Have you Driven a Ford Lately?

I haven’t.  Not in a while anyway.  Our car before the Chrysler was a Ford Focus Wagon.  We bought that due to it working well for a growing family (1 to 2), and was a quick buy after my husbands dear and beloved Honda Civic was trashed while I was the driver.

Granted THAT wasn’t my fault.  But the big dent on the back side of the Pacifica WAS my fault.   Patrick really shouldn’t let me drive his cars.

I have never owned my own car.   I didn’t get my drivers license until I was close to 27.    We hadn’t been a driving family.   I do however, love to drive.

I love the freedom and with three kids having a good car that fits us all really is a wonderful luxury for making life a least a teeny bit less of a hassle.

Thus having a chance to check out the 2011 Ford Explorer in bitching sparkly black is a true thrill.

The Ford Explorer was always a nice looking SUV.   The new model is very pretty and they are obviously working at pleasing both genders with the tough guy exterior and a safety and comfort packed interior.

Being a one car family we are keen to try the Explorer out in keeping my three kids entertained with as many trips and activities that we can pack in this week, while I check it out.

My kids complain when we drive from our house to the Aquarium, so anything over 30 minutes with them can be a pain in the butt.  They did not complain about their discomfort on our epic trip to Shannon Falls and the Britannia Mining Museum on the Sea to Sky Highway.

Adam even sat in the far rear seat with Tara.    The car has THREE places for the latch system.  Usually we have one big kid in the middle and one in the back and Tara’s big car seat taking up the middle passenger seat.  Did I mention the Explorer seats 6?  Because the rear seats in the Pacifica are not that comfortable, the kids always fight over who has to sit there.    This was a biggie.  It is roomie back there, at least for a tall gangly child.

Cool feature for large families:  CARGO SPACE.  Even with all the seats in use, the cargo space is great.  We had two coolers, and bags of extra clothes, blankets, etc all in the back.  Tomorrow we try it with my giant stroller.

Also, there are loads of cup holders and storage in the car for the kids to stash water bottles, toys, iPads, etc.   The front also has an awesome spot to plug in your iPhone and hide it at the same time.  Just don’t ask me about SYNC yet.  I haven’t figured that all out.  But their MyFord Touch is very nice.

The Britannia Mining Museum was pretty fun.  They have done a super job of it and the kids really enjoyed the whole tour.    After learning many new things about the mine admiring some of the lovely art, we headed up the Shannon Falls.  I haven’t been up there in years and had forgotten how beautiful it was.

Today we only headed out as far as Port Coquitlam and a movie for mom and dad tonight.   Being that this is NOT my car,  I have been parking as far away from other cars as possible, but do want to try to parallel park with it, since the rear camera is really amazing.  Every time the car beeps because there is something close behind, my mom and I start yelling ‘PROXIMITY ALERT’ at the top of our lungs. Because we are geeks and that is what we do.

Tomorrow is Aldergrove and the Zoo.   Watch out freeway.