Thanks for the welcome! We've had our Expy a week now. It was a replacement for my aging 94 Explorer, which was still in good shape, but was a little shy on room when we needed to fit the whole family in (I have 5 kids.)
We ended up with a one-owner XLT 4x4, with the 4.6, only 76k miles. It had been well cared for, and traded in at a dealership in Colorado Springs. Really, it was just too nice to pass up, and they dealt pretty fair with us on the old Explorer.
We just got home today from a quick trip up to Frisco, Colorado with the new rig. With all 7 of us aboard, all the requisite luggage and miscellaneous junk for the journey, we headed up the mountain. Our other main vehicle is an 04 Chevy Express 2500, which is still a great machine and all-around hauler. But, holy cow, I gotta say, we love driving the Expy. Even with the 4.6, I had no problems going up I-70. Yeah, I can see where the 5.4 would be handy, but I never felt like I was falling behind. I had filled up in Colorado Springs, went to Frisco, and back down, and when I stopped at the gas station we had averaged a little over 16 mpg. Considering I didn't really take it easy, I was happy with that.
I'm sure I'll have some questions about keeping things running right on it, but the info that you all had here on the forum was a huge help in convincing us to get another Blue Oval
