So I went to bc for a week..


Started off by renting a ford explorer Eco boost 4wd. And the only complaint I had was its sissy motor.. Could barely tell it was a turbo, it was weak literally.

So the day came I had to get another SUV to drive to kamloops which is 350 Kms through the mountains literally.

So I rented the best SUV I could from thrifty. I used them cause it worked wi my visa points blah blah to save some cash. I got the optional snow tires as well. They got me a 2014 jeep grand Cherokee limited edition with the new 8 speed transmission.

My first thoughts were all good. Nice interior, quiet, heated steering wheel, v8, satellite radio... I was loving it.
Then I hit the howdy and the wheel just wobbled like a mad man... I have had shaking before but this was biblical. Not only were the fronts out of alignment the rears were worse. My ass was literally vibrating. My luggage was rattling, the passenger seat wwas making noises from shaking when there was no passenger in it!

So I had to drive there and back, 800 ms total in absolute disappointment.

Other complaints with the actual car itself.....
1- the seat moves every time u get in and out of the car.. So at motor won't last long. The nav/climate control screen is not pointed at all to the driver and there is often a huge glare off it and thus u cannot see shit, the climate control automatically throws on the heated seats and steering wheel when u begin driving even if the car is toasty hot... Very stupid design.

The headlights don't turn off automatically like they do in our CL

The rear door is automatic supposedly and it fights with the user if u don't wait for it to do its thing.... Whatever that thing is... So confusing, the trunk was literally stuck at half way for a few mins.
The worst thing tho above all is the transmission. Why the hell there is 8 gears is a joke. The car does not know when to shift, when to stay I gear and when to downshift. The shifts are smooth yes but if u move ur foot at all when its changing gears and it always is in this thing, it can do all sorts of things from jolting, to a pointless downshift for a second. Literally it's like driving a clueless transmission.

All in all, my opinion of this SUV went downhill ever since I found it had xm radio which was 40 km into the drive.

If anyone is thinking of buy this car or any car with its transmission,u will be pissed.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to getting my 13 year old dented CL back from the dlr. And I am going to love it even more when I come home after driving brand new pieces of crap.

Cherrish you car my fellow ziners...

And I think I am going to rent whatever car it is I wanna buy for a week befor buying it. Cause this just proves how all the bling sells yet the real test of a car comes through its useage.

I have a much more profound respect for the attention to the drivability of the CL and this experience has just made be appreciate my old baby even more.

The CL was literally a 2005 car made in 2000. One of the most up to date cars ever made I would argue in its era.

And I will drive it till there's nothing left to drive.. Love your CL

 

These new ZF transmissions with 8 and 9 gears are ridiculous. I'd rather have a CVT like the one in the Maxima. That's a great car. I heard VW is designing a 10 speed trans. FFS!

 

Honestly... 6 gears IMHO is the right amount. Just enough to use the power when u want and need it and not so many that it gets overwhelming.


Besides I like hearing a gear wind out. All that switching is just going to make failures I would imagine as well.

All these new gizmos on these cars are just going to real havoc down the road

 

you had the old 4cyl ecoboost version, Go take an explorer with the V6 eco boost for a spin. You will not be having the same sissy motor statements.

 

The best part is they make you pay extra for that engine. 3.5 V6 is cheaper..


High gear transmissions are hit-or-miss. ZF 8AT in BMW is very good. 7AT in MB so-so, many people preferred the old 5AT when they made the switch. The new TLX will have ZF 9AT and I expect that to spread throughout the model range.

 

so, what we have here is a cry baby?

lol

 

Hate to tell you but all that is programmable. You can program things like the auto door, seat glide back(disabled on my car) & lights with the electronic menu. There's a process to get into it & has tons of programmable options.
And the shaking...it's a rental car.

 

3 cars after my first CL, I am back again with my 2nd one. I can't disagree with you on how great these cars are. All the new American SUVs are just crossovers. The last bit of the real SUVs were made in the early 2000s, IE: 2004 and under Pathfinder, Xterra, Grand Cherokee and etc..

 

Which models of CL have automatic headlights? Mine dont turn off automatically.

