The Ford Explorer Timberline Edition: A Woodsy Outdoorsy Trim Level with Some Mixed Results

For $50,000, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition offers a few things that you might like. We have some expectations, but let's get into the finer details starting with the pros. The cargo capacity and human capacity is 87.8 cubic feet, which is impressive for a vehicle of its size. Additionally, the Timberline Edition features a wood-grain interior, which adds to its outdoorsy feel.

However, it's worth noting that this trim level also comes with some drawbacks. For one, the price point is steep, especially considering the limited availability of certain features and the overall quality of the vehicle. Furthermore, the Timberline Edition's design and styling are not particularly unique or impressive, which may make it difficult to stand out from its competitors.

Despite these drawbacks, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition does offer some impressive capabilities on the road. The rear-wheel drive architecture provides a more agile and responsive driving experience than some of its competitors, and the vehicle handles surprisingly well. However, this comes at the cost of fuel efficiency, with the vehicle only achieving an estimated 20 miles per gallon on the highway.

One area where the Timberline Edition truly shines is in terms of cargo capacity. With 87.8 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats, it's perfect for families or those who need to haul large items. However, this comes at the cost of ride comfort and overall refinement. The vehicle's high ride height and stiffer suspension can make for a choppy ride on rough roads, and the gearbox is slow to respond.

In terms of drivability, the Timberline Edition has some definite issues. The gearbox is slow to shift, especially in heavy traffic or when driving uphill. This can be frustrating, especially for those who value a smooth and responsive driving experience. Furthermore, the vehicle's electronic start-stop feature can sometimes cause it to sit idle for long periods of time, which can be annoying.

Despite these issues, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition does offer some impressive capabilities off the road. The two iPhone lights attached to the front of the vehicle are a nice touch, and the increased ride height provides excellent visibility in low-visibility conditions. However, this comes at the cost of overall refinement and comfort on paved roads.

One thing that's clear is that Ford didn't put a lot of attention into the finer details of this trim level. The interior lacks some of the touches that we've come to expect from higher-end vehicles, such as heated seats or a more premium sound system. Additionally, the drivability issues mentioned earlier are a major concern.

Ultimately, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition is a mixed bag. While it offers some impressive capabilities and a unique outdoorsy feel, its drawbacks and limitations make it difficult to recommend. At $50,000 with destination, it's certainly not cheap, and there are plenty of other vehicles on the market that offer similar or better features at a lower price point.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a family vehicle or something to haul large items, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition may be worth considering. However, if you're looking for a refined and comfortable driving experience, you may want to look elsewhere. With its slow gearbox, rough ride, and lack of attention to detail in the interior, this trim level is a bit of a disappointment.

All right, let's get out of this thing. The Ford Explorer Timberline with an as-tested price of $50,000, plus destination, comes in at $40,400. It's expensive, and we definitely have our problems with it. Let me walk you through what's good and bad about the vehicle. It's big, it is a very large vehicle compared to something like a Honda Pilot or a Telluride. However, that same size and weight can make for a choppy ride on rough roads.

The Timberline Edition handles better because it's on a rear-wheel drive architecture, and you can feel that when you drive this thing at the limit. That said, it's a SUV for families, and you're never driving at the limit what you want is a good gearbox, good fuel economy, and attention to detail in the interior space.

Space-wise, the vehicle has plenty of room for passengers and cargo. However, that same capacity comes at the cost of overall refinement and comfort on paved roads. Ford is capable of building some very impressive trucks, like the F-150. The Explorer requires maybe not a major rethink but definitely more attention to detail particularly in the gearbox tuning.

So, what's missing? A good gearbox, for one. Ford didn't put a lot of attention into the finer details of this trim level. The interior lacks some of the touches that we've come to expect from higher-end vehicles, such as heated seats or a more premium sound system. Additionally, the drivability issues mentioned earlier are a major concern.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a family vehicle or something to haul large items, the Ford Explorer Timberline Edition may be worth considering. However, if you're looking for a refined and comfortable driving experience, you may want to look elsewhere. With its slow gearbox, rough ride, and lack of attention to detail in the interior, this trim level is a bit of a disappointment.

