Rete

There is a huge supercharge station in the lot of the Sheridan Hotel and Super Stop and Shop on Route 119 in Tarrytown, New York. I counted 25 slots for charging.

Pulaski

You need a Ford Explorer. The new design (about 5-6) years old now, is based on a Ford Taurus* (saloon car) floor pan (the but that everything else is bolted to), so it is much lighter than a traditional SUV (4×4) which was basically an estate car body bolted to a truck chassis. Therefore the drive and "feel" of the Explorer is much more car-like than truck-like, and being much lighter is much more fuel-efficient than a truck-based SUV.

The Explorer outsells the competing Toyota and Honda models by a substantial margin, and is one of the biggest selling vehicles in the US. In an era when the have been numerous vehicle recalls, Ford has had relatively few, and to the best of my knowledge neither of my Fords have had recalls but they are both serviced by the local Ford dealer who would automatically take care of such things.

To your challenge to me to "sell me a Ford", I won't because I love my two Fords and neither are for sale, nor are they likely to be!

* If it makes you feel any better, Ford borrowed the design of the Taurus floor pan from a Volvo design when Ford still owned Volvo.

RollingStones

Uhmm compelling.

So what would you say to an Escape, as IAS advised?

I read somewhere that they were the same as Kuga's here. From what I see, the Kuga is similar to a Freelander, I think that may be too small.

Going to check out the Explorer now...

Pulaski

No, too small. An Escape is an SUV (technically a CUV, like its big brothers the Edge and the Explorer) built on a Focus floor pan, so will be really cramped for two adults, two children, two dogs, and their "stuff". Without any one of those categories, an Escape would be fine, e.g. two adults, two dogs, and their stuff, but not for everything you have, no, I would not recommend trying to fit yourselves into an Escape.

For a size reference, despite some people trying to tell you that an Explorer is "massive", a 2017 Honda Accord is 190" long, .... and a 2017 Ford Explorer is only 8" longer at 198".

RollingStones

That's bizarre. The impression online is that the Explorer is Range Rover sized. UK reviews describe it as "big". This outfit don't appear to recommend it either https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/ford/explorer.
So now I'm less certain. IAS want to set up a lease before we leave here but I don't feel I can. We're quite happy with that scenario tbh, one less thing to worry about when we get there, but I don't want find I've totally miscalculated when I do.

Maybe we could try one out during a familiarisation visit? I feel like I need to get an idea of scale.

mproudfoot

The scale thing does take some getting used to - I am leasing a Q5 (via IAS) and, in the UK, I always felt it was a fairly largish car (especially around town and parking). Stateside, it feels (and looks in most parking lots) relatively compact. When I was deciding on a car with IAS, It was down to the Q5 or the Lincoln MKX - have you had a look at the Lincolns? Lincoln are to Ford, what Audi are to VW (or Lexus to Toyota, Accura to Honda etc) and the MKX is a based on the Ford Edge, although actually seems a bit bigger than most in the CUV class. (I dismissed all Fords immediately as I'm really fussy about car interiors and I just couldn't live with the current Ford cabin design/materials, but the MKX interior definitely seems a lot nicer).

tom169

The deal with IAS (and likely other expat car providers) is that you need to sign the contract before moving.

I'd also disregard any UK opinion of US car size. My Ford Fusion is a large car by UK standards, but here it is just normal (full size sedan).

Sure it can fit a full car of adults in, but it is a squeeze. It can fit about 3 large suitcases in the trunk, but there would be nowhere for an animal.

The only thing I could recommend to get a better idea of size is taking a vacation and visiting dealerships.

RollingStones

Oh dear Lincoln? Now my mind is boggled, I'm going to have to stop soon before there is permanent damage.
I wouldn't have a scooby

Not sure I'm brave enough for that one.

RollingStones

I know that we need to sign ahead.They told me that we could do this even before the visa is granted, if we gave them a $1000.

Hence my thinking for our familiarisation visit. Hubby will groan though, we often risk nemesis when we get onto the subject of cars.

cxx

If you plan to travel avoid Volvo. They don't have an extensive dealer network, and that may even be a problem for you in your home town.

petitefrancaise

The explorer will be a good choice for you and what you want. It will feel big for about 48 hours and/or you go on the highway with everyone else around you in similar or larger cars. The escape really is a bit small.

I don't think you absolutely must sign ahead, people have been sorting out their cars with IAS and expatride after arriving here. BUT you'll have plenty to do once you are Stateside and not having to fuss about a car will be a huge thing out of the way.

Pulaski

Wot she said! I try not to agree with her too often, but I'll make an exception this time.
I can see why that article confused you, but knowing how the Explorer is marketed, and how Americans use it, the article makes sense, .... but doesn't apply to your situation.

The Explorer technically has eight seats, but if you use all the seats then there is almost no cargo/ dog room, and if you load it up with five adults and three children (the back row isn't much use for adults), and then try to tow a pontoon boat with it, then it's going to be sluggish. So while it can carry eight people, and a good amount of stuff, including dogs, and tow a boat or caravan, it can't do more than two of those things at a time. .... But for you it sounds about perfect.

RollingStones

That definitely works as an argument against the Volvo. It hadn't occurred to me as it's not a problem here.

RollingStones

I'm thinking the Escape is too small now too.

I'm also keen to sign ahead. We expect to be arriving in time for the new school admission. We'll have plenty to keep us occupied once we get us there, and we'll need a car.
Anything that needs paperwork I want to have it sorted before we get there as far as possible.

RollingStones

Thank you for checking this out for me.

I dread the thought of trying to squeeze a big car into squeezed car parks. Speaking from someone who drives a Hyundai hatch that I can turn on a penny, gleefully squeeze into spots that I've seen bigger cars have to drive past, and can be snappy on the countless roundabouts on my daily commute. Hubby calls it my go-cart. His estate is agile enough, and definitely more comfortable but it's a pain in the arse to park compared to mine. However, it's exactly what we need when we're making the journey, fully loaded including dogs, to visit my parents 3 hours away.

I think I need to try out an Explorer when we visit.