 

just the rare type SR

 

even the new 290HP naturally aspirated 3.5L is good (Taurus)

Other than getting in and out of the Taurus (low door sill), it is a great family hauler. Ford got it right other than the low door sills


2001-3 models (all of them)

 

My 93 explorer is a tank...never giving that up. A bit slow, but it's a stick...no one makes stick SUV's anymore.

 

the 2.0 ecoboost explorer shouldnt exist. that shit is a dog. i work at a ford dealer. the 3.5l ecoboost explorer sport is kinda quick. itll move. but the regular 3.5l v6 isnt bad. same with the ford edge.

i hate the new style taurus. the roof line is way to low.

 

I agree. The 4cyl ecoboost explorer never should have been made. You ever drive one of the v6 ecoboosts with a good tune, down tubes, full cat back, cai? My god it wakes that motor up and the things haul. I installed it on my buddies sho and his wifes explorer sport a few weeks back. next up are new turbos

 

nah everybody around here keeps them stock from what ive seen.

we had a 2014 f-150 ecoboost 1k miles on it and the exhaust turbine wheel was broken off. it was laying in the housing. truck was running on 3 cylinders. the entire left bank shut down. only running on 3 right cylinders.... :/

 

wow that sounds like u got a lemon there bud... that sucks.. I must say of the american manufacturers Ford IMHO is on top of the crop.

and they always seem to put out more power than they claim...which who doesn't like having an underrated car.

 

If you ever get a chance drive one. My buddies SHO in sport mode, launch from a stop light will squat in the rear take off like a rocket all the while lighting up all 4 tires across the intersection. Its making 450-500 hp at the wheels.

 

^ what mods did he do to get that power?

 

tune, 3" down pipes, true dual full (performance cats) cat back, cold air, meth. His next addition will be larger turbos. There is someone putting down 600hp at the wheels in a Flex already out there. The Ecoboost is a beast of an engine.

 

I am a Ford technician, so my opinion may be a tad bit biased but the ecoboosts are one hell of an engine. Especially the explorers with the 6 cylinder. Even the fusions with the ecoboosts are pretty impressive. I would steer clear of the 1.6 that comes in the escapes and focus, we have seen some issues out of them already. The other options though are solid no major issues, and those things can run like hell.

And as far as the rental Jeep, I used to work for Alamo National rental cars in the shop doing maintenance and repairs and things like alignments and basics are cut to save costs. Its pretty much oil changes, tires, and maybe brakes for maintenance and as far as repairs go anything that is covered by manufacture warranty. Anything more than that is not bothered with because they will only keep the car until roughly 40k miles before it goes to wholesale or dealer buyback.

 

^ what do you think of the i4T in the Taurus? Looks like a solid performer but I don't see how Ford is going to get their HWY mileage out of that thing considering the weight of said Taurus (about 2 tons)

C&D states that you REALLY got to get your foot into it for there to be any hint of performance...

 

Personally with the size of the car i wouldnt want one with the i4. Id get the V6 ecoboost. The Explorer with the I4 ecoboost was a horrible idea and a dog.

 

The ecoboost is the SHO :p and that is dam solid car outside of typically small Ford brakes (only major complaint reviewers had for the 2K10 model)

 

IMO they should keep 4 cylinder options to the fusion and focus. The Lincoln version of the fusion, the MKZ has an ecoboost 4 cylinder or 3.7 v6 option. The 4 cylinder Taurus has a big task to move north of 6000 pounds down the road, but the SHO is impressive.
The innovation on Fords new engines is impressive. For example the ecoboosts did away with turbo manifolds as there are now ports from the head that the turbo mounts to directly. The 6.7 diesel is made by Ford not International and they reversed the ports in the head; intake air enters from the outside of head while exhaust exits the engine from above the valley to keep heat in the turbos....Ford is really on top of there game and they are building some nice vehicles.

 

Like several mainstream turbo options, it's definitely a case of making much more sense on paper or in the lab than in actuality. The 3.5 and the 2.0 in smaller applications are impressive to fair, but I don't think the J or VQ V6s have anything to fear from the latter, especially since it's actually retrograde in some performance metrics to the Duratec 35/37.