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SUVs Ford Explorer Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2005 and earlier
3320 messages, Last post on Oct 26, 2009 at 5:13 PM
You are in the Ford Explorer Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
| Now for the newly redesigned models eith the upgraded 4.6L. Although the shifting algorithum will vary. At the 1-2nd shift, you might find it a bit more snappy in transition. | |
| It sounds like the 2006 Explorer / Mountaineer will be everything the 2002 models should have been - smoother suspension, less noise and vibration, better engine, better transmission, and nicer interior (except for the space-hog floor shifter). That seems to be the story of Detroit lately - several years late with what they need today. | |
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I don't think there's any vehicle where they have made it louder, rougher, worse transmission, and worse engine. Every generation will improve. And if you owned the pre-2002 versions, you would have definately seen the improvements in the 2002+ generation. Let's take note how much praise the current Explorer received upon it's introduction. It might not be the fastest, corner the best, or be the quietest, but the secret to the Explorer's success as been it's various trim levels, all around comfort, drivability, and accessibility. It might not excel in one specific area (as most journalists have written about it), but it offers the overall package placed together. Anyhow as it is, more people are migrating to car-based SUV's (and I agree, since most do not need these much bulk to begin with), but the Explorer will certainly have it's loyal crowd of customers, and that in itself, has a high repeat buyer rate.... (I believe in it's segment of Mid-size truck based SUV's from the last paper that went thru my desk). If anything, it was the other manufacturer's who were late to the party. While the Explorer banked on it's success in the 90's, only the Grand Cherokee and Blazer were it's closest competitors. The foreign automakers didn't venture much into this segment, and if they did... usually with half-baked vehicles. Pathfinder probably it's strongest foreign competitor, and sales of it couldn't hold a candle to that of the Explorer. Now the Pathfinder is truck based, but definately late to the party since car-based SUV segment is growing. |
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| What is the layout of the floor shifter? i.e. which of the six speeds can be manually selected? | |
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Anthony, you make good points. I wasn't quite clear - I wonder why everything on the 2006 model wasn't on the 2002 model? Perhaps Ford rushed the 2002 model because of the tire/flipping problem of the old design? I see that the 2006 Mountaineer media information specifically references the very low rate of off road usage of SUVs and makes reference to changes meant to make the vehicle better on-road. I bought my 2002 Mountainner to have the utility of a wagon, the safety and repairability of a full frame, the driving dynamics of a V8 with rear wheel drive, a nice interior with fancy features, and the hitch to tow the speed boat I never bought. Of course, with the rise of modern station wagons such as the Freestyle, I wonder if the 2010 Explorer / Mountaineer will be repositioned to be more off-road capable to suit their names? |
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The Explorer mission will still be for heavy towing and off-road excursions. The Explorer will continue into the next decade with that mission and fullfill those that require those needs. There's a new midsize car based SUV (internally nicknamed Edge). Think of it as a Highlander/Pilot competitor. Based off the CD3 architecture (Mazda6, Fusion, Milan, Zephyr) and be cloned after the next Lincoln Aviator and Mazda CX-7. Customers are expected to migrate into this, or the Freestyle if they believe the Explorer is too trucky for there needs. |
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ANT14: Can you tell me why the Explorer 5-speed auto transmission is sometimes referred to as "adaptive"? |
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You mean, Adaptive Transmission Control ? Has 2 main functions. Adaptive Shift Scheduling, and Adaptive Shift Quality control. Together they allow the transmission to shift according to your driving behavior. From aggresive (would give you snappier shifts, to relaxed-smoother slower shifts). It takes cornering, uphill/downhill into consideration as well. ATC recognizes road conditions and tailors itself according to various input from other driveline components to pick/shift the best gear possible at the best time possible. Although off the record, there's a few vehicles where ATC is a bit "extreme" and somewhat annoying. Explorer and Mustang both with the 4.0L., but I won't go into that... |
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"Together they allow the transmission to shift according to your driving behavior." Aww, Ant; I had hoped you'd do better on this one. The above quote is believed by many, but is simply not true. The Explorer 5-speed auto transmission has no feature that recognizes or adapts to a person's driving behavior. After a few thousand miles, it will execute a given shift the same for Granny as it will for anyone else. Where can I find more information on: "Adaptive Transmission control"? "Adaptive Shift scheduling'? "Adaptive Shift Quality control"?
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Replying to: lateralg (May 28, 2005 1:51 pm) "The Adaptive Transmission Control system recognizes individual styles of driving (e.g., aggressive vs. Relaxed) and adapts transmission shift parameters accordingly." Media.Ford.com Steve, Host |
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