Bigger engine, better chassis, stagnant performanceStereo EvaluationSecond OpinionsConsumer Commentary
So here's the latest fantasy the marketing wonks would have you believe: Mountain-Dew-guzzling adrenaline junkies buy vehicles like the 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Honda Ridgeline and Nissan Frontier, to suit their (over)active lifestyles. Seriously. That's what they want you to think. Get one of these trucks and in no time you'll be winning triathlons, paddling down Class V rapids and mountain biking over volcanoes.
Sure you will.
OK, so we all know these trucks make more trips to Home Depot than they do to the alpine starting line. And there are certainly more armchair quarterbacks than genuine endurance athletes driving them. But they do, according to Ford's sales figures for the previous Sport Trac (about 60,000 annually between 2001 and 2005), serve a customer base that's in love with their utility. Either that or all that Mountain Dew is affecting their buyers' judgment.
New and improved
The Sport Trac currently on sale has been completely redesigned for the 2007 model year. Intended to bridge the gap between a truck and an SUV, the Sport Trac shares its fundamental structure and powertrain options with the 2006 Ford Explorer. But the addition of a 4.1-foot bed behind the four-door cabin necessitates an overall length that's nearly 17 inches longer than the Explorer. Most of that length comes between the wheels, meaning the Sport Trac drives more like a long truck than a short SUV.
"The new chassis puts the Sport Trac firmly in the 21st century in terms of structural rigidity," said Chris Brewer, Sport Trac's chief engineer. Ford tells us the latest Sport Trac is 444 percent stiffer than the previous model, thanks to a revised ladder-frame design that's taller, wider and thicker in critical areas than before. It also integrates a tow hitch into the most rearward crossmember for strength and to eliminate the weight of a secondary bolt-on receiver.
An all-new suspension design takes advantage of the additional chassis rigidity. The front suspension uses unequal-length upper and lower control arms. The independent rear suspension is new and similar in design to the front, but adds a stamped-steel trailing link.
Engine options are the same as with the Explorer, too: Buyers choose between a 4.0-liter, 210-horsepower, 254-pound-feet V6 or a 4.6-liter, 292-hp, 300-lb-ft V8. The V6 comes with a five-speed automatic and the V8, one of only two in the midsize truck segment, comes with a six-speed auto. We tested a Sport Trac Limited 4x4 with the V8 that was loaded with optional equipment.
How's she handle?
On the road, the Sport Trac proved to be exactly the mix of ride and handling its chassis promises. There's no bizarre or uncomfortable solid-axle handling traits — no hop, no lateral movement over high-frequency road irregularities. There's little indication in its ride that this truck has a 1,350-pound payload capacity and 6,640-pound towing capacity.
Steering is adequately weighted, but lacks any sort of feedback that would encourage spirited driving. Not that this matters much, since we're talking about a truck with four doors, four-wheel drive and more than 2 tons of curb weight. Even so, the lighter Honda Ridgeline is more articulate in communicating chassis responses.
Sport Tracs are available in two- or four-wheel drive. Four-wheel-drive versions have three modes. The first mode, 4x4 Auto, is suitable for everyday driving. In this mode the Sport Trac is rear-wheel drive until sensors tell the transfer case clutch to engage the front wheels. Two other modes, 4x4 High and 4x4 Low, lock the front and rear driveshafts at the same speed. Low range engages a torque-multiplying gearset for heavy-duty off-roading.
In practice, the automatic mode is brilliant, engaging seamlessly and effortlessly pulling the truck up steep hills and over obstacles without the need to stop and pull a lever or push a button. Low range engages and disengages quickly with the transmission in neutral.
Target: Ridgeline
It's clear the Ford truck crew was at least mildly inspired by the usability built into Honda's Ridgeline. The Sport Trac has three storage compartments in its bed, which is constructed from sheet-molded composite (SMC). According to Ford, SMC is 20 percent lighter than a traditional steel box. It also won't rust or dent.
