Today’s cars, trucks and SUVs are all about the tech inside and the amazing things they can do to help us on the road. Rich DeMuro hops in the driver’s seat of the 2011 Ford Explorer to learn about the groundbreaking technology inside during our brand-new Tech Report Test Drive segment.
From a power lift gate to ways to lock and unlock doors without a key to giant sliding sunroofs, there is a ton of tech packed into this fully-loaded, limited edition SUV.
This top-tech car has two great and unique features we love. The first is a blind spot warning system that lights up red when a car is approaching on the side. Second is a backup warning system that lets you know when a car is coming from the left or right, which especially handy for backing out of driveways.
Plus, the audio system has just about every feature imaginable, including HD and satellite radio, DVD, navigation and inputs galore.
Some other nice touches are seats that fold with the press of a button, color-changing ambient lights, two customizable dashboard screens and a voice-recognition system that knows 10,000 commands like changing the radio station and turning on the air conditioning.
Connect your mobile phone once, and it automatically connects you to 911 if it senses an accident.
Like anything with new technology, this car has a couple quirks. After a week of driving, the system sometimes displayed an annoying “performing scheduled maintenance” screen, and, from a cold start, the backup camera isn’t always ready in time for backing out.
