2011 Ford Explorer consumer reviews

Frustrating having a new vehicle and nothing seems right. Bought the '11 Limited Edition and thinking the new technolgy in this upscale model was introduced without proven sucessful at the plant. Glad to learn here that I am not only one experiencing issues but sorry others are equally frustrated. There are a lot of typical new car issues, but my problems go far beyond that with frequent stalls stranding wife and family at the mall, on highways, etc. Frightening for certain. The navigation, bluetooth and voice activation systems keep failing. The dealer has been extremely kind, as he should, but his tech's are mystified. I have noticed other 2011 Explorers in services bays near mine, but am not certain if the are in for the same repairs. I have owned Fords before and this is the first time a car gave me this much trouble. Shoppers should wait a couple of years until the kinks are ironed out. I wish I had or even thinking I should have opted for something without the "MYFORD" system, as I believe it is called for '11.

Back up camera is great. Not too much else good to say. I am 6? 2? tall front seat needs go back another 4? for me to be comfortable. With the seat all the way back I cannot reach the window, mirror, headlight, or heater controls without leaning forward. I wear a size 12 shoe; there is not enough foot room to move comfortably from accelerator to the brake pedal. Forget about doing it fast. Huge windshield pillars and outside mirrors create a blind spot big enough to hide a Greyhound bus. Shoulder belt mount is adjustable but need to go up another 4? and move back. Most comfortable position is with the shoulder belt under my arm. Sunken rear cargo area is stupid! Car designers learned this 30 years ago. If they offer a camper conversion the dash could easily be made into a forward bunk. Huge waste of space. It looks good from the outside but the interior is a disaster.

Purchased a Ford Explorer Limited, fully loaded today. We love it! It's a new car and a fun gagdet in one. We have owned luxury vehicles (BMW X5), (Mercedes SUV) and this ranks right up there with them. My husband and I test drove fully loaded vehicles (Dodge Durango, GMC Acadia, Toyota 4 Runner, Honda Pilot, and Ford Explorer). Our decision was a no brainer. The Dodge, which is supposed to feel like a xxxx-pit, is claustrophobic. It had a V8, which I certainly didn't want with gas prices creeping up to $5.00 a gallon. The second row seats do slide forward and back, as well as incline which was nice. The Explorer will incline, but does not slide. The Acadia was nice, but didn't have as many interior features/gadgets and was about the same price fully loaded as the Ford Explorer. The Toyota 4 Runner didn't come close. I'm only 5,2" and I could barely get into the back for access to the 3rd row seats. It doesn't have the tech gadgets that the others offered. The Honda Pilots exterior appears boxy. The interior was nice, but the quality of leather and other features were lower. The interiors seam gaps could use improvement. Carpet is cheap. Here's what I love about the Explorer: Beautiful interior with tight seams, high quality leather, non pilling roof interior (similar to what you find in the BMWs), a touch screen (similar to an IPad) that plays DVDs, controls Entertainment, Phone, Navigation, Climate, etc. Your I-Phone syncs with it. It will store all your contact information and music. It will burn CDs. It's controlled by touch, push button, or voice. At first I thought that it was a little redundant to have touch screen controls and buttons to operate the same devices, until my husband and I were both in the vehicle. I was adjusting the AC with buttons on my steering wheel, while he was using the touch screen for his I-Phone. The seats (all 7) are extremely comfortable. The front seats are fully adjustable, heated and air conditioned , and have 3 memory positions. The second row has adequate leg room, and reclining seats. The one con is that the middle seat area is too small for an adult due to the seat belt buckle positioning. The third row seats are accessible for both me and my husband who is 6,4". The seats are by far the most comfortable, and it does have a well dip for your legs, so your knees aren't in your face. There is leg room and foot room. It was a tighter fit for my husband, but seriously, how often is a grown man riding in the 3rd row. It's intended for children. The 3rd row goes from a seat to fully stowed, by the push of a button. One seat can stay up while the other is down. It has two DVD, TVs built into the head rests, which can be seen from both the second row and third row seats. There are two sun roofs, a prong outlet ( I guess you may want to blow dry your hair). There is no key (just a little remote). It has remote start, unlock, lock, and a button that opens or closes your trunk. The car itself has keyless entry also. The drive is very smooth. The car feels big behind the wheel (which I like). It has great turn radius. The car has back up cameras and sensors. My favorite safety feature has to be the sensors on the sides of the car. If you are going to turn or merge into another lane, a small light will appear on your side mirror if there is a car next to you. The Explorer does have blind spots. If you purchase this vehicle I would highly recommend this feature. This is not going to be your extreme off road machine, but will do great on paved roads, wet roads, and in snowy conditions. Remember this is really a car with 4 wheel drive (that feels like a luxury SUV). Too many features to list. Check one out if you can find one. We went to four dealerships who were sold out and taking orders.

