New engines Cat.... But still not a cummins!

LMAO. You forgot the extra wide tire option for the DRW so there is more surface area contact.

I am not happy with the lack of 2 speed transfer case, V8, tow rating, etc... Ford just lost me as a customer However if someone is upgrading to it from a small suv like rav4 or microbus i think it might be a nice upgrade

Not so sure about all that....

Towing is the same as previous gen....5K, right? Works just fine if you're moving a small trailer, renting a tool , etc.

The Ecoboost will pull much harder than the V8s they put in the older ones. I had an '02 EB with the V8. I drive a Lincoln MKT with the Ecoboost. EB crushes the 4.6.

OP, I'm 19k miles into what I would assume to be the same chasis and drive train as the new Explorer. I'm very happy with my car. Notice I said car, IRONMAN, not truck

i would agree Explorers or anything in that class isnt really know for towing and probably never will be. IF you need to tow big buy something else.

Acutally the old Explorer with a V8 was rated a little over 7k lbs.

The thing that people need to get used to (and should be happy about) is the phase out of these midsize TRUCK based SUVs that really didn't make a lot of sense, seeing that most were used for shopping and never went off road.

The new lines (explorer, chevy traverse) are unibody "Car" chassis, known as crossovers. So yes towing and cargo weight will be slightly down, but handling, fuel economy, and durability will all be up. 2WD are FWD instead of rear, so many more will be made FWD only. New tech like the Eco V6 give more power than most moms will ever need, and will out accelerate the old V8 versions.

I rented a Traverse and was surpised the inside was almost as large as my full size denali. It was impressive.

The V8's will crush the new ones, they don't have the V6 Ecoboost, the Ecoboost engine in the new Explorers is the new 2.0 turbo 4 banger. It's based an modified version of the D4 that underpins the Flex/MKT. Their really nice, and their getting the kinks worked out of My Ford Touch/Microsoft sync. But totally a unibody crossover now, even the last 2 gens had full IS suspension front and rear but they were still built on a truck frame. Jeep still offers a V8 but it's held back by a pos trans geared poorly and the truck is a friggen fat porker now.

I've had a couple Explorers/Mountaineers, all V8's and usually modded, excellent trucks. Actually not a single problem ever with any of them and I still keep a V8 Mountaineer around as a beater with 135k miles and runs like new. Meanwhile almost every foreign make we've had including Lexus has had issues lol. They were definitely the best mid-sized trucks for towing.

No Eco-6, only an Eco-4 banger that's slow, otherwise you get a nice n/a V6. If Ford offered the Ecoboost 6 in the Explorer I totally would have bought one, that's the only thing missing from that truck (I mean urban assault unibody cross-over) lol. Doesn't make sense why they don't as the Flex/MKT are being phased out.

I wasn't aware of that. Maybe it is in the plans down the road? The taurus has it, it is the same platform correct?

We also still have a V8 Aviator. My wifey loves it, and it has great power. Gets 16 mph with full time AWD. I have towed our 27ft cruiser with it, for just a short run, but I was surprised how well it did. It is a great spare vehicle in great shape, will prob have it for many years to come.

Comes with 2 different engine options:
3.5 V6 w/ 290 HP/255 TQ or
2.0 Ecoboost 240 HP/270 TQ

I still have a 5.0 Mountaineer (one with 135k miles) and 10' 4.6, both modded. Stock it was quicker then the Aviator b/c of the nice 6 speed auto and flat torque band where the Avi is more of a rev'er... I had a custom tune done for it though and the truck fly's compared to stock haha, just intake and exhaust mods as well. Get's about 22 highway at 75, a good tune totally wakes these 4.6 engines up, stock was like 20 hwy which was still good.

I loved the new Explorer and wanted to trade in for it, but can't get over they don't offer the Ecoboost 6. The regular V6 is nice, but the Ecoboost 4 is slow, even with more torque that supposedly hit's lower... drive both and it's a night and day difference, the V6 has better power and passing ability everywhere. And so far in real world use the 4 hasn't shown really much better mileage both from owners and even pro reviews.

yeh they all share a similar platform, Taurus is on a D3 I think, and the D4 is a modified version of it with the Explorer having an updated version of that.