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Today I was at my mechanics shop to get my tires rotated, and he had a Ford Transit sitting in his bay. Apparently 20 percent of his business are transits due to him having a lot of HVAC and plumbing companies as customers. I mentioned to him that it might be a decent van to replace my Sienna, and he told me "No, they are POS, stay away from them". OK, now I have a better picture as to why they are at the bottom when it comes to sales....
I really wanted to love the Explorer. But I rented one 2 years ago and it was so bad we actively avoided driving any more than necessary.
Agreed. I did a formal MM-Review of one when the latest-generation debuted several years ago, and I found it very unimpressive both inside and out. And that symbolizes the BIG difference between Fords and Lincolns today. Lincolns are no longer simply Fords with a little more trim/sound-insulation and a better warranty. The Aviator, in particular, although done on the same platform, is an enormous upgrade from the Explorer, again both inside and out. Lincolns, today, IMO, are true luxury vehicles.
Here's a sampling:
Throttle is an on/off switch, and the accelerator pedal is mostly there to control shift points. You get 90-95% of engine power the moment you touch the accelerator. If you hold it "just off-idle" it will shift at 1500-1700. Give it 75% and you get shifts ~1000 rpm before redline. Push it all the way and the last 5% of power comes in somewhere, plus it revs out all the way before shifting.
Steering is completely dead. This would be 100% fine in a family hauler, if it didn't ALSO dart like an F1 car. Makes it damn near impossible to keep centered in the lane on the highway, and is just exhausting to drive.
"Easy entry/exit" feature is beyond stupid. In most cars that have it, the seat will slide back 1-2" (and the wheel will tilt up/back, if powered) to give you more room for ingress and egress. I'm not a fan, but I get it. In the Explorer, it goes ALL THE WAY back, until the front seat is nearly touching the rear. This means unless you quickly reach down and stop it, you flatten whoever is sitting behind you. Just to confirm that it worked the way I thought, one of the times before shutting the car off I slid the seat forward until the steering wheel was touching my sternum. It automatically motored back at least 15". I spent a while digging through the infotainment trying to find a way to disable it, but it's not there. Had to pore through the manual to find out that it's buried several menus deep behind the trip odometer in the instrument cluster.
This was a MY2023 with 2484 miles when I picked it up. The interior fit/finish was slightly better than the first one I sat in at the auto show when it was initially released, but still pretty bad.
To add to your comments (most of which I agree with), I would also add two annoying features inside. First, you have to pull the under-dash lever twice instead of once to release the hood (a feature found on a number of new Ford products today), and, Second, the start/stop button for the engine is installed in awkward angle and position under a protruding A/C vent in the dash....you essentially have to stick your finger into a hole and press down LOL.
Today I was at my mechanics shop to get my tires rotated, and he had a Ford Transit sitting in his bay. Apparently 20 percent of his business are transits due to him having a lot of HVAC and plumbing companies as customers. I mentioned to him that it might be a decent van to replace my Sienna, and he told me "No, they are POS, stay away from them". OK, now I have a better picture as to why they are at the bottom when it comes to sales....
I’ve never had any issues with mine, I’ve had 3, still have 2.
I’ve never had any issues with mine, I’ve had 3, still have 2.
He didn't elaborate what the issues are. It's possible his clients run them hard. Also I believe this is the turbocharged 4 cylinder 2.0L version, they also have a 3.5L Ecoboost
He didn't elaborate what the issues are. It's possible his clients run them hard. Also I believe this is the turbocharged 4 cylinder 2.0L version, they also have a 3.5L Ecoboost
Pretty sure the TransitConnects (which that is) are all 4 cyl. The 3.5 can be had in the bigger Transit
Pretty sure the TransitConnects (which that is) are all 4 cyl. The 3.5 can be had in the bigger Transit
I don't know enough about them to form any type of opinion. They look like a great utility vehicle, but my mechanic doesn't seem to like them, even though they represent 20 percent of his business. I was just repeating what he told me
Please clarify your post. What did you have 3 of, and still have 2?
Ford Transit Connect vans. We had one of the previous model, we added 2 more of the current model and retired the old one without replacing it. These are work vans owned by my property management business.
There’s a huge difference between the Transit Connect and the Transit van. The Connect has more carlike seating position and Is a much nicer van to drive around in.
There’s a huge difference between the Transit Connect and the Transit van. The Connect has more carlike seating position and Is a much nicer van to drive around in.
Yes, the Transit is much bigger, and taller. Connect seems like it's a perfect cargo/hauler that could possibly replace my aging Sienna, but my mechanic told me it would be a bad idea. Again, I have no opinion as I have no experience with this van. Although it does seem to have a very underpowered engine at 170 HP
Ford Transit Connect vans. We had one of the previous model, we added 2 more of the current model and retired the old one without replacing it. These are work vans owned by my property management business.
A little off-topic, maybe, but I thought you were a real-estate agent, not in the property-management buisness. You gave us the impression your job was to sell properties, not run them.
04-25-24 | 12:45 PM
