SW17LS

Like the thread said, I decided to pop out and take a look at a couple vehicles today, a 2020 Explorer and a 2020 Palisade.

First was the Explorer. The dealer had two, both just XLTs. One had leather the other cloth. Leather one was locked. Overall I was underwhelmed. Now, understand these are low trims, but inside the vehicle seemed very plain to me, outside its attractive, looks quite slick. Some very low rent materials inside, hard plastic door panels, etc. Space in the second row isn't great, third row is on the floor, and legroom is okay. Cargo space with the seats up and down didn't seem great. Didnt even bother driving it, will try and find a higher spec one to look at and drive.

Grabbed some quick pics:






Then I went to see the Hyundai Palisade....which I LOVED. They had a burgundy with ivory Limited 2WD model (why we would have a 2WD model up here who knows). I love the styling, the upright/squarer more truckish looks. The interior is beautiful, with the ivory leather and the alcantara headliner it really felt mid 2000s Lexus inside, not in an outdated way but just in the quality of materials and build, and the "feel" of the materials. I love the unusual quilting and perforations to the leather, room in the second row was better, and the third row has more seat cushion height. Cargo area is slightly better with the third row up (our stroller would fit, for instance) and much better with it down.

One thing I did notice, the front seats dont have a lot of track backwards. I was all the way back and would have put it another inch or so further, and I have pretty short legs for my height (30" inseam and I'm 6')

Quite frankly, the interior of this felt more expensive than a Lexus RX. Even a high trim one.

All in all, I think this vehicle is really a winner. Someone was signing papers for it as I was looking at it, they would have let me drive it but I declined. They're supposed to get another one in Monday or Tuesday thats AWD I can drive.

Sizewise, will be a big change from the van, lets just put it that way...worth it to me as this is a vehicle I would enjoy having a lot more but would be a tough sell to my wife. Will definitely loose space utility, and since she doesnt really care about cars...

Some pics:




I didnt take any interior shots unfortunately

mmarshall

Thanks for the shots. I see you were at Fitzgerald for the Palisade. I've always liked the Fitz way of doing business...not necessarily the absolute cheapest new-vehicle deal, but usually a good healthy discounted no-dicker price (a little higher if you want some extra service with It), and simple, straightforward, and easy for both customers and the salespeople alike, especially if you have decent credit.



My strong guess is most of the AWD models were probably all pre-ordered, promised to certain customers, or simply sold out. Most customers, especially outside of warm-weather areas, don't want a 2WD SUV.....the AWD, of course, is one of their main selling points.

SW17LS

Fitzgerald isn't any better than other dealers unfortunately. I recently had them run lease numbers for me on a Sienna, and the lease money factor was so inflated it was laughable. Trying to get me to accept an $850 lease payment on a $49k Sienna with 10K off the sticker... rack rate was .00001 and they were quoting me like .0010 (HUGE markup)

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I said from first pics of explorer that exterior’s a knockout, interior is terrible. No idea what they were thinking except that kind of interior sold well in the 90s i guess. My 06 explorer was pretty much all hard plastics but still looked tidy and good to me. This new one is a hot mess. The center stack with either small tablet or LUDICROUS vertical slab tablet stuck on top is a sad joke. The best things about the new explorer are rwd and the exterior look.

Palisade kinda reminds me of a tahoe from side and back, but interior, wow, reminds me of my g90! I also like the palisade interior WAY better than the teluride. Palisade limited has the full led gauge cluster in front of driver, which gives the k900 ‘gauge turns into a side view camera view’ trick - which is awesome. No other luxury car even has that.

thanks so much for sharing but for others if you want to see the difference between the palisade and explorer, check out alex on auto’s reviews of both. Explorer interior filled with hard cheesy looking plastics. Palisade with suede-like roof liner, soft touch all over, nicely integrated controls, ...

oldcajun

The total leg room for all 3 rows for the explorer is around 114" which is competitive with most of the other midsize 3 row SUVs. The exception as you noticed is the Palisade/Telluride which has almost 4" more room. The Palisade also has relatively long tracks for the 2nd row seat so it can be customized for passenger room, cargo room, etc. The room advantage is likely at least in part to the package effeciency of the FWD layout. Ford must have done pretty well to have their RWD vehicle match or beat all but 1 of the FWD competitors.

jrmckinley

So a 2020 Explorer Platinum is going to be around $65k and a loaded Palisade is around $50k. That choice would be a no brainer for me. I seemed to be in the minority on a separate thread about the 2020 Explorer when I mentioned I thought Ford had lost their mind with their pricing. Watching the above video and seeing what the interior looks like (I know it's not a Platinum) makes me feel even stronger about my opinion.

I think Hyundai has hit it out of the park with this from what I can see in the above video and Ford has whiffed completely (especially on the interior). Surprised there's no pano roof on the Palisade he tested - is that an option?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

it has a double glass roof

SW17LS

Bear in mind most Explorers won't be Platinums, and the Palisade Limited will compare mostly with an Explorer Limited.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Love the new Explorer. Base power is good, the two V6 options are strong

Interior of the Palisade is nice, but that front is only a front a mother could love

tex2670

How will it compare in content, though? I assume Explorer Limited will have all the active safety features, but HUD, heated/vented rear seats, dual pane S/R, etc? It's going to be hard to beat the top level Palisade/Telluride in content for the $$.

mmarshall

While we're comparing Palisade and Explorer, for those who are not (yet) aware), it bears mentioning that the Palisade is typical of today's crossover SUVs in being a FWD/AWD platform, while the Explorer, while retaining its unibody frame, shifts from a FWD/AWD to an RWD/AWD platform for the latest version.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Only the 5th generation was FWD/AWD. The Explorer has otherwise always been RWD/AWD (gens 1-4), albeit just on BOF. Now it is more in line with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, being unibody and RWD/AWD

SW17LS

I actually think in person its actually quite attractive. The upmarket trims of the Explorer would have to be a LOT nicer inside than the XLT for it to impress me at all.

Bear in mind the Explorer Platinum will have a lot more power than the Palisade too, and its RWD. The Platinum gets the engine from the ST with 400hp.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I understand its subjective. That said, I prefer the front of the Telluride over the Palisade

mmarshall

Yes, I know. The early versions were essentially redone Ford Ranger BOF platforms with the ancient Twin-I-Beam front suspension that dated back to 1964...one factor (among several, including tires) that contributed to the rollover risk.

Why they converted back to an RWD platform this time, I have no idea , except maybe to improve load or towing capacity a little.....longitudinal RWD transmissions, in general, can usually handle more of a load than smaller transverse/FWD units.