In addition to the rather small built-in storage compartments, the Sport Trac can be optioned with a folding cargo-bed extender ($195) and a hard tonneau cover ($595). There's also a 12-volt power outlet in the bed — a feature the Ridgeline doesn't have.
Inside, the rear seatbacks are split 60/40 and fold flat over the seat bottoms to provide a flat cargo floor. This is a nice feature, but we prefer the Ridgeline's seat design, which folds the seat bottoms up against the seatbacks and provides more cargo height and almost as much width, despite having less rear legroom. Speaking of rear legroom, Ford points out that the Sport Trac has more than any other truck in its class.
Full-size engine, midsize performance
Ford also brags that Sport Tracs fitted with the V8 have class-leading power and combined with the six-speed automatic transmission, we braced ourselves for some impressive performance. However, in acceleration tests, the Sport Trac delivered performance almost identical to the rest of the midsize players. It hit 60 in 8.1 seconds, which is the same as the last Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab long bed we tested. The Sport Trac ran through the quarter-mile in 16.5 seconds at 84.6 mph, slower than both the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab (16.2 seconds) and Tacoma (16.1 seconds).
The Sport Trac will tow marginally more than the Frontier and Tacoma. Four-wheel-drive, V8-powered Sport Tracs are rated to tow up to 6,640 pounds, which is considerable relative to the Ridgeline's 5,000-pound rating.
Despite better-than-average ride quality, the Sport Trac failed to deliver on its promise of nimble handling through the slalom. We'll be the first to admit that a truck's slalom speed is about as important to most buyers as humility is to Donald Trump, but this test is a good measure of handling performance relative to other vehicles in the same class. And that's where the Sport Trac let us down. Its 55.6-mph slalom pass was slower than the Ridgeline, Tacoma and Frontier. The low speed is mostly thanks to Ford's AdvanceTrac stability control system, which can't be disabled and is ultraconservative in its efforts to rein in the chassis as cornering loads increase.
Fuel economy was also disappointing. At 14.4 mpg the Sport Trac lived up to its big engine's reputation for fuel consumption during the 670 miles of combined highway and city driving we measured. That's a few miles per gallon worse than the Tacoma, Frontier and Ridgeline we've tested.
Dubious interior
Ford's interior gurus did their job as well as can be expected on the Sport Trac. Just don't plan on being pampered with exotic materials or outstanding craftsmanship. There are plenty of nice features like adjustable pedals, two-tone leather and heated 10-way adjustable seats, but the whole treatment is watered down by Ford's rather generic (and dated) switchgear, audio system and layout.
Functionally, most of the Sport Trac interior is relatively intuitive in use. Heating and ventilation controls are all buttons. We prefer the speed and simplicity of knobs, but apparently those aren't an option in the Ford parts bin. The redundant steering-wheel controls for the heating/ventilation and audio system are a nice touch.
The one serious oversight in the Sport Trac's interior is a product of Ford's focus on safety. The front door armrests are designed to cushion the abdomen in a side impact, which means they're made of soft rubber and don't have a built-in handle. The awkward design requires the release to be positioned on the front of the armrest, with the handle underneath it toward the front of the door. Opening the door isn't a problem — yank on the release and shove the door open with your forearm. But closing it is far from simple, since the handle is so close to the hinges that there's very little leverage available to swing the heavy door shut.
The good news is that the Sport Trac's interior is relatively quiet and rattle-free. Ford went through significant effort to insulate and damp the interior from wind and road noise, and it's obvious from behind the wheel.
Get your wet suit, it's time to take a bath
The Sport Trac does little to distinguish itself, and we find few reasons to pick it over the other choices in the segment. If you've got to have the low-range transfer case, then it does offer at least one advantage over the Ridgeline. Well, that and it actually looks like a truck. But factor in towing capacity, performance, fuel-efficiency and versatility, and the Tacoma and Frontier are stronger options.
