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I really liked the new Explorer until...

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Old 04-27-11, 05:28 AM
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Joeb427
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Default I really liked the new Explorer until...

I saw the interior at the NY show.
The Explorer exterior looked great but the interior quality was the pits for a $48K vehicle.Terrible.The center console was looked awful cheap along with the center dash area.

Also peeped the $50K Lincoln MKS.The interior was a joke.Ugly wood trim and two accordion type door compartment on the console.Something you would see on a econo car.Awful for a $50K vehicle.Wood doors would have been the better choice.
The Navigator had what looked like water temp,gas,amp.oil needle gauges that looked like a '60's-70's vehicle.

Ford has to do a better job with their expensive vehicle interiors.

Last edited by Joeb427; 04-27-11 at 07:17 AM.
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Old 04-27-11, 06:46 AM
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I know what you saying. I don't know why interiors are sooo sooo difficult for manufacturers to get it right.
The use of cheap materials and poor design decisions seems to prevail even after years of many reporters, magazines and enthusiasts clearly identifying the major FAIL in their new designs.

Case in point, why in these modern times the beloved Corvette suffers from, "it's getting better but not quite what you'd expect from America's permier sports car" Why is it generations of models that's getting better?!? Ah mean, when is it going to at least get on par with the competition??

How could Ford focus soo much on exterior design and fail to execute the same design excitement for the interior?
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Old 04-27-11, 06:58 AM
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American cars have the worst interiors of all cars...besides the expensive autos you mentioned look at the interior of a Corvette or even Viper = **** for price...
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Old 04-27-11, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by IStoSC
American cars have the worst interiors of all cars...
that's a pretty ridiculously sweeping statement. while more true a couple of decades ago, many 'american' cars now have world class interiors.

i think the cadillac cts interior is excellent. chevy cruze interior, excllent. for taurus interior, really really nice (waaaay better than an accord or camry!). a ford f-150 interior is better than a toyota tundra interior.

and many 'japanese' interiors have gone in the toilet in recent years, notably, the honda civic (may be good materials, but it's hideous), the :eek: yaris abomination, and even the prius interior seems incredibly cheap although i guess that's mainly to be light for fuel economy.
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Old 04-27-11, 10:02 AM
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Agree about the new Explorer...was underwhelmed when I sat in it. The seating position also made it feel like I was sitting in the middle of the car, not the drivers side
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Old 04-27-11, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by bitkahuna
that's a pretty ridiculously sweeping statement. while more true a couple of decades ago, many 'american' cars now have world class interiors.

i think the cadillac cts interior is excellent. chevy cruze interior, excllent. for taurus interior, really really nice (waaaay better than an accord or camry!). a ford f-150 interior is better than a toyota tundra interior.

and many 'japanese' interiors have gone in the toilet in recent years, notably, the honda civic (may be good materials, but it's hideous), the :eek: yaris abomination, and even the prius interior seems incredibly cheap although i guess that's mainly to be light for fuel economy.
Fair statement perhaps in very recent times they've started to up their game...but their only appealing cars (another sweeping statement such as the vette have world-*** interiors)...the only American cars I've driven lately and have been very dissatisfied with interior quality all happen to be Jeep (liberty) and Dodge (charger) and the amount of rubber and plastic just made me sad...
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Old 04-27-11, 10:51 AM
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Went to the NY autoshow yeasterday, I notice the exterior of the ford fusion, focus are nice until I actually sit and touch the interior. They put leather in one place and then cheap plastic next to it.......It seem like they just randomly put some leather on it to make it look nice at the "first glance".
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Old 04-27-11, 11:02 AM
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Sweeping statements aside, the new Explorer at 4900 pounds is pretty hefty considering the BOF vehicle it replaced was only 75-150 pounds heavier depending on configuration/options/engines.

I felt the new Explorer interior was about what I expected in this class of SUV.
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Old 04-27-11, 12:04 PM
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typical American cars. They have such crappy interiors generally. I think the only modern American car that has a nice interior would be the CTS
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Old 04-27-11, 04:02 PM
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I feel like the interior on my new Grand Cherokee is stunning. Many people have echoed the comments when they first ride in my car. It's much nicer than the 4Runner I was considering.

Materials felt much nicer than the Explorer
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Old 04-27-11, 08:30 PM
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Originally Posted by I8ABMR
typical American cars. They have such crappy interiors generally.
you're entitled to your opinion of course, but i think it's out of date. not only has the interior of 'typical american cars' improved immensely, the interiors of non-american cars has in general gotten worse.

so how's this? MOST interiors from ALL brands are pretty crappy.
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Old 04-27-11, 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by bitkahuna
. a ford f-150 interior is better than a toyota tundra interior.
That's a pretty ridiculously sweeping statement. You're entitled to your opinion of course but i think it's out of date.




And seriously, that's what it is (opinion, from both of us) and what other members are posting about too. I looked at the F150 and didn't care for the interior. The Tundra is certainly no Lexus but I personally preferred it over than all the domestic options I considered (all makes). I think in many cases people prefer what they've "grown up with".... I know moving from a Toyota to a Lexus felt right because of all the control placement, etc for me back when I bought my first GS in 1999.

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Old 04-27-11, 09:24 PM
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this is about the best pic i can find of a 2011 tundra interior. a friend has one too so i know it pretty well. my complaint is the giant swath of silver painted plastic in front of the driver.



but maybe it is pretty debatable... the ford interior is 'busier', and kind of more 'trucky'...



regardless of this one model comparison, to say all american interiors is bad is definitely not true, not even subjectively.
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Old 04-27-11, 09:30 PM
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The new Explorer interior is a nice step up from last gen.
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Old 04-27-11, 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted by bitkahuna
chevy cruze interior, excllent. for taurus interior, really really nice (waaaay better than an accord or camry!)
Like this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2_b4V6C4aM

If that were to happen to a Corolla, the whole world would go BANANA!

By the way, I had a Taurus rental with 15k miles on it. Everything is peeling off. I have been so impressed with new fords lately until I had one for rental. I honestly have never been in older Fords for a long time, but new Taurus do not have "waaaay better than" camry or accord interor.
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