25th Jan 2008, 11:36

I couldn't disagree more with you all. I bought a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport in December of 2006, with 79,000 miles. It now has over 91,000 miles on it, with no problems whatsoever. It is very comfortable, nice to drive with tight steering and handling, and you can't even feel the transmission shift. I drive it on a 750-mile round trip about every other month and have never had a problem. On the most recent trip, it got 26 mpg doing 65 mph. Needless to say, I WOULD recommend one to anyone.

On the other hand, I agree that the older models, with the 4.0 L V-6 automatic, were doggy and underpowered, but when they went to the 4.0 L SOHC and the 5-speed automatic, it made a big difference. We had a 1999 4-door Explorer at work, and I would have felt sorry for anybody that paid $25,000 for that thing. I would also tend to agree that the early 2000's Jeep Grand Cherokee was a smoother ride with more power than the contemporary Explorer.

Also remember that renting a vehicle for a couple of days does not really count as "owner experience". The problems that you experienced are most likely a result of lack of maintenance by the rental company combined with abuse by the previous renter. Think about it --- you took a vehicle out to Death Valley to beat on it, and that is exactly what the previous renters did as well. The problems that they caused caught up with you. Face it, you didn't take your own car out to Death Valley, right? You rented an SUV because you wanted something you didn't really care about abusing. You ran the AC at max while crawling at idle speed over the road to Teakettle Junction or someplace, and ran the battery down. You have to treat stuff a little better.