2016 Ford Explorer Gets a Major Overhaul: New EcoBoost Motor, Luxe Best-Spec Trim, and A lot more

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New styling, tech, and powertrain enhancements for Ford’;s extended-operating family members hauler.

The Ford Explorer fights in a crowded and extremely competitive segment, duking it out with cars like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, GMC Acadia, and Nissan Pathfinder. It is a large and hugely profitable segment, and now Ford has re-armed its Explorer with an extremely extensive midcycle update that brings considerable alterations outdoors, inside, and beneath the hood.

On the exterior, the 2016 Explorer shares only its roof, doors, and glass with the present model. New headlights consist of Ford’s 1st LED low beams as regular and optional signature eyebrow lighting, and they’re joined by a new grille opening and aggressive decrease fog lights. The taillights obtain a new 3-dimensional element, even though the rest of the rear finish gets newly integrated exhaust guidelines (with integrated soot catcher so they remain clean), reshaped D-pillars, and a more sculpted tailgate with a subtle spoiler up best.

The aesthetic tweaks group with active grille shutters to make the new Explorer 5 % a lot more slippery than the outgoing style, according to Ford. Look closely at the front fog lights, and you’ll see a functional inlet that directs air around the front wheel wells, cutting down on drag. Ford clearly focused on the specifics.

Why Didn’t Anyone Else Believe of That?

The common rearview and optional front cameras provide 180-degree views, and both come with a function Ford says has by no means prior to been on any production car: a lens washer. Anybody who’s had to thumb-smudge road salt or highway grime off of a backup camera—or tapped a parking-garage wall soon after neglecting to do so—will rejoice at this feature. It’s a wonder the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Audi haven’t thought to provide it. The Explorer can also be had with a revamped Active Park Assistant that can now semi-autonomously steer you into or out of a perpendicular parking spot (like the ones at Walmart) as properly as parallel park for you. Additionally, new side sensors help you figure out whether or not you are about to leave paint samples on that concrete column looming just behind your B-pillar in the parking garage. The Explorer also now gets Ford’s hands-free of charge, foot-sensing liftgate opener previously identified on the Escape and C-Max.

Inside, the capacitive-touch center-console controls have blessedly been scrapped in favor of sincere-to-goodness push buttons for the audio and climate controls. Audible cheers came up from the journalists at the unveil event when designer Chris Svensson announced this change, which he stated was prompted by copious client feedback slamming the touch-sensitive (or insensitive) prior design and style. Both the driver and front passenger get roomier footwells, while second-row guests get much more legroom thanks to redesigned front-row seatbacks. Front and rear “smart-charging” USB ports sense the current draw demanded by your smartphone or tablet, charging devices up to twice as quickly, whilst a 110-volt inverter offers 3-prong power at the back of the center console.

A Bigger Downsized Engine

The largest news beneath the hood is the smallest engine in the Explorer lineup: The 2.3-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder that replaces the 2.-liter turbo 4 as the middle of 3 engine selections in the Explorer. The 2.3-liter turbo 4 packs an estimated 270 horses and 300 lb-ft of torque in this application­, 20 fewer horses but 45 a lot more lb-ft than the naturally aspirated base 3.5-liter V-6. It’s up 30 horses and 30 lb-ft over the outgoing 2.-liter turbo.

The added oomph implies Ford can now offer you a Class II towing package on 4-cylinder Explorers, generating them capable of lugging up to 3000 pounds, as properly as lastly offer you 4WD as an selection with the turbo 4. Ford says the new 2.3-liter EcoBoost returns the same 20 mpg city and 28 highway as the smaller sized 4-cylinder. Base, XLT, and Restricted models can be fitted with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost for a $ 995 upcharge, with the twin-turbo EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 and its 365 horses and 350 lb-ft of torque becoming common on Explorer Sport and Platinum models.

Valuable Metals

Platinum? That’s appropriate: Ford debuted the revamped 2016 Explorer by displaying off its new best-spec Platinum trim line. On top of the myriad 2016 upgrades across the Explorer line, the Platinum level brings luxurious appointments to compete with range-toppers like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit and the GMC Acadia Denali. To that finish, the Platinum gets its own matte-silver grille with a different insert to make sure your neighbors know you checked the most pricey box. This model also rides on its personal 20-inch machine-completed wheels with dark accents. Satin chrome adorns the mirrors, roof rack, door handles, and physique moldings.

