The 300,000-level joint venture in the seven-seat SUV market has always had two unsurpassed kings. One is Toyota Highlander and the other is Volkswagen Touran. Although strictly speaking, these two cars are not performance-grade SUV models, the growth space and domineering appearance are enough to fascinate a large number of middle-aged male consumers. Can you only buy such a "face-saving" car at a price of more than 300 thousand? Can't you enjoy the driving pleasure of this class of cars? I think a new generation of domestic explorers can be listed.

As one of the two major automobile brands in the United States, Ford has long been particularly good at building large-size and large-displacement SUV models, so it has accumulated very rich experience in the design of explorers. The main competitors of the previous generation of explorers selling in China in the import mode are Land Rover Discovery, Toyota Land Cruiser and other professional seven-seat models. However, with the sinking of the Ford brand and the rapid growth of the 300,000-class medium-sized SUV market, Ford had to reduce the brand-new explorer at a higher level to the 300,000-class range to attack its competitors. Can a brand-new domestic explorer with domineering appearance and more professional performance succeed? Let's test drive together first.

Power configuration was first applied in Chang 'an.

The new generation of domestic explorers are all equipped with 2.3T engines. For those familiar with Ford, this 2.3T engine is no stranger. We can see it in the previous Fox RS and imported Wild Horse. But this is the first time in Ford's SUV model. The engine with vertical design has a maximum horsepower of 276(PS) and a maximum torque of 425 (N m), which is quite excellent in the same class. At the same time, the 10AT gearbox matched with this engine has also been seen on the previously launched Mustang and F- 150. This powertrain is still very mature.

Before we test drive Toyota Prado and other medium and large SUVs, the brakes were soft and the braking distance was long. However, the braking force output of this explorer is very linear. We have tested the emergency braking after 100 kilometers of acceleration, and the braking effect is excellent and the braking distance is short. This effect is more confident for high-speed driving. These are mainly because it is equipped with a set of 275/45? R2 1 Pirelli Scorpion? Mercedes-Benz GLS and GLE models also use Zero series tires, and the market price is as high as 1.5 million yuan, which shows Changan Ford's sincerity to this flagship model.

The strength is just right

This 2.3T engine is really good in data, but the power adjustment is not particularly fierce for pushing this 2-ton large volume. When we try to start quickly, the torque of 425n·m pushes the car body relatively flat, and there will be no push back feeling that suddenly makes your heart beat faster. But fortunately, the initial adjustment of the throttle is more sensitive, the engine responds faster to the throttle, and the linear performance is better when the speed is increased, and there is no obvious sense of frustration. However, if you change to sports mode, although the speed is improved, you will feel frustrated when you accelerate. This kind of power can only be said to be enough in this car, and it can't satisfy your passionate driving.

A sturdy chassis? Small turning radius

Speaking of chassis control, Ford still has two brushes. Generally, we often hear at the test drive meeting of BMW cars that the longitudinal rear-drive platform and the 50: 50 weight distribution of front and rear axles are also used for brand-new explorers this time. Does this extreme manipulation promoted by BMW also perform well on such a large SUV? The answer is yes! Explorers use the front double-ball joint shock absorber suspension and the rear multi-link independent support, and the chassis uses a large number of aluminum kits, which also means better performance in lightweight and maneuverability. The explorer's chassis feels very compact and has strong support. Even if you do a high-speed lap at the test drive site, the side support performance is very good, and there will be no obvious roll inside the car, which is very different from Japanese cars. In the performance of seismic filtering, the feedback to the pavement is clear and compatible with certain comfort.

Although the chassis is solid, there is a sharp contrast in steering wheel adjustment. The steering wheel is very light, the turning radius is very small, much smaller than the SUV of the same level, and it takes almost half a turn to steer the wheel. This design also makes the car more dexterous when turning around or turning between cities. This design is also very unexpected, completely subverting the traditional feeling of SUV models of this size.

300 thousand can actually be chosen like this.

After a simple test drive, the flexibility of the new explorer really impressed us, even if you are an inexperienced female driver. It is also easy to drive such a big guy in a crowded city. However, after many experiences, we also found that the driving force of this test drive is not as fierce as the official propaganda, and there is still a certain gap in the acceleration performance of 8 seconds running, but even so, for players like Touran, explorers are indeed motivated. After all, the strength of the explorer who attacked the dimensionality reduction is still there. In particular, the starting price is only in the early 300 thousand, and for friends who like American luxury, explorers may be a good choice. For more new car information, please click "Follow" to comment on the new car or leave a message to interact with us. This article is an original article for a new car test drive. Please do not reprint without permission.

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