Overview & Reviews

The 2016 Ford Explorer gets revised exterior styling, a new engine option, updated safety features and a new top-end trim level.

• Abundant high-tech features
• Upscale cabin
• Expected improvement in fuel economy from new turbo engine.

• Less cargo room than many rivals
• Third row only seats two passengers.
• Current model feels big behind the wheel

User Reviews:

Showing 31 through 40 of 97.00

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  Throttle Body Malfunction Turned it into a Lemon - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Paul - April 7 - 2:14 am

  Great car up until the electronic throttle body broke at 8,700 miles on the highway. Ford apparently had a "nationwide shortage" on the part needed and after weeks of waiting, they offered me a refund under the lemon laws. Luckily, Ford has been cooperative but its taking a lot of time to get this refund.

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  LOVING the Explorer Sport - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Ryan - March 8 - 2:41 pm

  We had a 2011 Explorer, and Im very pleased to say that every little thing that annoyed me in the 2011 model has been totally addressed in the 2016. Real buttons for climate controls, remote start works from more than 10 feet away, and automatic climate control works much better, for example. Im a "driver" and I enjoy a vehicle that can handle itself properly and isnt "lazy". The Sport checks all the boxes. Im very pleased with the throttle response, which is typically terrible in an automatic transmission vehicle, but it is very good in the Sport, making the explorer feel very eager. The ecoboost engine really pulls nicely, especially from 40-80+ mph. Steering response is great, and the explorer stays nice and flat in the turns. Good solid road manners over uneven surfaces. The interior is very comfortable. I love the red stitching on the black leather, looks very sporty. Fit and finish is very good. I purposely bought our Explorer without the adaptive cruise control and collision warning system, because I hated those with a passion in the 2011 we owned. Literally HATED them. Ford has nailed it with the 2016 Explorer Sport. I only have one complaint. The drivers footrest is a little cramped. Thats it. That is the ONLY thing I can think of to complain about. Its a really great vehicle.

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  Hurts my Butt - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Ole Chief - February 22 - 1:29 pm

  Love the vehicle overall. Traded in a 2008 Toyota Highlander Limited. Wanted a new Toyota but could not get one configured the way I wanted it. Wanted Limited without moon roof, AWD or the extras they automatically put on all vehicles like mats and paint protection, etc.. I was able to configure the Explorer the way i wanted it and place an order. Owners manual can be frustrating trying to determine what features actually relate to the vehicle you have. It will list a feature with a note saying "if equipped" but the documentation you have on the vehicle you bought as well as the description on what features you have as listed in the Explorer brochure still dont give you a clue. You are forced to go to the vehicle and try to do or operate the feature and if it happens or not gives you the answer. Touch screen gets finger prints all over it very quickly and trying to look at screen and various controls while driving to change or select something can be very distracting and dangerous. If we think texting and driving can be dangerous just wait for more drivers using features like this vehicle has. The situation is exacerbated when drivers have not read the manual and have a reasonable understanding of the controls and try to do something while driving by just trying different things until they get the results they want, give up or run off the road or worse. Wish that the tailgate window would open separately from the lift gate itself. Many times I want to put things in the back like when Im grocery shopping and want to lean them back against the tailgate. Cant do it on this vehicle. Have to place things carefully so they dont fall out when you open the lift gate to unload things. The absolute MOST DISAPPOINTING FEATURE for me is the front seat seats. The Explorer Limited has contoured seats with raised side bolsters that appear to be sized for someone quite smaller than me. Im not at all large. After driving for about 15-20 minutes the seat pressure on my right hip causes my sciatic nerve to hurt and Im very uncomfortable. My wife has also commented over how extra firm her seat feels. Not real comfortable for driving any distance. My Highlander Limited seats did not have this problem. I noticed that Ford Edge owners have complained about the seat configuration in those vehicles as well. Had I driven the Explorer for 30 minutes before buying it I would not have purchased it and probably bought a Toyota even though it had things I didnt want on it. Ill be web surfing for solutions to the problem and might even consider going to an automotive upholstery business to reconfigure my seat. Will also try to contact Ford for possible solutions. Might be just me, but that is why different people purchase different vehicles. Have not had a real chance to form an opinion on all of the vehicles features and thus the neutral rating given on many of them. Im still optimistic about my future with this vehicle and hope for the best.

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  Love my 2016 Explorer XLT - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By John D. - January 7 - 2:26 pm

  Very comfortable, refined, and looks great. Only have 1000 miles on it so far, but it is performing excellently.

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  OMG I love this car! - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Jill - December 22 - 12:01 pm

  I have read many people saying the drivers seat is uncomfortable. I had the 1997 and 2000 Explorer - and this one is more comfortable for me. My seats even massage! I absolutely love this car. I just wish there was more cargo space in it....

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  Throttle body died, keep away from this car - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By JY - November 8 - 8:48 am

  My 2016 explorer throttle body just died today on a busy highway. Car speed dropped suddenly from 60 to 20 mph. It was so dangerous. The car has only been driven for about 7,700 miles. Tolled to a dealer and was told there are almost three weeks of backorder for the part. I guess there are a lot of cars that have the same problem. No loaner car was given and I had to pay for my rental car.

