Hey guys, I was thinking VERY long term about my next vehicle, nothing too soon. I got to looking at the Explorer sport trac.

What are the con's? List the pros too if you want

 

What year Sport trac are you talking about? The 07 has IRS and rides alot nicer also has the option for the V8. Cons to the new ones is the body styling and options for lifting are out the window because of the IRS.

The 05 maybe 06 and previous are flawless, we have had two of them with no issues at all. They are spring under axle but they are easy to convert over. If you are going to get one get a 04-06 maybe 05 as they are all monochromatic paint as well.

 

IRS is not so great for offroading, and difficult to convert.

Solid rear axle is good, and you can convert from spring-under-axle to spring-over-axle (a "spring over lift") without a great deal of difficulty. The fronts on all of them have the usual expense and trouble of lifting an IFS vehicle. When you go SOA, add traction bars.

But basically they are in the same "family" as our Rangers, particularly the older Sport Tracs.

 

the one's that arnt built on the new explorer chassis the older one's on the ranger platform are the best IMO i love them more then a ranger its what i want even over a level II ranger BUT to find one with decent millage there around $20000 used so thats a problem

 

My dad loves his. His is one of the ranger based ones and has the same problems the rangers do. I kinda don't like the bed. They are way too small but if you don't use it much then they really are sharp lil trucks.

 

I looked at one last weekend that was an '05 4.0 flex fuel w/ 24k miles for $21k..........i was really sharp...it was the tan w/ 2 tone tan leather interor, power everything and 4x4

 

I say Blah on tan interior and tan exterior.

 

i agree.....why do you think i dont have it sitting in my driveway now? i thought it was a really good price for it but i hated the dual tan colors!

 

I don't like them at all. I think the bed is hideous and the goofy things they did like clip the cab corners at sharp angles is too wierd. I wouldn't mind them so much if they had a real bed, I swear if I took my trunk lid off of my Roadmaster it would be more usuable than the ubershortbox.

~HJ

 

My dad's adrenaline is nice as hell. doesnt see any off roading but every other part about it is nice, he's not happy with gas mileage but he's not willing to trade it for a civic or something so...

 

My friend has an '01, and I like it. It rides nice, and looks good imo. I'm thinking of one for my next truck too, but due to me being like almost 6' 7" I will probably end up with an F-150...

 

I don't mind the short beds....at least I think I won't.

Good info about the IRS, didn't know any of that.

 

I don't like the visibility in them. The rear view mirror is directly in my line of sight.

 

i would only get an older ranger based one since i dont want the IRS on a "truck" if you can call it that

 

+1

The short ~4' bed kills the SportTrac for me. The 4-doors does not apeal anywhere close enough to counteract having a useless bed. As it is I find myself getting into trouble w/ my 6' box.. I can't imagine having something even smaller.

The only reasonable implementation of a 4-door 'quad' cab I've seen so far has been on the previous-gen Frontier. My buddy has one w/ 4-doors AND a regular compact, 6' bed. The truck has a HUGE wheelbase and is difficult to park.. but it is the only way I would take a 4-door pickup. Even many of the quad-cab F150's suffer from this.

I think you need to decide if you want a 4-door SUV or a pickup. The SportTrac tries to split the difference.. and I don't think it solves either problem well enough. I'd never buy one..

 

Honestly we have never had any issues getting anything home that we have bought other than the 50 inch widescreen TV in the back of the sport trac. If you position things correctly and know what you can and cannot get at the store there there are no issues. The back window has the center section that slides down so that helps too.

 

For me it's not the weather you can fit a TV in it or not, it just looks goofy. Like it's missing something. I could barely fit my hunting stuff in the 6' bed of the Ranger, so I would need a bigger bed. But if I didn't I still think it looks silly. Same with the Colorado and the DAkota crewcabs. The only one I like is the Tacoma allows you to have up to an 8' bed and 4 real doors. Little long but man that would be handy and it looks like a real truck.

But that's just my Opinion, Different strokes for different Folks!

~HJ

 

I like the 07 st I am think about one it will be v8 ltd 4x4 I drove and it
drives very nice and has very good power and I the the fact that I can
get 4 people in it.

 

Im also thinking long term with my next vehical......Do you REALLY need a truck bed? how much are you going to mod it? I really liked the 03/04 explorer with the 4.6L....and right now ive been checking out the 06 f150 4 door.....to me the sportrac's are a joke.....i think they are not practical and the bed is a joke

Rocky

 

You are not a kayaker I gather. My new 12' boat is relatively short in kayak terms.. and still hangs out 3' over the dropped tailgate!

 

No sir I am not lol.