2010 Ford Explorer

• Overall
• Prices
• Performance
• Exterior
• Interior
• Safety
• Reliability
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Interior - What the Auto Press Says

The Ford Explorer's cabin stands out because it's impressively quiet for an SUV. It's also relatively upscale for its affordable price.

• "Ford has done an exemplary job of insulating occupants from noise and vibration. The air conditioner is relatively quiet, but it does its job. Conversations are easily heard, the music sounds good, and the mirrors, with their square corners defying intuitive logic, are mercifully quiet, as are the tires." -- New Car Test Drive
• "Considering its vast interior volume and all the opportunities that exist for outside noise to creep inside, the 2008 Ford Explorer is impressively, refreshingly quiet." -- Kelley Blue Book
• "Despite incremental improvements over the years, the Explorer's materials quality remains mediocre and its design rudimentary. Most of the climate and audio controls are comprised of lots of similar-looking black buttons, and the regular audio head unit still displays its info in Ford's old-school, '80s-look green font." -- Edmunds

Seating

Reviewers point out that passengers have plenty of space in the Explorer, even in the optional third row -- a rarity for midsize SUVs. Limited models come with a "quad seating" that reduces seating to six by replacing the second-row bench with reclining captain's chairs and a storage console.

• "Three adults can squeeze across in the roomy 2nd row. Legroom is tight only with the front seats fully aft. The 3rd-row seat cushion is low to the floor, pancake flat, and the floor shape obstructs foot space. But 3rd-row headroom is expansive and leg space is surprisingly good." -- Consumer Guide
• "The seats are at once more supportive and more comfortable than in older Explorers, where we found them a bit hard." -- New Car Test Drive
• "Headroom abounds in the first two rows, and second-row legroom is surprisingly generous, even in the three-row configurations." -- Edmunds
• "The new interior has quality accommodations throughout, including (unlike some competitors) a 3rd row that is actually habitable by full-grown adults." -- AutoMedia.com

Interior Features

The Explorer comes standard with air-conditioning, cruise control, power windows and a message center with temperature display. Though most like the interior, one recurring complain is the placement of the door handles.

• "Ford designed the interior door panels so the armrests and door pulls would supplement the impact protection hardware built into the door's innards. Thus, the armrests and door pulls were separated, with the pulls positioned below the armrests. This poor ergonomic positioning makes it a bear to grab hold of the pulls, and they offer too little leverage to make closing the doors easy." -- New Car Test Drive
• "An XLT sport package is offered with Charcoal Black cloth seats, white-faced instruments, all-weather floor mats, and black wheel lips, side steps and front fascia. Also new for 2009 is a voice-activated navigation system with Sirius Travel Link with access to up-to-the-minute information and entertainment content through the navigation system." -- MSN
• "Explorer and Mountaineer cabin designs differ mainly in trim appearance. Both have large, clear main gauges. The transmission shift lever prevents easy access to climate controls. The dashboard design puts the radio just out of easy reach. The turn signal stalk is mounted at an awkward angle. Rear climate controls are set into the ceiling and are difficult to read." -- Consumer Guide

Cargo

The Explorer provides 85.8 cubic feet of cargo volume with only the first row in use, but only 13.6 cubic feet behind the optional third row. Still, this is ample cargo space for a midsize SUV.

• "Opening hatch glass is handy, but the hatch itself is heavy to open and close. Second- and 3rd-row seats fold nearly flat for ample cargo room, but leave gaps large enough for smaller items to fall through. The optional power folding 3rd row is a real convenience. Aside from a large console box, interior storage is meager." -- Consumer Guide
• "Explorer cargo room, always a high point, remains generous." -- Motor Week
• "The cargo floor is completely flat when all the seats are folded, with almost no forward rise (two degrees as opposed to ten in older models)." -- New Car Test Drive
• "It's feasible to carry two adults in the third-row seats, but choosing the third-row option slightly reduces the available cargo space and results in a not-quite-flat load floor. Seven-passenger Ford Explorers max out at 83.7 cubic feet of cargo space, while five-passenger versions offer 85.8 cubic feet. Notably, the back of the second row's split bench seat reclines only if your Explorer has a third-row seat." -- Edmunds