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  Loves this car conditionally - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Jim Ives - September 3 - 2:59 am

  I went to the Explorer Limited after having a MKX. What I like about the Explorer is the light steering, the room with all the seats down, and the third power folding row seating. I have the two seat configuration in the 2nd row to allow for moving them back or forward for more legroom in the third row. I wish the auto fold didnt fold and tilt. I usually only want to fold the second row rather than tilting. What Im not pleased with is the short drivers seat, and the narrowness of the seat. Far more uncomfortable than the MKX. Im not the smallest person, but not overly large either, and they feel like a kids seat rather than an adults seat. I think they are more suited to a lean person. I am also not pleased with the power plugs. They are nicely placed, and I like the 110 plug in the front console. The problem is they arent always on. They shut down not long after shutting down the car. When camping, I need an always on plug to recharge a lithium ion battery I have, which means I have to run the car for 3 hours to recharge it. This was not the case In my MKX. I like the adjusting pedals as my wife has shorter legs than me, I like the 3 seat memory buttons, and the power tilt wheel. I also think the voice recognition has improved. The phone hang up button works much better than my MKX. All in all, I like the car with just the few issues I show above. If they fix those items, I would buy another one.

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  Painful front seat and foot-well design - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Henry F. - June 18 - 3:29 am

  Great, smooth ride. Wonderful turning radius and nice looks, BUT: The sides of the seats ride high and put pressure on the thighs, and its immediately noticeable and uncomfortable. 62" here but not big, relatives of mine who are much smaller said the same thing immediately. Contributing to the pain, though, is that they redesigned the foot well so that the floor actually inclines back to front and left to right, which puts your ankle and leg at very weird angles, and doesnt allow for a depth of the basin for pivoting over the pedals. The angle of the brake (also too far forward - towards you) and the gas pedal has increased which makes matters worse. They also increased the angle of the dead pedal, and one cant even put a foot on it without it pushing the toes inward --- the walls curve in and effectively make everything near the pedals smaller. I think they did this to open up room back towards the chair but all of the above caused me much pain. I even measured angles, distances, etc. to make sure I wasnt crazy --- Im not. Its sad because its a nice looking car that otherwise would be enjoyable, but ... if you are in pain driving something its a complete loss.

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  THROTTLE BODY FAILED! - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Stranded - May 4 - 1:04 pm

  Little over 8,000 miles the throttle body died on a busy roadway. Ford Roadside assistance is a joke! Wrecker was dispatched and a 1 hour forty five minute wait time was estimated. Guess what? That time was extended to another two hours! Called my own personal wrecker service and they were there in 20 minutes. After a three hour wait, I got to the dealership after closing and was unable to secure a rental or loaner car. Another hour or so wait until I could get a family member to pick me up. Listening to the throttle body problems, guess I am not the only one! With the cost of this vehicle, makes one wonder if they could have went to GM and got more bang for the buck!

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  Nice vehicle...but oh, those seats! - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By paul dekoekkoek - April 13 - 1:50 am

  Full disclosure--Im reviewing based on a week traveling with this as a rental vehicle as sort of an extended test drive before making an expensive purchase! Maybe this wont get published as a result and interpret accordingly. Ive read all the online reviews of the 2016 model, looked at all the specs, compared to several other competing models that Ive researched and test driven, and had some extended seat time before arriving at my conclusions. Disregard required ratings for things that can only be evaluated with months and years of ownership time like reliability, maintenance costs, etc. under the "Reliability" and "Value" categories. Overall, this is a great vehicle and I understand why many people ultimately decide to purchase one. It has the combination of luxury, styling, technology and performance thats hard to beat. The turbo v6 is a treat and I averaged 22-23mpg across over 500 miles of driving 70-75mph. City mileage in true urban/suburban traffic leaves a bit to be desired as I was more in the 12-14mpg range then, though perhaps not appreciably different from the normally aspirated standard v6. I also appreciate the lane-keeping assist (though not always reliable even when lanes clearly painted and favorable conditions for it to work). Most of the electronics and "Sync" were good, though I kept getting a "usb input error" message on screen from one of the charging ports used to charge phones that I dont get anywhere else. Will chalk that up to Microsoft and perhaps the next generation Sync3 on next years model will improve some of these little annoyances. The highway ride is quiet and smooth, with minimal steering adjustments required to keep it tracking straight. I enjoyed driving it and all the electronic parking aids are useful though I didnt try the parallel parking assist. In the interest of keeping this review fairly short, wont go into all the details of everything I checked, but overall found the technology and features in this model to be very good. Its not going in my garage, however, for one simple reason--seat comfort. I plan for this vehicle to be the family roadtrip hauler and this is the fatal flaw for me. I can nitpick a few other items that I wasnt thrilled about, but could learn to live with, but seat comfort is a major problem area for me at least. Even with the Platinums "Nirvana" leather and seemingly infinite amount of adjustment (including massaging seats), I eventually developed significant lower back pain over the course of many consecutive hours behind the wheel. Im not sure if the highly inboard dead pedal placement is part of the equation, but the seat cushions contours felt too narrow and the bottom cushion too short (at 6 1", Im not tall enough to expect that to be an issue) resulting in sciatica symptoms. I tried to wish them away as I really liked the vehicle enough to strongly consider buying one. Could just be the way it fits me, though Im apparently not alone given what Ive read here and elsewhere. For reference, both the Dodge Durango and Toyota Highlander (the latter with its inflatable front seat edge extender for more thigh support) feel much more comfortable to me. There may be other vehicles in this class with even better seat comfort, though I have ruled them out for other reasons. My recommendation--try to get some extended seat time to confirm long-haul comfort if traveling on long trips is part of the intended use. Such a nice vehicle, though it wont work for me.