2002 Ford Explorer SUV

Ford Explorer Wagon Shows New Designs For A Powerful Package

By Bob Plunkett

Price Range: $27,000 to $37,000
Pricing and Options

Engine: SOHC 4.0-liter V6; SOHC 4.6-liter V8

Configuration: Front Engine, Rear 2WD and 4WD, Control Trac; Power 4-disc Brakes,/ ABS/EBD, optional Advance Trac stability; Power Rack and Pinion Steering

Dimensions: Wheelbase: 113.7 inches; Overall Length: 188.5 inches

Maximum Trailer Towing: 7300 pounds

Fuel Efficiency: V6 2WD: 16/22 MPG, V6 4WD: 15/20 MPG, V8 2WD: 15/20 MPG, V8 4WD: 14/19 MPG

Safety Features: Driver, passenger (standard) and side curtain (optional) airbags; ABS, standard

Audio Interview: Brian Leshon talks with Ed Molchany, the Marketing Manager for the new 2002 Ford Explorer, at the press launch in Sedona Arizona. Click Here.

STRAWBERRY, Ariz. -- The blacktop strip of Arizona 87 slices through a pine forest on the lip of the high Colorado Plateau before dropping down the Mogollon Rim escarpment. It plunges in a series of curves that wiggle like a spaghetti noodle dangled over a cliff to the village of Strawberry, nestled in shadows of the rocky ramparts.

Run this dicey descent at speed in a sporty car and you may expect some hair-raising excitement as the suspension checks the chassis for each off-camber bend and tires wail in protest to the too-tight kinks.

Run the same route in a conventional truck-based sport-utility wagon and you may also expect hair-raising excitement, but not the good kind: An inherently sloppy suspension will no doubt prompt the truck's body to pitch with each cascading curve as you wonder whether the wagon will remain on pavement or stray over the rim of the cliff.

Then run it in the latest edition of Ford's Explorer. A new chassis that's wider and longer, stronger and far less flexible than the previous issue forms the core of the new design for Explorer, and it carries a suspension system rarely found on a truck -- there are independent components suspending the rear wheels as well as the front ones.

These structural changes to the chassis and suspension of Explorer virtually revolutionize the wagon's ride and handling characteristics.