New cars: 2011 Ford Explorer

Automobile

Way back in 1990, the first Ford Explorer brought sport-utility vehicles “out of the wilderness and into suburbia.” This all-new version, no longer built on a truck platform, offers vastly improved ride and handling. Inside, updates include an “ultramodern driver interface.” But the rest of the interior is “less spectacular.” Its standard leather seats are “pretty industrial-grade.”

The Wall Street Journal

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Gone are the old Explorer’s “bumpy ride, rattles, and bad handling,” while the cabin exhibits an “attention to detail usually found in upscale European models.” Yet “there are annoyances.” Despite a new 3.5-liter V6 engine that boosts fuel economy by 25 percent, this Explorer “works no miracles” on the mileage front.

TheDetroitBureau.com

We doubt anyone will notice—or care—that the new Explorer can “no longer handle an off-road torture test.” Ford has focused on improved street smarts, including a Curve Control stability system that automatically slows the vehicle “should a driver charge into a corner too aggressively.” The result is a winner—a “four-wheeled decathlete” that can handle “a wide range of activities with aplomb.”