Hail storm brings vehicle into our life!
 

After careful study and due diligence; nine test drives of different SUVs and some old-fashoined haggling, we have ordered a 2013 Ford Explorer 4WD Limited.

Of course it will be Deep Impact Blue! We chose the Charcoal/Pecan interior with the 2nd row bucket seats and console.

I went with 301A because I just won't ever let a park assist, park my car, nor do I want the cruise to slow down. The only option in 302A I was interested in was the HID headlights...I'll hopefully add them separately down the road.

Although the "moon roof" was tempting, we are leery of future hail storms (we've been through five serious hail storms over the years). :-X22

I'm usually over in the 1999 to 2003 7.3 diesel forum. Looking forward to sharing experiences and best practices with this new group! V/r Les & Lorrine

Mine is being built (born) Monday the 25th, I have an estimated ETA of July 9th.
XLT FWD 3.5 201A pkg Kodiak Brown. Ordered on June 8th. Congrats to you on the limited, getting anxious yet??

Slightly excited for now.....that Kodiak Brown looks pretty sharp! Per your sig, it looks like you will have matching vehicle colors. Congrats back to you. :-X22

Congrats. I look forward to seeing pics when your vehicle arrives so please try and share with us. Having been without my 2012 xlt 3.5L in Red Candy for a week and a half while hail damage is being repairerd, I must say I think your thoughts about the roof safety are right on the money. I am sure Ford's Moon Roof is pretty strong but we were trapped inside our Explorer (along with our young Labrador Retriever) for about 20 minutes while it got pounded in a surprise hail storm and all of us would have freaked out if we had to watch the hail landing over our heads. We had no broken windows just 150 or so dents.

I hope that you enjoy your Explorer as much as we do ours. We really miss it when we're driving around in a rental Chevy. Ford sure knows a lot more about designing comfortable and convenient interiors.

New Blue
 

We picked up our new Explorer on 3 August. WOW! I wish after all these years of being a member I knew how to upload photos. New Blue is absolutely gorgeous; the Deep Impact Blue is stunning and the pecan/charcoal interior is luxurious. She rides great and is quiet. We got the 301A package and added roof rack cross bars, mud flaps, read bumper protector, all-weather mats and 4WD. LOVE IT! :-X22:-X22:-X22:-X22:-X22

Congrats on the new Explorer! I would have loved to have gotten the Deep Impact Blue on our Taurus but she wanted the Tuxedo Black instead. Happy wife, happy life.:D

With regard to posting pictures on FTE, try this link. It's a pretty good tutorial on how to post pics here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...he-forums.html

Thanks for the link John, I'll check it out. You are absolutely right about the Happy Wife/Happy Life!

Minor items I would tell Ford to change
 

After putting over 1200 miles on New Blue I have some suggestions for Ford:

1. Remove/eliminate the delay in gas pedal input to power response...I believe there's a slight lag.

2. Add arm rests (at least on the inside of both front seats.

3. Personal preference here...continue wrapping around the rear tail lights to the liftgate.

4. Make a third seat floor mat cloth and in the accessory all-weather mat.

5. Make a floor mat that goes over the spare tire section while the third row seats are in the upright position.

6. Add HID headlights without requiring the 302A package.

7. Most important, give her a little more power!

8. Add at least 5 more gallons to the fuel tank.



We Still Love This Vehicle! :-X22:-X22:-X22:-X22:-X22