Gray plastic cladding on rear bumper seems somewhat cheap and brittle. A more pliable material should be used. Six-footers can walk under the tailgate without worrying about bashing skulls on metallic surfaces or protrusions Flipper glass is excellent, and quite useful. V-8 offers lots of get up and go, but becomes winded in the upper reaches of the rev band. Low end torque is available in spades, but at about 13 mpg in the city, we could live with the V-6.
Fuel economy is truly horrendous.
The Explorer offers a fine highway ride, and off road manners are quite good as well. However, we doubt we'd want to take a 4WD Explorer anyplace that the 2WD model won't go. The suspension is too soft for serious off-road adventure. This is one quiet vehicle on the road. Only sound other than the CD player is some wind roar over the A-pillars and the mirrors.