1992 Ford Explorer XLT review from North America

Bad driver's side radius arm bushing (replaced), previous owner has replaced passenger side bushing.

Front seat edge padding was gone; I had to have the front driver's seat rebuilt (upholstery was fine).

Rear window wiper works intermittently.

Front brakes make a strange grinding noise at the very end of a hard braking episode (perhaps glazed pads?).

Interior was neglected and very dirty when I bought the car, but after a couple days of scrubbing it cleaned up nicely - velour upholstery is quite sturdy.

Ride is bouncy and stiff, perhaps to be expected in a SUV, but I miss my old car's more comfortable ride.

I needed a replacement family car quickly and cheaply, and started out looking at Taurus wagons, but on a whim decided to consider Explorers. Found a nice 2WD original owner with 136,000 (about 8K a year, not over-driven). Intake gasket and passenger radius arm bushing had been replaced, both common upgrades. Also AC compressor had been replaced, and system converted to R-134a.

This car has worked well. My teenage daughter feels comfortable driving it (small, yet sits up high enough for her to see). It has nice second seat legroom, better than compact wagons and similar SUV's. Turns surprisingly nice and tight. Too early for cup-holders, but I wish it had some. Original electric blue paint looks great. This is also the only early Explorer I've ever seen without a roof rack; not a big deal, in fact makes washing roof much easier.

In 2WD configuration, this is really just a large, tall station wagon. Thinking that way, it works well, and is much more usable/spacious than a comparable wagon or sedan. With three kids, it turned out to be a good choice for me.