Real world experience in urban environment (e.g. parking)

[Aleks]

My biggest worry with parking is people dinging my doors. I’ve easily fit into every space I’ve attempted and with the killer turning radius parallel parking isn’t bad.

Any door molding solutions? On my minivan I had a set and it had plenty of nicks from other people...

 

[Artie]

Any door molding solutions? On my minivan I had a set and it had plenty of nicks from other people...

Honestly, I haven’t looked for molding, I’m not sure old like the change in appearance. I do my best to park out of the way and the lots that we go to that have super tight parking I tend to avoid more now. We found a few new places we like thanks to the avoiding tactic so it’s been a win win.

 

[JennyD]

My biggest worry with parking is people dinging my doors. I’ve easily fit into every space I’ve attempted and with the killer turning radius parallel parking isn’t bad.

This! My Durango was dinged up a couple of times on the doors from people being careless but also had wide doors (particularly the 2nd row), so if someone parked close we had trouble opening them. I parked as out of the way as I could, and really park out of the way now. Planning to get 10,000 steps in

 

[shane_th_ee]

If the ding isn't into the paint, the paintless dent repairs are actually pretty cheap, like ~$50ea.

 

[18-FX4-GUY]

I found the expy has an awesome turning radius vs my F 150 and parking has been a breeze with it.

 

[HawkX66]

Just placed order for 2019 Limited. One nagging concern is the size of the beast... What are people's experiences in urban environment (e.g parking, navigating traffic)? Any bad stories of not being able to find parking or having to egress through trunk?

Other than car's width - it stacks amazingly well against most other full/mid-size SUVs.

Thank you

I've commuted to Boston, but now I work in Arlington, VA/D.C. I don't think it gets much worse... Navigating traffic is easier because people aren't as aggressive against a full size SUV. I've driven my wife's Mini and I'll take the Expy all day long. Parking is fine. I just moved parking garages and although the first one was close, the new one in my office building is even lower... Once you figure out that you aren't going to hit anything, it's a non-issue. I hit my rack on a couple of signs that hang lower than everything else, but they're on chains so it doesn't bother anything.

:-O

20180802_161113 by Dave H, on Flickr

 

[aggiegrad05]

My shark fin seems to hit before anything else, although it's always been the signs like what you're describing so there's never been an issue.

 

[Aleks]

I've commuted to Boston, but now I work in Arlington, VA/D.C. I don't think it gets much worse... Navigating traffic is easier because people aren't as aggressive against a full size SUV. I've driven my wife's Mini and I'll take the Expy all day long. Parking is fine. I just moved parking garages and although the first one was close, the new one in my office building is even lower... Once you figure out that you aren't going to hit anything, it's a non-issue. I hit my rack on a couple of signs that hang lower than everything else, but they're on chains so it doesn't bother anything.

:-O

20180802_161113 by Dave H, on Flickr

Interesting note re people being less aggressive around SUVs. I had a neighbor that had constantly parked almost touching my rear bumper (and no - there is no shortage of parking space - just not a very good - or a careless driver). Then one day I forgot to remove trailer hitch ball after towing trailer and some time later I noticed that (a) my neighbor had a small dent on bumper the same height as my hitch (b) same neighbor has started parking a respectable distance away.

 

[HawkX66]

Interesting note re people being less aggressive around SUVs. I had a neighbor that had constantly parked almost touching my rear bumper (and no - there is no shortage of parking space - just not a very good - or a careless driver). Then one day I forgot to remove trailer hitch ball after towing trailer and some time later I noticed that (a) my neighbor had a small dent on bumper the same height as my hitch (b) same neighbor has started parking a respectable distance away.

Now that is funny. Good reason to keep your hitch on.

 

[mossback]

I’ve driven SUV’s for a while but my 2017 EL is the largest and parking can be a pain in the ass at times. Especially in certain garages like airports or even small lots at strip malls and the like. Sometimes the rig hangs quite a bit out relative to normal cars. Angled spaces help. Spaces marked for compact cars are basically unusable. Even if you fit there is no way to get out and/or the cars next to you could easily dent or scrape your rig. I sometimes find myself spending a few extra minutes hunting for a suitable spot. I like the front parking sensors- a very useful and helpful convenience in tight spots. Height wise, I haven’t been to a garage yet that was too short for the expy. It’s just right.