TESTED 2013 Ford Explorer Sport
WHAT IS IT? An Explorer with an attitude.
HOW MUCH? $41,675 base; $46,245 as tested.
WHAT MAKES IT RUN? A 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 producing 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque; 6-speed automatic transmission.
HOW QUICK IS IT? Car and Driver tested the Sport at a fleet 5.9 seconds from 0 to 60 m.p.h.
IS IT THIRSTY? Like a freshman at a frat party: the federal rating is 16 m.p.g. in the city and 22 on the highway.
ALTERNATIVES Ford Flex Limited EcoBoost, Dodge Durango R/T, BMW X5 xDrive 35i; in the upper reaches, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Range Rover Sport HSE and Porsche Cayenne S.
Forming a quick opinion from a first impression is bad enough, but forming that opinion before you’ve met is bad manners. So forgive me for disliking the very idea of the Explorer Sport even before it blocked out the sun in my driveway.
Whose idea was it to take a sizable S.U.V. and negate its basic purpose — to haul multiple people to places unreachable by a car — by stuffing in high-output engines, accessorizing the cabins with city-slicker frills and bolting on flashy oversize wheels?
Having said that, here’s my more mature second impression of the Sport, now that we’ve met: nice truck.
Ford starting slapping the Sport name on two-door Explorers in the mid-1990s, and although the name implied performance, Sport was just a label. The 2013 version, however, lives up to its name, with more power and better handling than the base Explorer. The engine is the same one found in the performance-oriented SHO version of the Taurus sedan, and it is also available in the Flex crossover and the F-150 pickup.
At 4,921 pounds and with seats for seven, the Explorer Sport is big and quick. When you first get in and roll away, you can be forgiven for thinking you’ll be riding a refrigerator down a toboggan run. But Ford realized it couldn’t put all that power into the Explorer and just walk away. The chassis has been reinforced with stiffer springs and shocks, the steering is quicker and the brakes are larger. There is continuous all-wheel drive and wide 20-inch tires with plenty of grip.
The all-season Continental tires look aggressive paired with the black-accented wheels that, along with the black grille, tell your neighbors this is no ordinary Explorer.
My neighbor, however, didn’t get the message. When he dropped by to look over the truck, he said he was considering the Explorer, but found it underpowered. Not this one, pal.
I took the Sport from Connecticut to Charlotte, N.C., for my son’s college graduation. The Ford proved roomy, comfortable and well appointed, with leather-trimmed seats. The ballroom-size cargo area, especially with the third row folded, can fit a dorm room’s worth of stuff.
On the highway and on twisty country roads, the Sport was a great companion that didn’t protest when, using the paddle shifters, I treated it like a sport sedan. It felt planted and composed, even when surrounded by trucks during the driving rainstorm that followed us home.
And I have to admit, it was satisfying to surprise other drivers when I clicked a two-gear downshift to pull away from the crowd. When pushing this beast at speed, I felt like one of General Patton’s tankers rushing to relieve the troops at Bastogne.
Of course, fuel economy is the humbug that haunts S.U.V.’s like this. Even with the efficient EcoBoost, the truck inhales gas.
A few years ago, I took two trips to North Carolina in diesel S.U.V.’s from Mercedes and Audi, and I made it to Charlotte both times on about one tank of fuel. The Explorer took nearly two.
And while we’re on the subject of reality, let’s not overlook the sticker price. At almost $42,000, it strays uncomfortably close to the $48,000 BMW X5. The Sport carries an $11,680 premium over the base front-drive Explorer, a competent vehicle in its own right.
It may seem a bit much, but excess usually is.