Student Review- Explorer- Reliable, Roomy, and Powerful

Author's Rating:

Pros: Roomy, Powerful for its size, lots of extras, and reliable.

Cons: Factory radio lights fade in and out.

Handling And Control:

The Bottom Line: 
I would recommend this to any single person who wants a reliable, roomy, and powerful car.

Author's Review
I am writing this review for my twelfth grade English class and would appreciate it if someone commented on it.

I bought my 98 Explorer Sport about 6 months ago and love every aspect of it. I bought it with 55,000 miles on it and had nothing but good things to say about it so far. I drove different types of small SUV’s such as Chevy Blazers and Jeep Wranglers; but the Explorer Sport has the right combination of a smooth ride, roomy interior, powerful engine for it’s size, and attractive style. The many options such as cruise, tilt, power seats, rear radio control, keyless entry, lumbar, and fog lights make the Explorer a comfortable vehicle to drive and own.

Interior

I believe the interior is the high point of my Explorer, the vehicle may look small from the outside, but it is very roomy on the inside, I often find myself hauling around four of my friends on the weekends with ease. There are no complaints about the room in the backseat although it is a little tough to get to them with only two doors. The back two seats also fold down; which allows me to haul many things such as furniture. The large backseat area also makes it perfect for individuals who like to load their vehicles up with large sound systems; although there is nothing wrong with the stock speakers. They seem to put out quite a bit of bass for being factory. There are all types of gadgets such as rear radio control, power seats, lumbar, and numerous power points for plugging in electronics for instance cell phones. The only downside is the fact that the lights of the stock stereo seem to fade in and out. I have heard this complaint from other owners of other Explorers and Mountaineers, the “cousin” of the Explorer. I eliminated this problem by buying a aftermarket sound system which compliments the interior quite well.

Engine

Before I purchased my SUV, I owned a Ford Ranger and got very used to hauling my ATV around. That didn’t change when I bought my Explorer; the 4.0-liter V6 has no problem pulling a utility trailer holding one or even two ATV’s. The V6 has great acceleration and fits the size of the vehicle just right. While driving on the interstate, I often find myself doing 75-80 with no hesitation. The acceleration is great until around 95 miles per hour; after this, the power decreases slightly from what it was before. A person should not even be driving that fast in this type of SUV anyway. Gas mileage was also an issue when I purchased the Explorer, but I found out it got around 20 miles per gallon on average.

Suspension

The suspension also fits the size of the vehicle well, after speeds of around 35 are met, bumps can rarely be felt. They are a little more noticeable at slower speeds from, 1-15 miles per hour. The Explorer also handles very well for how short of a wheelbase it has and how high it
sits.

Exterior

I believe the Explorer is the most attractive of all of the SUV’s in today’s market. Others such as the Xterra and Jeep Liberty seem to be boxes with four wheels. The Explorer has a very well rounded exterior and running boards along with the different colored fenders seem to add a little extra. The custom rims, which come stock from the factory, also add style to the vehicle. The strong luggage rack, which can hold up to 200 pounds, also comes in handy quite often.

Finding Parts

The last great point of my Explorer is the ease of finding standard and aftermarket parts. I live 1/2 mile from a performance shop and they often have many aftermarket parts for me on hand. If they are not in stock, I usually only have to wait no longer than 2 days for it to come in. If anyone is interested any aftermarket parts for an Explorer Sport, I suggest a K&N air filter. It boosted my miles per gallon from around 20 to 23-24.

Overall

Overall, I would recommend an Explorer Sport to anyone who wants a roomy, powerful, and reliable SUV. I will probably run the one I own until around 200,000 miles; then purchase another one.