I'd love to see this with the turbo'd 6. That would be a nice ride.

 

I assume it will be tuned like GM's LNF turbo I4, but with even more down low since this is an SUV not a sports car.

 

wow that looks sharp..Good job Ford!

 

I think that one thing we have to get out of our minds, is that a small displacement direct injected turbo charged engine will have to be high strung to make power. If its anything like the 3.5 ecoboost v6 it will have a flat torque curve and feel more powerful then it is.

Here a quote from the autoblog article I posted earlier about the 2.0 ecoboost:

"The really important characteristic of these downsized engines is the torque that's made possible by turbocharging and direct injection. The charge cooling effect of the direct injection allows Ford to run 16 psi of boost, which helps the 2.0-liter engine generate 250 pound-feet of torque from 1,750-4,000 rpm. The old 4.0-liter peaked with 254 lb-ft at 3,700 rpm, but didn't have the flat torque curve of the new smaller engine."

 

ahh ha!..





I have a feeling this is going to be one hot vehicle next year

 

I like the interior and the reconfigurable LCDs in the gauge area.
I wonder how many different ways one could make it look.

Are the Ford's with MyTouch the first vehicles to use the LCDs in the gauge area? And have them reconfigurable?
Could this begin a new age of instrumentation in vehicles?
I think it's pretty cool and can't wait to check out a vehicle with MyTouch.

 

I bet most people wouldn't even notice the difference between the turbo 4 and n/a 6 cylinder.....

 

Looks like a Taurus wagon to me....

IMO doesn't touch the looks of Acadia

 

Exactly my thoughts . Alot of the side and somewhat in the rear is arcadia'ish or saturn outlook'ish .

 

Loses 2000lbs of towing ability. New Grand Cherokee gains towing ability and has the V8 to back it up. At this junction I see no difference between the Explorer and the Edge. They should just throw away the Explorer name.

 

Yeah........... why would they want to keep the Explorer name around?? I mean, 21 years of history, and millions of happy customers.............. who needs that??

Edge = 5 seater, sporty CUV
Explorer = 7 seater, SUV (yes I realize some will argue the SUV/CUV thing. However, since most classifications are marketing anyway.......... and Ford is marketing this as a SUV............. SUV it is. It also will have more off-road capability than your standard CUV, due to a bit of tech from Range Rover)

Conclusion: Ford will sell a bunch of the new 2011 Edge CUV's, and a bunch of the new 2011 Explorers. What an awful position to be in.

 

While this is a nice vehicle..I see it caniballizing the Edge and making up for the sales Flex loses because of it's styling more than anything. It strikes me as an Edge with 3 rows of seats.

The Flex is the true Lamba comeptitor.

Actually..thats what it is.

 

I see a lot of Equinox styling from the side profile. Nice front end with Fords new styling.

Could Ford have to many SUV/CUVs? Escape>Edge>Explorer>Flex>Expedition. I can see the Edge, Explorer and Flex taking sales from each other, especially from the Edge.

 

365-400hp turbo 3.5L is still coming.


When the Edge came out in 2007 it probably cannibalized a lot of sales from the Explorer. Basically it will come down to how many rows of seats do you need and how much do you need to tow.

Flex replaced the Freestar. Minivans were seen as not cool anymore, so they gave it regular back doors. I think the Flex needs to go and they need to bring back a real mini van. Maybe they could just give the Flex sliding doors.

 

I get confused by Ford's passenger car lineup and I like to think I follow the domestic industry somewhat close.

As for the turbo 4 - good points have been made all around. I'll withhold judgement until the reviews are in.