Quick Drive: 2012 Ford Explorer Ecoboost and Ford Edge Ecoboost
For 2011 Ford introduced an all-new Explorer. Upon the introduction Ford said that there will be a four-cylinder Ecoboost version, but not until a year later. It is now a year later. The six-cylinder Explorer has been a great sales hit for the company, and now here is the promised only four-cylinder.
Disclosure: Ford invited me to Detroit to sample the Ecoboost Explorer and Edge. I have never been to a press event like this and I reluctantly accepted as I had difficulty taking the day and a half off work. I also read enough of Jack Baruth’s articles to know what to expect. Ford paid for transportation and a nice hotel. I paid $20 for a taxi ride to the airport and worked late the other three days that week.
Typically, when I get into a car that is new to me I spend some time in it before driving off. I want to see what’s what and what’s where so I don’t have to look for anything while driving. At this event we were paired up, given keys, and told to drive. The drive consisted of secondary roads near Ford Proving Grounds; no city or highway driving, just straight, flat 50mph two-lane roads.
The Explorer Ecoboost, and the Edge Ecoboost, is powered by a new direct-injected and turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission. This drive-train is available only in the front-wheel-drive configuration. Ford admits that these vehicles were “not designed with off-roading or towing” in mind (1500lbs towing capacity). I find that a little disappointing as most people buy SUVs for the four-wheel winter traction and not off-roading per se.
My extended drive was in a mid-level Explorer XLT model. Before we departed I asked my co-driver if he could change the radio station and right away that became a problem. Specifically, the problem was with Ford’s audio system, which is totally unintuitive. Finally, after about two minutes (no exaggeration), he managed to find Sirius channel 100. To change the channel again I used the voice-control system and that worked much better. Noteworthy and somewhat related are the two customizable displays on each side of the speedometer, but again, I wish I had more time to play with them.
Loaded with two 200-pound guys, the Explorer moved effortlessly on the flat roads. Power delivery was very linear and smooth, without any turbo-lag or a specific power peak typically associated with smaller turbo engines. Acceleration from a standstill was equally uneventful, with some wheel spin on gravel and quick take offs. The power seems certainly more than adequate for everyday driving, but I am curious to see how it would do with more passengers.
Second portion of the event consisted of driving on the hilly portion of Ford’s Proving Grounds. We were told to follow an instructor in a Ford Raptor (love those!) up, over, and down some hills at varying speeds. We started this portion off in the Edge Ecoboost, and the approximate 600-pound difference between the two vehicles became instantly visible. The Edge felt downright sporty compared to the Explorer. Both vehicles handled the curves and elevation changes in a car-like fashion, without pronounced chassis roll seen on SUVs manufactured not too long ago.
Switching back to the Explorer for the same exercise immediately exemplified the added weight. Around lap number three on this one-mile-plus hilly route I felt comfortable enough to push the Explorer a little harder. That is where, on a particularly steep hill, I finally found myself with the gas pedal to the floor, wishing for more power. I would still like to see how the engine performs on the highway, say during accelerating from 50 to 80mph, such as while passing.
Overall the four-cylinder Explorer pleasantly surprised me, perhaps because I had such low expectations based on other four-cylinder SUVs I drove. The big question is that of fuel economy, where Ford quotes the EPA at 20mpg city and 28mpg highway for the Explorer. The Edge is rated at 21mpg city and 30mpg highway. Unfortunately I had no way of verifying these impressive numbers during my short drive. Ford is aware of the fact that EPA numbers don’t always translate in real-world gas mileage and they pledged to make their fuel mileage figures as real-world as possible.
Typically I spend a weekend with the cars I review. A longer drive on familiar roads, on my own time, allows me to get more familiar with those cars. Everyday events such as installing a car seat or throwing in some groceries allow me to see what it is like to live with them. Taking the time to go through all the settings, menus, and display functions found on modern cars takes some time too. Driving around with passengers, be it other car-guys or family members who know nothing about cars, provides me with valuable feedback which I always include in my reviews. Unfortunately I could not do any of this on this quick press drive.
