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Glenn Butler1 Mar 2002
REVIEW

Ford Explorer XLT V8

Launched in 2001, the new Explorer is winning more than 250 new hearts every month. We've grabbed one, a $54,000 XLT V8, for a long term test

CARPOINT LONG TERM TEST

CarPoint Ford Explorer XLT V8

Base price: $54,000
Body: 4 door wagon
Engine: 4.6-litre V8
Trans: 5-sp auto

Options fitted:
Tow bar $670
Roof rack cover $195
Cargo net $380

Why conduct long term tests?

CarPoint tests more than 150 cars every year, publishing the good, the bad and the downright disastrous traits of each in a valiant attempt to give you - the consumer - all the information you need to make a educated purchasing decision.

We spend on average seven days with each vehicle, subjecting them to our rigourous real world testing regime. Each car gets driven over the same 'benchmark' roads, around the same corners, through the same potholes and across the same intersections.

We drive them 'one-up' as most Aussies do battling the peak hour grind on weekdays, two-up on weekends, and maybe more if the vehicle warrants it.

Real world driving brings real world appreciation for power, performance and fuel economy. But that's not all. Every nook and cranny is explored and questioned intensely enough to make Columbo cry. Pushing buttons, slamming doors, winding windows, stacking the shopping, it's all in the name of a thorough CarPoint test. Well, as thorough as you can be with just seven days to learn everything about a vehicle.

Long term tests, however, offer us an opportunity to get to know a vehicle more intimately, over a longer period of time. Not every car deserves a longer stay in the CarPoint garage, but some you just can't get to know in seven days. Four wheel drives, with their extended portfolio of talents, are a good example.

Why conduct a long term test of the Ford Explorer?

It makes sense for CarPoint to start with one of the world's best selling four wheel drives, the Ford Explorer. Launched last year, the new Explorer is winning more than 250 new hearts every month. We've grabbed one, a $54,000 XLT V8, for a long term test (LTT).

In six months we'll subject it to every possible torture test. Weekend escapes and multi-week desert duels, long distance touring and long haul towing, peak hour shuffles and late night hustles, the CarPoint Ford Explorer will cop the lot.

Garbage in the glovebox, dogs in the cargo bay, we won't do anything you wouldn't do to your own car. And we'll tell you exactly how the Explorer stood up to each task.

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Written byGlenn Butler
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