We've seen make good products from Ford before. The Timberline Edition just doesn't live up to those expectations. It's a shame, because it has some great capabilities off the road. However, for everyday driving, there are plenty of other vehicles that offer similar or better features at a lower price point. So, unless you're dead set on an Explorer, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Overall, if you're in the market for a new vehicle and your heart is set on an Explorer, we'd recommend sticking with the standard model or one of its more upscale trim levels. The Timberline Edition just doesn't offer enough value to justify the added cost.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe ford explorer timberline edition this woodsy outdoorsy trim level has a few things you might like for 50 000 at that price point i have some expectations but let's get into the finer details starting with the pros the cargo capacity and human capacity is 87.8 cubic feet that is enormous if you don't know what that that number means like many people the second row is you you're floating back there the third row down jack fits all these tires i mean it's just a huge space that is one of the primary reasons why you're buying this and it's on a rear-wheel drive architecture which we'll get into on the shop the usability with the third row up it has human space so second row getting the third row is great the front occupancy room is not compromised at all everything is physical most all the knobs buttons and switches are very easy to use this is pretty much idiot proof and it has to be because it's scaling out for a multi-purpose or multi-uses so where has it gone wrong well that's where the the truth comes in and that is at fifty thousand dollars you know there's some expectations we have in terms of quality fit and finish and usability and when you're looking at this on camera or if you're five feet away from everything it looks pretty good i mean from the bright work or this trim pieces the silver just a little bit of accents all looks great until you physically touch it like this door here and the release for the door the way that the little plastic trim pieces fit together the plastics this is a pure example of when a company goes to its suppliers and says we're taking the lowest bidder we don't want to pay any money for anything and you better get it for next to nothing or we're canceling our contract with you that's how everything feels in here it just feels ultra cheap and built to the just built to the absolute like shittiest price point possible and you can't tell it until you really really interact with everything and if you don't care about attention to detail i swear you're probably going to really like this because the usability makes up for a lot of those little nitpicky things that i have to say about it the other detail is this has the traditional infotainment screen it doesn't have the center monster tablet thing and it's way better for it the physical controls work well and the infotainment system does work well it's just that individual unit and you can turn off the display if you're distracted by it but i think now's the time to get into the shop and talk about some of the technical stuff well you got me under here roasting jack we're underneath the ford explorer timber line it's not timber lake it's not timber land this is timber line this is their most offered capable version of this vehicle let me walk you through it for hauling timber this is still on the cd6 architecture platform which is shared with the lincoln aviator which is a product we actually like quite a bit the explorer is strut front multi-link rear and it is a rear-wheel drive architecture for the timber line it is four-wheel drive only or all-wheel drive only it gets a substantial lift kit it has about 8.7 inches of ground clearance which means it has unique struts and springs it gets all-terrain tires it also gets a torso limited slip differential in the back it has skid plates and recovery points on the front of the vehicle this comes with one engine the ecoboost 4-cylinder makes 300 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque and puts that power down through a 10-speed automatic it is basically largely unchanged from the vehicle we originally drove but at about 47 000 this is a very expensive vehicle other than the exterior changes which you covered in the interior segment of this video it's basically the explorer you either love or hate the question i have for you before we get on the drive mark though is would you rather have this or a telluride which catches fire if you have the towing package uh i think i take the tire right over this any day but those recovery hooks are pretty good because you can pull me out of the front of the liquor store when i drive through it i can tell you are bringing sexy back in the timberlake edition jack no mark this is the timberland and that that sweet digital engine noise made it to the whooshing of the exhaust in the back that gets me that gets me feeling something nobody in their right mind would ever push down the pedal like you just did in this car suv i'm sorry this is a real suv by the way and there's got to be a reason why you put me back in this again after our debacle with the first exploder we did well it's been a couple years and this being the timber line um they've apparently made this more off-road capable they've potentially smoothed out many of its rough edges and of course this has the capability that you were looking for in a rear wheel drive suv and don't forget they have the two iphone lights they've attached to the front of this that's the auxiliary so you can blind pedestrians yeah how is this not just a police package that they've rebadged uh i don't know mark i don't it's not the nicest thing on the inside so i talked about the interior so did they make any improvements here in terms of drivability you spent the most amount of time what is it like trying to think of the right way to say this the off-road capability of this suv will be lost on you unless you drive on gravel roads you go hiking or any of that because as far as compromises go the increased ride height and the more off-road capable tires more or less ruin the ride of this vehicle the gearbox uh responds via calendar year it is still very very slow and look in an suv i'm not necessarily looking for the fastest shifts i'm just looking for an experience that i don't think about the gearbox at all like if you're an italian ride or even a honda pilot you don't think about the gearbox it just falls away into the background the gearbox does such weird things in this car either not shifting when it's supposed to when the stop start gets in the way the car will just sit there and do nothing for a couple seconds then think to downshift like it's terrible it's a mess so basically they didn't fix anything from the car we drove last time it's the same as before and it's still almost fifty thousand dollars you know like i think this this comes down to this is really the platform that it's on has to do a lot of things it has to be that fleet vehicle it has to be this more upscale like expensive hauler thing and i i'm just i guess i'm so disappointed with the resources this company has that they didn't put the attention there's really no attention to detail on this i think the finer things much like the interior the things that they've left off the table there they did the same here in terms of drivability they just didn't spend the amount of time they needed to do this this is a rear-wheel drive architecture they're out come on downstairs there are elements of this that should be good and i think at the limit which no one is ever going to drive one of these cars at it's better than a telluride you know but again as a hauler it's just something you're going to put your family in it's i mean it gets less than 20 miles a gallon on the highway yes it's very big but so does it tell you ride or a pilot or an mdx at 50 000 it's got stiff competition at 50 000 and i expect a lot more from this unless you're just a ford apologist i expect a lot more because everybody's putting more effort in um and i just don't know why they kind of left it this way i've seen make good products the f-150 is probably the best truck the mustang gt500 the gt350 the mach one great they must not have had the development budget really to to to cover the bases they needed to cover here and i i mean it's not like they couldn't do it like literally they had the bones to do it they just didn't execute and i think that's a good time to get into the final thoughts all right mark let's get out of this thing the ford explorer timberline with a as tested price with destination of 50 000 400 it's expensive and we definitely have our problems with it let me walk you through what's good it's big it is a very very large vehicle compared to something like a honda pilot or a telluride it handles better because it's on a rear wheel drive architecture and you can feel that when you drive this thing at the limit that said it's a suv for families you're never driving at the limit what you want is a good gearbox good fuel economy and attention to detail in the interior space and other than again it's cargo capacity it lacks a lot of that that's what really disappoints me because ford is capable of building some very impressive trucks look at the f-150 this requires maybe not a major rethink but definitely more attention to detail particularly in the gearbox tuning so that thanks for watching and hope to see you soon you\n"