Explorer Timberline or Grand Cherokee L?
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Engine:
The Timberline we had makes use of the stout 2.3 liter turbocharged ecoboost 4 cylinder
This engine we’ve seen all over the Ford umbrella from the Mustang to the Bronco
In the Timberline it makes 300 hp and 310 lbft
Depending on trim you can also get a 3.3L hybrid powertrain
OR you can get the hot ST which brings the same 3.0TTV6 as you get in the Bronco Raptor
In the Explorer ST you get 400 hp
However, with the green interior, A/T tires and revised suspension I’m not feeling the need to push this 3 row SUv at all and the 300 hp from the 2.3 is perfectly fine
Trans:
It’s the same ford 10 speed we’ve tested in so many other applications, but there was something clunky here
Additionally there was this weird thing when you would go from dr4ive to reverse…..
Dynamics:
We’re gunna talk about on-road manners in this part
This is the cool thing about some off-roaders
They have revised suspension to increase suspension travel and articulation which means the ride on the road is inherently softer
Here the Timberline essentially takes the shocks and springs from the Police interceptor
They’;re beefier, but what it translates to is a ride that’s smoother and more supple without falling over in a corner
Then the visibility is good
The cabin isolation is ok
The engine doesnt sound great
21 or 22 mpg rating but I saw closer to 24
But overall the manners on the road are what I would call above average
Off-road capability:
We talked about the beefed up suspension; that adds more travel for articulation
But it also brings the ride up another .8 of an inch
This gives the Timberline a ground clearance of 8.7 inches which just edges out the Bronco Sport with its 8.6
You also get a torsen limited slip differential, which isn’t quite as good as a locking diff, but i think for this vehicle it makes a lot of sense
You get some mild A/T tires which should grip a bit better on loose surfaces BUT they don’t really seem to be much louder on the pafvement so it’s a good balance
You’ve got bash plates on the front and kinda the back
And you have front recovery hooks in the bumper
Exterior:
Now lets talk about the way this thing looks
I’ll say this - i have at least one new car in my driveway each week and my wife doesn’t care about 90% of them…but she really liked this one
The paint is a really cool deep green that sometimes looks gray or black in certain lights
The orange accents around the body complement the green really well
The unique black wheels wrapped in the knobby sidewalls looks really beefy
There are timberline badges in the front bumper, the wheel, the c pillar and the tailgate
The rear end if sort of boring, but overall i quite like the look of the thing
Not to mention the LED light bar in the grille
I mean i think the tundra TRD Pro is the only other vehicle sold from factory with that
Interior:
Then on the interior I have a love hate realtionship with this thing
On one hand I really like the uniqueness you get with the dark green leather
You get orange stitching all over the place
You have some nice gray fabric-type interior to the seats
AND you have this really interesting silver snakeskin pattern on the dash onthe passenger side
You get some of the quickest and hottest heated seats
You get a heated steering wheel
You get heated rear seats
Your driver assist suite is decent, not amazing but functional
And you have a thoughtful cutout in front of your cupholders for your phone
…cuz your car play isnt wireless
Which leads me to the things I don’t love about the Timberline
No HUD
Not a completely digital cluster
The infotainment screen feels small
It’s also kinda slow
You get 360 cameras but the resolution isnt amazing
I do think the car play should be wireless at this price point
The second row seats are spacious enough but there was no sunroof on my tester so with the dark interior it felt dark back there
You can get a nice big sunroof for another $1600
Then there’s the third row which isn’t super big and there aren’t many toys back there
The trunk is a decent space, not huge, and you can fold the seats up and down but they’re not automatic
But in truth i like that. It’s easy, it’s quick ,and it’s less likely to break
Price:
So the Timberline starts at like 48k but with destination an even one option you’re over 50k and it would be easy to hit 55k