The cabin of the Platinum is stuffed with far more upscale supplies then previously supplied on a Blue Oval product. The upholstery puts on a lounge act, with Ford saying its “Nirvana leather” is the softest hide it is ever procured. Leather also wraps the seats, dashboard, door inserts, upper door trim, and armrests, and heated front and outboard second-row seats are regular. The ash wood and brushed aluminum trim sprinkled all through the interior are the true deal—no plastiwood or knockoff metal right here, and you can truly really feel the texture of the brushed aluminum. And do not miss the brushed-aluminum steering-wheel badge it is the initial all-silver Ford oval the company has ever used in production, and is intended to signify just how particular the Platinum is.

Additional sound deadening, a exclusive headliner to match the interior upholstery, fabric-wrapped A-pillar trim, a 500-watt Sony audio system, and an all-digital instrument cluster (an additional Ford first) round out the Platinum-level interior upgrades. The prime-of-the-line Explorer comes standard with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and all-wheel drive, as nicely as its personal suspension tune. (There are also separate tunes for the Sport and the rest of the lineup.)

In spite of the massive overhaul, Ford says the 2016 Explorer will carry more than the identical $ 31,595 base value as the 2015 model. Pricing for the XLT, Limited, Sport, and Platinum models will become obtainable on Ford’s site shortly, and the revamped 2016 will hit showrooms sometime subsequent summer. As for the Explorer’s highly competitive segment, we’re considering its denizens just sat up and took notice.

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2016 Ford Explorer Gets a Major Overhaul: New EcoBoost Motor, Luxe Best-Spec Trim, and A lot more

Tax disc overhaul – all you require to know

It’s just one week until the legal obligation to display a paper tax disc on your vehicle disappears.

So what exactly is happening on October 1?

Here’s a Q&A to tell you everything you need to know…

What’s happening next Wednesday?

As of next Wednesday, October 1, you will no longer need to display a paper tax disc. But that DOESN’T mean you no longer need to tax your vehicle.

In fact, let’s be quite clear: YOU STILL NEED TO PAY THE TAX! (Or Vehicle Excise Duty, to give it its proper name.)

Presumably this is a cost-saving measure?

Yep. The whole thing is going online, so there’ll be £10 million of savings on the cost of printing and distributing 30-million plus discs every year.

From now on, the police will quiz the DVLA database about a vehicle’s tax status rather than relying on the presence of a current, valid disc.

Cameras able to read registration plates will identify untaxed vehicles.

What is the penalty for not paying the tax?

Drive without tax and you’ll cop a £80 fine and risk another financial penalty of up to £1,000 if the case proceeds to court.

Your vehicle could be clamped and then impounded, at which point the punitive fees would really begin to snowball.

As the saying goes, if you can’t afford to tax (and insure) your car, you can’t afford to drive it.

I’ve still got time to run on my vehicle tax. Do I wait till it runs out before ditching the disc?

No. If you want, you can remove the disc on October 1 (and keep it to show your grandchildren, maybe). It’s a universal change on that day.

That said, you don’t have to remove it. It’s just that you no longer have to show it.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you still need to display your MoT disc.

What about parking and driving abroad?

The DVLA has told all local authorities that no tax discs will be issued after October 1 and that no-one is obliged to display one from that point onwards, so no need to worry about triggering a parking ticket by not having a disc on show.

Likewise the Authority has told theEuropean Union that UK-registered vehicles travelling in the EU will no longer be displaying tax discs.

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So what happens when my tax runs out?

The world divides into those who know on a reflex when their road tax expires and those who have to nip outside and read their disc to find out.

For those of us in the second camp, the good news is that DVLA will still send out a V11 or V85/1 renewal reminder when a vehicle’s tax is due to expire. This applies to all types of vehicles, including those that are exempt from payment of vehicle tax or have a nil rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

If your vehicle is laid up you must still tax it or apply to DVLA for a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN).

