an optional AWD. This was another big factor in our decision. RWD and so much better than FWD for something as big as the Explorer.

@Tarian
How is it sluggish? It makes almost 300hp and does 0 to 60 in around 6.9 or 7 seconds

Dane said:
@Tarian
How is it sluggish? It makes almost 300hp and does 0 to 60 in around 6.9 or 7 seconds

It definitely feels a lot more sluggish compared to the 2.3 in the new one. Thanks to the small turbo in the 2.3, there’s almost no turbo lag. It makes more hp and hits 60 in almost a full second quicker. Trust, drive them back to back and you’ll see why I called it sluggish. The transmission it’s mated to doesn’t help either, the new 10 spd is much better.

@Tarian
True but the 2.3 is an inline 4 it is a small motor for such a big SUV like that. A lot more wear on such a tiny engine overtime. I’ve seen people say that’s an issue especially under a load while towing. True the 2.3 has more torque and horsepower, but that’s because they have it turned up to those specs. I wouldn’t trust it for longevity. That 10 speed would have been nice in the '16 model, but I don’t know if that even existed then.

@Dane
This same engine is running 350hp and torque in the Focus RS and has been absolutely fine (and don’t bring up the early issues as that was caused by the incorrect hg being installed). The master tech I spoke with stated that the 2.3 is probably the best turbo engine Ford has made. All of the issues with the Explorer never revolve around the engine. But anyway, I thought your issue was with how the V6 felt sluggish? Not the reliability of the 2.3…which so far seems to be pretty solid.

I feel you have to take some other considerations into account. Will you ever haul more than 4 adults? The Explorer is a technically a seven seater, but those two in the very back will not be very comfortable, nor will the person in middle seat, middle row.
If you have three or more [young] kids, again it may not work. Two carseats [if needed] will fit fine in the middle, but that middle seat will be useless, and getting into that third row for the third child will become a chore. You also lose a lot of storage for all the stuff that size family needs.
I’ve always felt my Explorer handled well enough in inclement weather, including heavy snow. No issues there.
Towing - the Explorer can be spec’d to, I believe, 5300 pounds, but I would only go to about 60 or 70% of that. It’s still a unibody vehicle, and that’s a lot of strain to put on that setup.
I loved my 2011 XLT, but points 2 and 4 necessitated us moving up to an Expedition.