Inside, the
2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac looks a lot like the Explorer cabin. Not that it lacks anything by way of necessities or has been saddled with an abbreviated option list, but there's more borrowed than new. The Sport Trac shares virtually all of its interior, from trim to seat frames, with the Explorer.
The instruments are simple and easy to scan. The fuel and coolant gauges are tucked away in the lower, outer quadrants of the tachometer and speedometer; they could be larger and located closer to the driver's line of sight. The center stack is packed with functions but it's intuitively organized, with readily deciphered controls and displays. However, we'd prefer a tuning knob for the radio instead of the Sport Trac's slow scanning rocker switch.
The optional navigation system pushes the audio controls to the side and either gangs some functions or transfers them to the LCD screen, and it's a clean look. The only real concern here is with the number of components making up the dash assembly. The fewer the components the better, generally speaking, to reduce the number of squeaks as the miles pile up, and the Sport Trac's dash has one of the highest counts we've seen.
The seats are comfortable, though the bottom cushions front and rear could provide more thigh support. Foot clearance in the rear doorways when climbing in and out is cramped, but once inside, there's decent area beneath the front seats. All five seating positions get three-point seatbelts, but only the front seats and the outboard rear seats get the adjustable full-size head restraints. Comparatively speaking, the Sport Trac's interior lands squarely in the middle of the segment. The Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma have a few tenths of an inch more front-seat headroom, the Honda Ridgeline almost an inch. The Frontier and the Ridgeline are tops in rear-seat headroom, but by only tenths of an inch. The Chevy Colorado has an inch and a half more front-seat legroom but almost two inches less rear-seat legroom. The Ridgeline wins in hiproom, by about two inches front and rear, the Frontier offers fully two and a half inches more rear-seat hiproom, and the Dakota squeaks in with a half-inch more hiproom all around. Bottom line, Sport Trac interior roominess is comparable to that of midsize crew cab pickups.
The Sport Trac's door panels, borrowed from the Explorer, aren't so good. While certain elements are reasonably ergonomic, the placement of the door handles is a prime example of logic gone wrong. Intended to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes by adding crush space, the placement of the door pull below and forward of the armrest puts it where it's awkward to grab hold of and operate. Some passengers don't have an issue with it, however, and we grew accustomed to it with a little familiarity, but the interior door handles are our main gripe with the interior.
Storage is about what's to be expected. The glove box is adequate. The front center console hosts two cupholders adjacent to the shift gate. Two more cupholders for the rear seat fit behind the front center console's hinged, padded top. The center console is big and deep. The front door map pockets have a space for a water bottle molded into their hard plastic enclosures.
Back in the bed, a shallow, covered bin running the width of the floor is placed inconveniently all the way forward and thus out of reach from the tailgate. A small, covered bin is also recessed into the floor at each side behind the wheelhouses. Both types of bins are good ideas, but they hold very little and aren't on a par with the Ridgeline's lockable, 8.5 cubic-foot trunk in the bed floor aft of the wheel housings. On the other hand, with the Sport Trac's optional two-piece, lockable, hard tonneau cover in place, the enclosed volume of the cargo bed measures 37.5 cubic feet. Depending on how the truck was going to be used, we'd consider ordering this tonneau. The bed is only 4.5 feet long, which means the Sport Trac isn't the best choice for those who haul a lot of cargo regularly. An optional aluminum bed extender helps, opening up another six cubic feet of cargo room, though bed extenders have limitations and can get in the way when not being used.
Rearward visibility is somewhat limited by the high bed, particularly with the hard tonneau cover.
Ford Sync is a hands-free communication and entertainment system that works with cell phones and MP3 players. Sync can recognize Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, access their phonebooks, and play calls and read text messages through the speakers. It also has a USB interface to connect with iPods and other MP3 players. Voice commands and/or steering wheel buttons can be used to control all functions. next page