Sounds more like a story on why press drives aren’t the best way to gain a full undestanding of a vehicle. I’ve never understood how someone can spend even a whole day driving a car and feel qualified to tell me if its for me or not. I need to live with a car for at least a weekend, but preferably a week to really get a feel for it.
Not sure I agree people buy SUVs for AWD snow driving. I think they buy them for their size (both mass and interior volume).
I think people buy SUVs for many reasons:
- space
- the feel of being adventurous
- utility
- the fact that they’re not driving a minivan
- seating position
- and, at least partially, the feeling of being able to drive in any weather conditions.
Nevermind the rental car fare chatter, how was the buffet at said nice hotel? Depending on how many other duffers attended this event, I’m sure there will be no shortage of (to borrow from Baruth) breathless reviews across the web. What brought me here today, to read a review of a vehicle I’ve no intentions of buying, was seeing what my friend Kamil had to say about a “big” crossover with a small displacement, turbocharged lump under the hood.
Now that I see this was your first such foray into the glamorous world of automotive gernalism, I’m curious how that went. Take Baruth to task. Was your co-driver texting away, who and how many pursued personal use cars to go into town for shopping in the evening (wait, this is Detroit, strike that last one), how fantastic were the meals, did you at least make an attempt to make the assigned engineer feel like you cared about what he had to say, and how many shots of which premium liquor influenced your perception of this fine automobile?
Brian, I love you man!
To answer your questions:
My co-driver (I’m not sure of what, if any, publication he worked for) was not texting as I kept tasking him with requests for a radio station changes. When we switched he would record video of himself driving the car with his (no kidding) head-mounted camera (imagine one of those headlamp flashlights you use when working on a car but a camera). Weird, yes, but probably great for recording POV pr0n. During that time I remained quiet and, oddly and surprisingly, so did he. He offered no commentary on his video. He was actually a very nice guy, owns a WRX with a fancy hairdryer.
I arrived late the night before (last flight out) and missed dinner but managed to grab desert (not great!). I headed to bed right after but I overheard plans people were making for meeting at a bar.
Breakfast was typical hotel buffet. There were stations with nice snacks and drinks throughout the day and yummy late lunch at the end. I did not eat much and ended up getting Taco Bell at the airport.
I chatted with a few engineers actually. I specifically asked about carbon built-up on some direct-injected turbocharged engines. The answer was the carbon build-up issues were solved by altering injector timing. I don’t know what to say about that; simply don’t know enough about it.
I stayed completely sober the whole time and I hope that was evident in my article. In fact I had a pounding headache the whole day and the nice people at Ford gave me some Advil… I don’t think it was spiked with GHB.
Anytime, brother. :highfives
I find the driving partner comments particularly intriguing, Kamil. Nevermind the private label Xandria Collection AV gear, but he remained relatively silent while filming? That’s just weird. I guess he could dub a more rehearsed script over in post-production back at the fort, but wouldn’t a voiceover be a bit unsettling while seeing a man driving in silence? Maybe I’m too right-brained, but I’d just *have to* comment about the cyborg wheelman.
Beyond that, your account gets me thinking such events could prove fertile ground for potential teamwork. I mean, if you find yourself paired up with a personable fellow and hit it off (entirely possible in my case, given an enthusiast with a modified daily driver), it seems like it could be a good chance to do some legitimate professional networking, and what better way than putting heads together and teaming up on a pair of stories which link back and forth between each other. Your combined readerships would benefit from more substance/entertainment, the host company would enjoy greater publicity for their invitation dollar, and you might get invited to more higher end events as a result.
Just a thought.
Did you get the engineer’s business card or name? From a technical perspective, the addressing of carbon build-up through injector timing (read: dwell, duty cycle, etc.) would be something I would really like to know more about, especially with regard to direct injected turbocharged engines. GDI systems operate with such precision at such high pressures, directly exposed to the flame front during the combustion process, everything needs to come together pretty much perfectly in order for the engine to run right.
Makes me wonder, is this how the carb guys felt when people started hiding boost signals from MAP sensors and installed mechanical rising rate fuel pressure regulators in-line with the fuel rail on fuel injected vehicles? The more things change…
Thanks for the read (and lively discussion), Kamil. Keep up the good work.