- Power (for such a small engine)
- Solid structure
- Low gear ratio gives better gas mileage (308 rear)

- Hard ride . . it is a truck though
- brakes

Great Truck. My Ex has 228,000 miles on it and she runs like it has 100k. Granted, majority of these miles are highway, but she still kicks off-road. . . AND IT's 2WD! Great seating room that is sweet for distance trips. Never had any engine trouble. Transmission has been replaced by request and new brakes. All in all a fun to drive truck on or off the road that looks awesome when it's all waxed up.

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Compared to other's I know who have owned SUV's they are amazed by the performace of my truck even with the mileage. She keeps up on the trails and with only 2wd. In the future i plan to keep her kicking and adding a litte pep to her step by instaling borla cat-back and k&n intake.

Looks, handling, options, power(V-8), interior saeting and cargo room, insta-trak 4 wheel drive

gas mileage, road noise above 55mph, rear wiper blade motor works when it wants to.

We purchased our 1998 (V-8) Explorer last December(2000). We love having an SUV that does not require two parking spots (Suburban/Excursion!). I went with the V-8 option and the benefits are noticable as soon as you jump out into traffic. Our family of three travels around Southern Alaska on most summer weekends. The Explorer never makes us feel cramped on our long drives. I would like to see better gas mileage out of future models. I guess that is the price I pay for wanting the Ford V-8. I am able to get 16-17 mpg on the highway(my Chevy 1/2 ton 5.7L V-8 gets 20 mpg highway) and about 14 mpg in the city. Gas in Alaska is near 2 dollars a gallon now, so you do the math. We seem to put around 300-500 miles a week on the odometer. There is also considerable road noise in the cabin at speeds over 55mph. Let's face it, no-one drives 55. Average speeds range from 65-80 mph on my trips. I think the problem will resolve itself when I change out the tires that came with the vehicle. They are still new so it will take a while. Overall, I am very pleased with the Explorer and would recommend it to another person in the maket for a GOOD SUV with all the options, below 30K. I marked the overall rating down because of gas mileage and road noise.

Power seats and the ability to buy a neutral tow chip so that the vehicle may be towed behind a motor-home.

TRANSMISSION! This is apparently the first year for this transmission from France. Sunroof--beware of the molding around the roof interior. Look for malformed seal before it eats your sliding cover.

Very poor quality! Transmission has had failure warnings 6 times and Ford has not been able to resolve the issue. SunRoof is a real nightmare. Seal around glass is miss-formed so that it tears the material in the cover. Ford mechanics wound up breaking the motor and track mechanism and then claimed the grinding noise was NORMAL!

Ford factory will not help! They tell you that they are glad you purchased a Ford and they are sorry you are having trouble. Have a nice day!

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Subaru Outback---No comparison. 100,000 miles and no problems, never in the dealership for repairs as opposed to 7 times in two months for the Explorer.

Looks inside and out
Handling has a tight turning radius.
Better options for the price then the 4 door and not much difference in
roomyness.
Ride improves with time and gets better around 2000 miles.
Good engine with plenty of pickup

Hard to get into the rear seat. Gas milage is a little hard 17 city 21 highway but it's an SUV.

Really like this. It is my first SUV and I would buy it again. Looks good and is a lot of fun to drive.

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none

-4.0L V-6 has awesome get-up-and-go
-Power everything on my XLT
-Tons of room for hauling almost anything
-Comfortable

-Electronic 4x4 doesn't always engage

Very impressed with my 1992 Explorer XLT. I bought it with about 100K miles and it was in tip-top condition. Handles everything I put it through really well, tears up the pavement when it needs to. Whenever this one ends up dying I will probably buy a newer explorer.

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First one, though I've been told it outranks Blazer and Cherokee.