1999 Ford Explorer Review
1999 Ford Explorer Review





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Edmunds' Expert Review
by the Edmunds Experts
Pros
- A commanding view of the road, multiple engine choices, and one of the most comfortable and commodious cabins in its class makes the Explorer the number one choice for American's buying sport-utes.
Cons
- Gas mileage is not the strong suit for any vehicle in this segment. The Explorer is no exception.
What’s new
The 1999 Ford Explorer gets exterior revisions including new foglamps, rocker panel moldings, wheel moldings, running boards and wheels. Harvest Gold, Chestnut, Deep Wedgewood, Spruce Green and Tropic Green replace Light Prairie Tan, Desert Violet, Light Denim Blue, Pacific Green and Evergreen Frost on the color chart. New options include a reverse sensing system and rear load leveling. Side-impact airbags are also newly available.
Cost to DriveCost to drive estimates for the 1999 Ford Explorer XLS 4dr SUV and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $4.64 per gallon for regular unleaded in Virginia.
Monthly estimates based on costs in Virginia
$318/mo
Explorer XLS
vs
$274/mo
Avg. Midsize SUV
Vehicle overview
Since its introduction in 1991, the Ford Explorer has resided at the top of the sport utility sales heap. With good reason, the Explorer combines style, comfort and room in a go-anywhere package. The modern day Country Squire, some have called it, after the segment leading station wagon of the 1950s.
We think that there's a good reason for this. Simply stated, the Explorer is a more refined vehicle than the competition at Jeep and General Motors. The interior instills a feeling of quality that is missing from the Blazer. Jeep's all-new Grand Cherokee has made up much of the distance between its interior and the Explorer's. An organically sweeping dashboard houses radio controls that can actually be operated without a magnifying glass. Materials in the Explorer look and feel rich. Rear seat comfort surpasses Chevy, and entry/exit is easier than Jeep. Explorers offer more cargo capacity than most rivals do, and five passengers can ride with ease. Exterior styling is a subjective matter, but we think that the Explorer is an attractive SUV.
The Explorer's standard 4.0-liter V6 is the puniest engine found in a domestic sport-ute. Acceleration is fine from a standstill, but step on the gas at 50 mph and not much happens. That's not good news when there's a need to pass or merge. Ford also offers an OHV 5.0-liter V8 engine that used to power the previous generation Mustang GT. While the acceleration with 5.0-liter motor is improved over the base V6, it gives up a lot in fuel consumption. Fortunately, Ford introduced an optional SOHC V6 in 1997 that offers nearly as much power as the V8, for less money while offering greater fuel efficiency. We recommend this engine over the other two engine choices due to its great power and affordable price.
The Explorer gets exterior changes this year that include new quarter panel sheetmetal, body moldings, badging and running boards. New options include a reverse sensing system, rear load leveling, automatic ride control and side impact air bags.
Unlike the current Nissan Pathfinder, Explorers retain a distinctly truck-like character, which could be a bonus or a demerit. They're tough and solid, and easy to maneuver, though steering is a little slow and ponderous, and the body leans through tight corners. Braking is excellent, and the suspension has a compliant attitude, but Ford's Explorer can bounce around, making occupants regret the Denver omelet they had for breakfast.
Ford has a philosophy of building vehicles that everyone can be happy with. Sure, the Jeep Grand Cherokee feels sportier, and the Chevrolet Blazer looks cooler, but the Explorer has just the right amount of class and ruggedness to make it America's best-selling off-roader. If you are thinking about buying an sport-ute, chances are you've already checked out the Explorer. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and find out why there are so many of these trucks on the road.
Consumer reviews
Read what other owners think about the Used 1999 Ford Explorer.
Most helpful consumer reviews
3.75 out of 5 stars
Still Going
magnum,07/27/2010
Eddie Bauer 4dr SUV 4WD
Funny, I feel like several of these posters are driving my Explorer. I'm at 175k miles. Radio display went out at about 50k miles. Rear wiper works maybe one month out of the year. Tranny still good but starting to show its age. Occasionally it won't start. I believe its a short in the fuel pump sensor. If I wait about 3-5 minutes, for some reason she'll start right up. Driver door … handle broke and entire locking and handle configuration had to be redone. All in all, I've never put much money in this thing. It handles snow with absolute ease. Gas mileage averages 18.4 city and highway. For some reason, some car critics slam the explorer, but mine has been a darn good car overall.
5 out of 5 stars
2nd vehicle and loving it!
frank nunez,10/02/2015
Eddie Bauer 4dr SUV
Got my 99 explorer in febuary of 2013 with only 97**** miles and now towards the end of 2015 with 104*** still running strong with the 5.0 engine. Plenty of room for my wife and 2 kids and you wouldnt believe how much stuff we hauled with this,better then a pickup. Truck has been very reliable with the only maintenence done to it has been buying a new set of tires when got it,got rear … and front brakes replaced and one time car did not start thought it was the starter had it checked out wasn't the problem,turned out to be the pulley that wasn't allowing it to crank replaced and nothing since. Got a MagnaFlow exhaust which makes it sound beasty,I leave Hondas in the dust! See other reviews of them pushing to 200*** plus miles and taking care of this bad boy hoping to keep em around to get him there.