Then there's the price. Base pricing for the latest-generation Sport Trac is similar to the previous generation. Load up the options, however, and the story changes. Minus the leather seats, tonneau cover and the bed extender, a comparably equipped Toyota Tacoma, which performs better and is more fuel-efficient, costs about $3,500 less than our heavily optioned $34,625 tester. We're not sure how the marketing folks are going to spin that one, but we bet it involves a lot of Mountain Dew.
Sure you will.
OK, so we all know these trucks make more trips to Home Depot than they do to the alpine starting line. And there are certainly more armchair quarterbacks than genuine endurance athletes driving them. But they do, according to Ford's sales figures for the previous Sport Trac (about 60,000 annually between 2001 and 2005), serve a customer base that's in love with their utility. Either that or all that Mountain Dew is affecting their buyers' judgment.
New and improved
The Sport Trac currently on sale has been completely redesigned for the 2007 model year. Intended to bridge the gap between a truck and an SUV, the Sport Trac shares its fundamental structure and powertrain options with the 2006 Ford Explorer. But the addition of a 4.1-foot bed behind the four-door cabin necessitates an overall length that's nearly 17 inches longer than the Explorer. Most of that length comes between the wheels, meaning the Sport Trac drives more like a long truck than a short SUV.
"The new chassis puts the Sport Trac firmly in the 21st century in terms of structural rigidity," said Chris Brewer, Sport Trac's chief engineer. Ford tells us the latest Sport Trac is 444 percent stiffer than the previous model, thanks to a revised ladder-frame design that's taller, wider and thicker in critical areas than before. It also integrates a tow hitch into the most rearward crossmember for strength and to eliminate the weight of a secondary bolt-on receiver.
An all-new suspension design takes advantage of the additional chassis rigidity. The front suspension uses unequal-length upper and lower control arms. The independent rear suspension is new and similar in design to the front, but adds a stamped-steel trailing link.
Engine options are the same as with the Explorer, too: Buyers choose between a 4.0-liter, 210-horsepower, 254-pound-feet V6 or a 4.6-liter, 292-hp, 300-lb-ft V8. The V6 comes with a five-speed automatic and the V8, one of only two in the midsize truck segment, comes with a six-speed auto. We tested a Sport Trac Limited 4x4 with the V8 that was loaded with optional equipment.
How's she handle?
On the road, the Sport Trac proved to be exactly the mix of ride and handling its chassis promises. There's no bizarre or uncomfortable solid-axle handling traits — no hop, no lateral movement over high-frequency road irregularities. There's little indication in its ride that this truck has a 1,350-pound payload capacity and 6,640-pound towing capacity.
Steering is adequately weighted, but lacks any sort of feedback that would encourage spirited driving. Not that this matters much, since we're talking about a truck with four doors, four-wheel drive and more than 2 tons of curb weight. Even so, the lighter Honda Ridgeline is more articulate in communicating chassis responses.
Sport Tracs are available in two- or four-wheel drive. Four-wheel-drive versions have three modes. The first mode, 4x4 Auto, is suitable for everyday driving. In this mode the Sport Trac is rear-wheel drive until sensors tell the transfer case clutch to engage the front wheels. Two other modes, 4x4 High and 4x4 Low, lock the front and rear driveshafts at the same speed. Low range engages a torque-multiplying gearset for heavy-duty off-roading.
In practice, the automatic mode is brilliant, engaging seamlessly and effortlessly pulling the truck up steep hills and over obstacles without the need to stop and pull a lever or push a button. Low range engages and disengages quickly with the transmission in neutral.
Target: Ridgeline
It's clear the Ford truck crew was at least mildly inspired by the usability built into Honda's Ridgeline. The Sport Trac has three storage compartments in its bed, which is constructed from sheet-molded composite (SMC). According to Ford, SMC is 20 percent lighter than a traditional steel box. It also won't rust or dent.
In addition to the rather small built-in storage compartments, the Sport Trac can be optioned with a folding cargo-bed extender ($195) and a hard tonneau cover ($595). There's also a 12-volt power outlet in the bed — a feature the Ridgeline doesn't have.
