Ford Explorer - Opinions and experiences???

H

HeidiSmith

New member
Just beginning to think about new cars... We currently drive a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it's not super car seat friendly, nor is it roomy. With a Britax Marathon and Frontier 85, there's barely space for a skinny person to squeeze into the back seat...

Thinking about a new (2013/2014) Explorer. Like the 3rd row seating option for when friends need a ride, or when out of town family visits.

Anyone have experience with the Explorer, especially in terms of ease of car seat installation, flexibility in seating arrangements, placement of seats to allow for adults to also get into the back and ride, etc. Any features that are "must haves" or "don't bother."

Also thinking about the Dodge Journey, but currently having a Chrysler (Jeep) I'm not thrilled with the dealerships locally... Possibly considering a Honda Oddessy...

Pros/Cons any tips are appreciated.
 
ADS
SafeDad

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Definitely consider carefully if you opt for the optional inflatable seat belts. Combined with the other issues in the 2nd row of seating, it isn't among the best midsize SUVs for carseats. If you have just two carseats, it may not be an issue, though.

The Dodge Durango is essentially the new (2011+) Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 3rd row of seats. The newer models are huge improvements over the previous ones, in my opinion. We have reviews of both and various others at http://carseatblog.com/reviews/ .
 
H

HeidiSmith

New member
What impact does choosing the inflatable seat belts have on the 2nd row usage for car seats? (We looked at the Explorer 2 years ago and I was very interested in those inflatable seat belts... We just chose to keep our car longer at that time.)
 
monica-m

monica-m

CPST Instructor
I love my 2013 Explorer. We opted not to get the inflatable seat belts because of potential car seat issues. The only seat that I have found to work well in the center seat is a rear facing Radian. I have for a surprising number of seats rear facing in the third row. I think it's a great family car.
 
SafeDad

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
monica-m said:
I love my 2013 Explorer. We opted not to get the inflatable seat belts because of potential car seat issues. The only seat that I have found to work well in the center seat is a rear facing Radian. I have for a surprising number of seats rear facing in the third row. I think it's a great family car.
Click to expand...

My Highlander and some other models have similar plastic around the center seat that makes carseat installs difficult, especially rear-facing seats. The Radian also works well enough in the Highlander, too. There is no seatbelt crossover issue in the Highlander, but the anchors are pretty closely spaced because of that. The BubbleBum works well enough too, perhaps it would be useful for older kids in the Explorer?

I really like the current Honda Pilot for being among the most friendly non-luxury SUVs for kids and carseats. The second row bench is very good and the third row seat, while having some issues, is definitely better than average. But again, if you only have 2 kids and sometimes extra passengers, some of those advantages aren't all that important. For example, we don't even use the middle seat in our Highlander. 95% of the time it is removed and stowed under the front console to provide a middle aisle access to the third row. Problem solved;-) It still comes in handy for those 5% of trips when we have extra passengers.
 
H

HeidiSmith

New member
So, overall, do you feel like car seat installation is easy in your Explorer for most carseats?? We're planning on sticking with the Frontier 85 until our son is old enough to not need a carseat, and plan to switch our daughter from the Marathon into a Fontier 85 in the next year. I watched the video on the inflatable seat belts, and think they're not worth the extra hassle, because I REALLY want no hassle, easy installation...
We're reaching that age where it would be nice to take a friend to and from sports practices, church, etc so I really want to be able to have a car that doesn't make me cringe at the thought of moving carseats or installing an extra here and there.
 
SafeDad

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
For ease of access getting extra kids into the third row, perhaps a Chevrolet Traverse 7-passenger version? A little roomier than the Explorer. Standard aisle down the center for 3rd row access. Easy to fit your existing two carseats in the 2nd row captain's chairs and you don't have to worry about folding anything to access the third row.
 
monica-m

monica-m

CPST Instructor
CPSDarren said:
The BubbleBum works well enough too, perhaps it would be useful for older kids in the Explorer?
Click to expand...

I think Kecia was the one that told me the Bubble Bum works well in that seating position. I will probably eventually end up with one when I no longer need a rear facing Radian in that seating position.

HeidiSmith said:
So, overall, do you feel like car seat installation is easy in your Explorer for most carseats?? We're planning on sticking with the Frontier 85 until our son is old enough to not need a carseat, and plan to switch our daughter from the Marathon into a Fontier 85 in the next year. I watched the video on the inflatable seat belts, and think they're not worth the extra hassle, because I REALLY want no hassle, easy installation...
We're reaching that age where it would be nice to take a friend to and from sports practices, church, etc so I really want to be able to have a car that doesn't make me cringe at the thought of moving carseats or installing an extra here and there.
Click to expand...

I haven't found any installation issues so far with my Explorer. I have not installed a Frontier 85 in it yet but I can't imagine there would be issues. The seat belts should be plenty long for long belt path installs. There is a captain's chair option for the second row that would give you easier third row access but then you lose the center seat which isn't super useful in the first place. I can tell you my third row came in very handy when I had to go pick up a friend's kids in an emergency and not all three car seats would fit in my second row. I was able to put my friend's DS1 in the third row in his rear facing NextFit and her DS2 in the second row in his Coccoro. The NextFit would not work next to my DS' Radian but it fit in the third row without a problem.

When I have extra kids and one of them is a booster rider, I try to put them outboard on the passenger side because that is the seat that tumbles for access to the third row. It works well for us.
 
tyks

tyks

New member
Hi! I'm new to this forums and I'm happy to see I may find solution.i have britex marathon and frontier 85, recently bought radian xrt since it was a great summer sale going , I'm going to use frontier or radian in father in laws car in near future.
Well, let me say. Frontier 85 outboard install is no prob. I originally had marathon behind passenger but I was trying to install that in a middle. I though I had it but it got loose in a day so I don't think this works... Maybe I didn't tighten it enough, ill give one more try then may stick w outboard install. Other than that I love the car! I just wish the seat that fold up for third row access is on driver side. I'd love to try radian rf in a middle when my LO need to move up to radian from marathon.( he's only 16months old but marathon expires next year) do you use angle adjuster? Oh I have 2013 explorer:)
 
monica-m

monica-m

CPST Instructor
Welcome to car-seat.org! Sorry for the delayed reply, I just saw your question. I do use an angle adjuster with our Radian. It gives me a better angle for the seat.
 
tyks

tyks

New member
no prob, thanks for the reply. i got aa ordered n ill get it in two days. then i hope i can do it too! is there any tip? is it pretty simple ?
 
tyks

tyks

New member
I just tried to do it n see (won't be done till I have at but wanted to try ) mine looks like its sitting closer to driver side. Is yours right in a middle?
 

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