5 out of 5 stars
Full Use/Longivity/Satisfaction
Sabrina,04/24/2017
XLT 4dr SUV AWD
I have owned a 1999 Ford Explorer XLT for 18 years and I must share with you that I have never been on the side of the road with engine problems. This was my "dream" car at the time of purchase and it NEVER disappointed me, through travel, family and regular use for work transportation, (including big dogs, kids, moving & craft shows). We have traveled across the United States during the … extreme heat of summer and used the air and no worries! I have always purchased the best tires and was taught at an early age after getting my driver's license that maintenance is KEY to a healthy car. I treated it well with auto checks regularly and in return my car performed well and still does. Now that it is older, my maintenance costs remain low because the only thing I have to fix is from natural wear, like brakes, belts, filters etc. My leather seats held up well with the exception of my seat , which got the most use. I just really wanted to share how happy I have been for the past 18 years with this vehicle!
3.63 out of 5 stars
1999 Ford Explorer
nazechad_3050,12/02/2009
XL 4dr SUV 4WD
Bought it in May with 120,000 miles on it. Drives great. Love the truck. Had three small problems with it and one huge one. The rear wiper has stopped working, the drivers door handle broke off, and the drivers lock keeps getting stuck. The huge problem was at 130,000 miles the transmission started to go. Wouldnt shift into 3rd gear smoothly anymore. Currently replacing the Transmission … as I type this. Even with these problems i love the truck. does everything i ask it to do.
Safety
IIHS Rating
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.
- Side Impact TestNot Tested
- Roof Strength TestNot Tested
- Rear Crash Protection / Head RestraintNot Tested
- IIHS Small Overlap Front TestNot Tested
- Moderate Overlap Front TestAcceptable
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More about the 1999 Ford Explorer
More About This Model
In 1998, Ford sold 431,488 Explorers in the United States. That's a lot of Explorers. This mid-sized SUV has consistently been near the top of automotive sales charts since its introduction. But what is it about the Explorer that has convinced so many people to plunk down $20,000 to $30,000? We've tested plenty of Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, but we wanted additional insight. We wanted answers. We wanted something to drive to lunch. We picked up a '99 Explorer for a road test.
We've enjoyed this SUV's ability to provide lots of utility in an easy-to-drive package. However, we've driven only four-door models, so this time, we picked up a two-door Oxford White Explorer Sport. It had two-wheel drive, the 4.0-liter SOHC V6, and a five-speed automatic transmission. Highlights from the options included a trailer-towing package, a power moonroof, the Premium Sport group, the Convenience group, and the Comfort group.
In two-door form, the Explorer looks both modern and rugged. The two doors translate to a shorter wheelbase: 101.7 inches vs. 111.6 inches for the four-door. It also weighs about 200 pounds less. Our test truck was outfitted with 15-inch chrome wheels, fog lamps, and step bars from the Premium Sport group. These exterior add-ons came in handy for identifying our Explorer in mall parking lots. We definitely saw ourselves both coming and going with this vehicle. At one point during our evaluation, one of our editors noticed that he was driving in traffic surrounded by four other white Ford Explorers. Make no mistake: these things are everywhere.
Other than helping our vanity, none of the Premium Sport items was particularly useful. The step bars extended beyond the width of the vehicle. Shorter stature people might like the step bars to aid in entry/egress, but otherwise they were a fashion risk for occupants who didn't use them. If the bars were dirty, care needed to be taken in order to avoid pant leg or shoe contact on the bars. Difficulty of entry/egress was average for this type of vehicle.
More useful equipment came with the Comfort group. The "puddle" lamps are small lights mounted underneath the side mirrors. When the doors are unlocked with the remote or opened, the puddle lights turn on to project a small circle of light next to the door. It's a simple feature, but was useful to see what we were stepping on at night as we exited the vehicle. The Comfort group also added items like an overhead console that displays compass direction and temperature, a keypad, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, automatic headlights, and auto-locking doors. The mirror has a special electrochromic coating that dims at night, reducing the glare from headlights. The automatic headlights worked fine, though we initially thought something was wrong when the headlights were staying on after we shut off the ignition and pulled the key. A flip through the manual told us that they are supposed to do that. A small sliding button on the rearview mirror adjusts the time delay that the headlights stay on after the ignition is killed.
But for $2,340, do you really need this stuff? We could easily go without it, but Ford has sneakily made the Comfort group the only way to get a power-operated driver seat. The same goes for the Convenience group. This $750 option is the only way to get cruise control and a tilt steering wheel on the Explorer Sport.