Remember: if and when you want to take it back on the road, you need to tax it first.

Remind me how to sort the tax out…

You can apply online via www.gov.uk/vehicletax  to tax or SORN your vehicle using your 16-digit reference number from your vehicle tax renewal reminder (the V11 or V85/1 forms mentioned above) or 11 digit reference number from your log book (V5C).

Any other changes?

Yes, specifically affecting car buyers and sellers.

From October 1, when you BUY a vehicle, the vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. In other words, you will need to get fresh vehicle tax for the vehicle BEFORE you can use it.

You can do this by using the New Keeper Supplement (V5C/2) part of the vehicle registration certificate (V5C), either online or by using the automated ‘any time’ phone service on 0300 123 4321.

Or you can do the job at a Post Office branch that offers the service – and this is your only option if you’re in Northern Ireland new keeper, where the online and phone options aren’t available.

If you are SELLING a vehicle after 1 October and you’ve notified DVLA, you’ll automatically get a refund for any full calendar months left on the vehicle tax. Same applies for transfers of ownership, scrapping (at an Authorised Treatment Facility), exporting, becoming exempt or being taken off-road via a SORN.

Another change worth keeping an eye open for is the ability to pay for your car tax by direct debit. This facility comes into play on November 1.

When the tax discs disappear, we’ll be using our tax disc holders for emergency biscuits, what will you be using yours for? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter using the hashtag #SOMSM

Tax disc overhaul – all you require to know

Time to overhaul the haulage market?

HGVs are the backbone of the economy, transporting everything from car components to cattle across the UK and beyond to support preserve industry afloat.

On the downside, the quantity of CO2 they spew into the atmosphere means they’re not doing much for the environment – so while they’re something we can not at the moment live with out, they’re fast becoming anything we cannot exactly reside with either.

And despite the fact that EU transport ministers are thinking about plans to make all HGVs safer and much more fuel effective, the haulage sector is one that is notoriously opposed to any sort of adjust, even modify for the much better – so is there something we can do to remedy the issue?

HGV headache

Travel along any stretch of motorway, at any provided time and on any given day, and there’s a great opportunity you will see at least 1 lorry along the way.

Regardless of this apparent ubiquity, though, HGVs account for just 3% of cars on UK roads.

The problems is, they in fact account for 25% of road transport CO2 emissions.

To make matters worse, HGVs are also involved in 15% of road deaths. European Environment Agency figures estimate that health expenses connected with lorry pollution are about €45 billion (£36.5 billion) a year.

Load of hot air?

So what is getting completed about it?

Not a lot, truly. Fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions levels have remained the very same for the ideal portion of the last 2 decades, while safety standards are miles behind the Euro NCAP ratings that automobile companies should meet.

And the longer EU transport ministers mull over regardless of whether to approve changing the design and style rules for lorry cabins to make them safer and a lot more fuel effective, the a lot more the sector and makers seem determined to dig their heels in.

Preserve on truckin’

There are plans afoot in Europe to quickly push by way of legislation that will enable companies more flexibility when designing and creating trucks – they’re at the moment hamstrung by rules on dimensions that restrict design to the present box-like, cab-over-engine trucks at present on the roads – but some nations want this delayed.

It is a fact that cabs could be made to be far more aerodynamic, much more fuel effective, much more comfortable for drivers, have a crumple zone and, crucially, make confident cyclists and pedestrians aren’t dragged under the wheels in a collision.

But nations such as France and Sweden want this legislation to be delayed by 13 years to shield national manufacturers Renault and Volvo, who they really feel could be swiftly taken more than by competitors who are greater placed to implement the changes.

That is like Apple asking for a ban on smartwatches until they get their plans sorted, just in case Samsung and other manufacturers steal a march on them.

The road ahead

The true kicker, although, is that this legislation won’t even force alter upon makers, it’ll just give them the space to make the changes if they want to.

But it appears like this enabling law will not come into force for at least 8 years – 3 years for it be transposed into national law followed by a 5-year delay for… nicely, that’s anyone’s guess.

And a large hello to all you truckers out there…