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SUVS in
Metro roads are now a dime a dozen. Politicians use them
as secure vehicles and security backup, businessmen for
their everyday transportation, and families for their
daily vehicle needs. It has come to a point where SUVs
are now more like a home away from home.
Despite
the proliferation of SUVs in the market, Ford has
decided to release its latest Explorer Eddie Bauer
series. Fortuitous enough for the Explorer, the recent
crop of SUVs is not as large as the Eddie Bauer, which
can carry up to eight persons easily.
Built
like a house, the Explorer has a huge exterior that
gives it the semblance of a giant thundering down the
road. With a face that has an expression between a hard
smile and a grunt.
But it’s
not the outside that really impressed itself on this
writer. It was the room inside that truly amazed him.
Driving around daily in a small, subcompact car, this
writer felt lost inside the 2007 Explorer.
The
driver’s seat was big enough to almost drown in (and
this writer is not a small person). And even the front
passenger’s seat can take two, if not for safety
concerns. The middle and rear seats can very comfortably
accommodate three passengers, with room for pillows and
blankets for each.
The
luggage compartment, even with the third-row seat up,
can still hold enough baggage for a week’s vacation, and
the roof rack can be fitted with an extra carrier to
pack in more.
Now,
this writer said it felt like a house. Why? Well,
because the passenger accommodations are as comfortable
as your own private La-Z-Boy. With cup holders
everywhere and areas to store snacks to nibble on, the
only thing missing is a DVD player, and it’s movie
night. Except movie night does not have to be at night,
but right in the middle of traffic.
Yes, it
was that obvious, the Explorer this writer took home had
a DVD player and a video screen tacked to the roof for
the rear passengers. The DVD is loaded from the rear, so
the poor guy in front who does not get to watch a movie
is not bothered by requests for a CD change every so
often. It even comes with a remote control just like at
home.
Chances
are, you would want to know how it rides. Because, if it
has such a wonderful audio and video system and big
space inside, then it really should feel like your
La-Z-Boy. Well, it does. The Explorer is truly an
American van when it comes to the softness of the ride.
“Just like cloud nine,” as the Yankees would say.
From a
drivers point of view, we don’t have the movie, but we
do have control of the six-disc audio system up-front.
And we do steer the van, so tough luck, passengers. Car
control is tight and zippy. The powerhouse 4.0-liter, V6
engine gives more than enough for both city and country
drives.
Safety
is also ensured with airbags all around the inside of
the van and safety belts are just an arm’s reach away.
But the brakes are a bit too slow to react for this
writer’s taste.
The
visibility from the driver’s side has a bit to be
desired. The rear-view mirror is much too small for the
size of the SUV and the side-view mirrors are mounted in
such a way that a vehicle you see from your rear-view
mirror will disappear from view when it passes you on
the side (any side) for a moment before reappearing on
your side-view mirror. This happened even after numerous
adjustments. You’ll probably have to buy one of those
long rear-view mirror attachments to cure this.
Other
than that, the Explorer is quite a joy to drive around
town and to the highlands. Just make sure you bring
enough baon if you plan to take your
six-year-olds along, like this writer did, because they
will think they are just in their playpens! |