The $2,340 seat did live up to its group's name. We were quite happy with the comfort it provided, though the standard Ford-brand power-seat buttons on the side of the seat were, as usual, a bit disappointing. They were small and not as intuitive as one would like. And while nothing was horribly wrong with the Explorer Sport's interior, it never went out of its way to impress. In a four-door Explorer, the rear seats are comfortable. But in the Explorer Sport, the rear seats were small and did not provide adequate back or head support. In addition, the materials and overall interior finish were quite average. The center storage bin was large, but the door bins were small. Sitting still, the sunvisor whacked us in the forehead if we moved it from its folded-down position to the driver door position. Does this mean we were sitting too close? If so, then why was it that the smallish radio controls were too far away and couldn't be operated without leaning forward? And why was it that the first button our hand naturally fell to in order to operate the windows was for the passenger's window, not the driver's? It's things like these that make us wonder how this SUV became so popular.
Like the four-door model, the Explorer Sport fares better when its utility is considered. Despite the short wheelbase, the Explorer can still haul 70.2 cubic feet of cargo with the rear seats folded down. This beats a two-door Chevrolet Blazer (67 cubic feet) and a two-door Isuzu Rodeo (62 cubic feet), and dominates smaller 'utes like the Chevrolet Tracker or the Toyota RAV4. With the rear seats folded (the process is easy to do), the Explorer Sport can still haul nearly as much cargo as a four-door Explorer with its rear seats folded. Opening and closing the rear hatch lacked any type of drama.
Further utility could be gained from four-wheel drive. But alas, our test vehicle was faithful to its rear wheels only. As such, we didn't bother taking the Explorer off the pavement. Without four-wheel drive, the Explorer is little better than a car in terms of its capability in poor conditions. Actually, it might be less capable. Traction control, something found quite frequently on cars priced similarly to our vehicle, isn't an option on 2WD Explorers.
Contained on pavement, our Explorer didn't do itself any favors. Over small bumps or ripples, it was fine. But once it encountered medium- or large-sized bumps, it was distinctly truck-like in the way it bounded and hopped. This was likely due to the shorter wheelbase. Pushed beyond normal commuting-type efforts, we noticed a steering system that was unresponsive off center and a brake pedal that required too much effort. Only when we were on the throttle were we impressed. The power from the 4.0-liter SOHC V6 (210 horsepower and 240 foot-pounds of torque) was very useful in urban situations, and it allows a maximum towing capacity of 4,900 pounds. On the freeway, the Explorer cruised relatively quietly, with minimal road noise and no squeaks or rattles.
Overall, we were disappointed with the Explorer Sport that we drove. With 4WD, we could have treated our Explorer like an SUV instead of like a car with a huge trunk. With four doors instead of two, maybe that big-time driver's-side blind spot would have gone away and the rear seats would have become more useful. Maybe we would have been more forgiving of a stripper Explorer Sport instead of the $26,505 model we tested. Maybe we would be more impressed if we were "Horse Trailer Monthly" instead of Edmunds.com. Maybe. But none of those things happened. Which leaves us scratching our heads about why somebody would buy an Explorer Sport 2WD. It can't go off-road. And on the road, its manners and interior are humbled by a roomy, new $15,000 Ford Focus. If you want to purchase an Explorer, we recommend a four-door model.
Used 1999 Ford Explorer Overview
The Used 1999 Ford Explorer is offered in the following submodels: Explorer SUV. Available styles include XLS 4dr SUV, XLT 4dr SUV 4WD, XL 4dr SUV, Sport 2dr SUV 4WD, XLT 4dr SUV, XL 4dr SUV 4WD, Sport 2dr SUV, XLS 4dr SUV 4WD, Limited 4dr SUV 4WD, XLT 4dr SUV AWD, Limited 4dr SUV AWD, Eddie Bauer 4dr SUV AWD, Eddie Bauer 4dr SUV, Eddie Bauer 4dr SUV 4WD, and Limited 4dr SUV. Pre-owned Ford Explorer models are available with a 4.0 L-liter gas engine, with output up to 160 hp, depending on engine type. The Used 1999 Ford Explorer comes with rear wheel drive, and four wheel drive. Available transmissions include: 5-speed manual.
What's a good price on a Used 1999 Ford Explorer?
Shop with Edmunds for perks and special offers on used cars, trucks, and SUVs near Ashburn, VA. Doing so could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Edmunds also provides consumer-driven dealership sales and service reviews to help you make informed decisions about what cars to buy and where to buy them.
Which used 1999 Ford Explorers are available in my area?
Shop Edmunds' car, SUV, and truck listings of over 6 million vehicles to find a cheap new, used, or certified pre-owned (CPO) 1999 Ford Explorer for sale near. Simply research the type of car you're interested in and then select a used car from our massive database to find cheap prew-owned vehicles for sale near you. Once you have identified a used vehicle you're interested in, check the AutoCheck vehicle history reports, read dealer reviews, and find out what other owners paid for the Used 1999 Ford Explorer.
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Should I lease or buy a 1999 Ford Explorer?
Is it better to lease or buy a car? Ask most people and they'll probably tell you that car buying is the way to go. And from a financial perspective, it's true, provided you're willing to make higher monthly payments, pay off the loan in full and keep the car for a few years. Leasing, on the other hand, can be a less expensive option on a month-to-month basis. It's also good if you're someone who likes to drive a new car every three years or so.
Check out Ford lease specials
Check out Ford Explorer lease specials
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