Have driven Fords for years. This new 2011 Explorer is nothing more than an overpriced glorified station wagon. I do like the interior, except for the useless third row seat. The third row is only good for parcels, not roomy for a child and the access for a baby would be hindered for the parents up front and too close to the rear door for an infant, besides. The dashboard contains very confusuioning technology that fails to impress and work at times. I want simple, clear, easy to see and use knobs, bottons and other key switches. The mileage is dismal. I would not opt for AWD with the standard six cylinder. No other engine was available at time of purchase. The price for a nicely equiped Explorer reaches that of a Lincoln SUV. Too costly for an underpowered wagon (as I see it) that is lucky to hit 15 MPG with mixed driving. I would have looked at the Ford Flex or another brand if I had thought the Explorer was going to keep stalling and low quality parts were going to break. Terrible car for the money.

I traded an Explorer in on this one. The 2011 is a LARGE auto...much wider than previous Explorers and a bit longer. It's about half way between the old Explorer and the Expedition (soon to be discontinued, I hear.) The ride is wonderful; very much improved. This is a great road car, but mileage is no where near the window sticker. I'm getting combined mileage of about 19 MPG. Rear pillars make this car quite blind to the rear. Get the back-up camera and audible alarms.

The performance of this vehicle out does any vehicle I have ever driven. The safety features are amazing and I would recommend everyone to purchase one. We ordered our limited 4x4 white platinum metallic 2011 Explorer weeks before they even hit the dealerships. We are so very pleased in every aspect. Ford really did their homework on this one ! We have had zero problems with the sync system / navigation. The limited provides the upmost technology and convenience for an individual and or family.

Poor power and traction. Terrible in snow. Would not buy another one. Dealer would not fix transmission issues.

After seeing the 2011 Explorer online and in magazine ads we loved its appearance and were impressed with advertised fuel economy. Once I found out it was rated overall #1 on US News for mid-size "affordable" SUVs, it was a slam dunk decision and we traded-in our 2006 Pilot (after searching for a while). We leased a Limited, with almost everything except DVD. I love the exterior styling and very happy with the manual overdrive feature, the adaptive cruise control, the comfort on the road, the large wheels, the dual moonroof and the cargo room (more than the Pilot). The mileage so far is as advertised. Value is great when compared with luxury class suvs. Performance: I feel could use more power. The Sync system is great but voice activation function for us only works well for the phone and climate. For music it is so so. For Navi, once you are driving, you almost cannot find a new destination by voice command only. You would have to stop and enter it in manually. Worst and most important flaw: midlle seat of second row, seatbelt buckle located so poorly that you almost cannot have an adult sit there especially if you have a forward-facing child seat next to it. We had to order a free seatbelt extension from Ford to make it usable. Another design flaw is the fact that the middle row bench is fixed; the sliding feature (that was present in the Pilot) was very useful in allowing dividing legroom between second and third row. Finally, the interior could use a little more storage compartments (again less than we had in the Pilot). Overall, I'm still very happy and I'm sure no car is perfect.

My brand new 2011 Explorer, less than 30 days old with and less than 1,000 miles on it, is already in the shop! The entire MyTouch system crashed which includes the climate control system, navigation system, stereo, and back up camera. I called Ford Corporation and they were not able to give me any assurances that this problem is not going to happen again. DON'T BUY THIS CAR!

The day of the reveal of the NEW 2011 Ford Explorer Limited, caused much excitement, for I was so pleased to see that Saturn, and its Outlook XR-L will continue to live on as a 2011 Ford Explorer Ltd. With GMC's Acadia SLT, and the termination of Saturn and its vehicle line-up, its clear when comparing side by side that the Acadia, Explorer and Outlook are sister vehicles. GM introducing its loyal consumers and the remainder of the world to the Acadia & Outlook (New for 2007), one never would have thought that 4-yrs later the Saturn Outlook would become rebadged as a Ford Explorer, at least it sure looks like a GM product. When you can't beat them, ......