Inside, the rear seatbacks are split 60/40 and fold flat over the seat bottoms to provide a flat cargo floor. This is a nice feature, but we prefer the Ridgeline's seat design, which folds the seat bottoms up against the seatbacks and provides more cargo height and almost as much width, despite having less rear legroom. Speaking of rear legroom, Ford points out that the Sport Trac has more than any other truck in its class.
Full-size engine, midsize performance
Ford also brags that Sport Tracs fitted with the V8 have class-leading power and combined with the six-speed automatic transmission, we braced ourselves for some impressive performance. However, in acceleration tests, the Sport Trac delivered performance almost identical to the rest of the midsize players. It hit 60 in 8.1 seconds, which is the same as the last Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab long bed we tested. The Sport Trac ran through the quarter-mile in 16.5 seconds at 84.6 mph, slower than both the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab (16.2 seconds) and Tacoma (16.1 seconds).
The Sport Trac will tow marginally more than the Frontier and Tacoma. Four-wheel-drive, V8-powered Sport Tracs are rated to tow up to 6,640 pounds, which is considerable relative to the Ridgeline's 5,000-pound rating.
Despite better-than-average ride quality, the Sport Trac failed to deliver on its promise of nimble handling through the slalom. We'll be the first to admit that a truck's slalom speed is about as important to most buyers as humility is to Donald Trump, but this test is a good measure of handling performance relative to other vehicles in the same class. And that's where the Sport Trac let us down. Its 55.6-mph slalom pass was slower than the Ridgeline, Tacoma and Frontier. The low speed is mostly thanks to Ford's AdvanceTrac stability control system, which can't be disabled and is ultraconservative in its efforts to rein in the chassis as cornering loads increase.
Fuel economy was also disappointing. At 14.4 mpg the Sport Trac lived up to its big engine's reputation for fuel consumption during the 670 miles of combined highway and city driving we measured. That's a few miles per gallon worse than the Tacoma, Frontier and Ridgeline we've tested.
Dubious interior
Ford's interior gurus did their job as well as can be expected on the Sport Trac. Just don't plan on being pampered with exotic materials or outstanding craftsmanship. There are plenty of nice features like adjustable pedals, two-tone leather and heated 10-way adjustable seats, but the whole treatment is watered down by Ford's rather generic (and dated) switchgear, audio system and layout.
Functionally, most of the Sport Trac interior is relatively intuitive in use. Heating and ventilation controls are all buttons. We prefer the speed and simplicity of knobs, but apparently those aren't an option in the Ford parts bin. The redundant steering-wheel controls for the heating/ventilation and audio system are a nice touch.
The one serious oversight in the Sport Trac's interior is a product of Ford's focus on safety. The front door armrests are designed to cushion the abdomen in a side impact, which means they're made of soft rubber and don't have a built-in handle. The awkward design requires the release to be positioned on the front of the armrest, with the handle underneath it toward the front of the door. Opening the door isn't a problem — yank on the release and shove the door open with your forearm. But closing it is far from simple, since the handle is so close to the hinges that there's very little leverage available to swing the heavy door shut.
The good news is that the Sport Trac's interior is relatively quiet and rattle-free. Ford went through significant effort to insulate and damp the interior from wind and road noise, and it's obvious from behind the wheel.
Get your wet suit, it's time to take a bath
The Sport Trac does little to distinguish itself, and we find few reasons to pick it over the other choices in the segment. If you've got to have the low-range transfer case, then it does offer at least one advantage over the Ridgeline. Well, that and it actually looks like a truck. But factor in towing capacity, performance, fuel-efficiency and versatility, and the Tacoma and Frontier are stronger options.
Then there's the price. Base pricing for the latest-generation Sport Trac is similar to the previous generation. Load up the options, however, and the story changes. Minus the leather seats, tonneau cover and the bed extender, a comparably equipped Toyota Tacoma, which performs better and is more fuel-efficient, costs about $3,500 less than our heavily optioned $34,625 tester. We're not sure how the marketing folks are going to spin that one, but we bet it involves a lot of Mountain Dew.
Add A Comment »