Ford 2011 Explorer buyers have to shell out more bucks for the smaller Engine.

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(Bloomberg) When the all new Ford Explorer 2011 will go on sale in this December, Ford will ask buyers of its redesigned 2011 Explorer to pay a premium for a small 4-cylinder engine. The Explorer's standard engine will be a 3.5-liter V-6 with 290 horsepower, 53 more ponies than the optional 4-cylinder.

The V-6 version of the new Explorer will have a base price of $28,995, including delivery, or about $1,000 below the current Explorer. The Limited model will have a starting price of $37,995. Pricing on the optional EcoBoost engine, which will be available in early 2011, has not been released.

Ford hopes to convince consumers they should spend to save when it unveils the Explorer at events in New York, Chicago and other locations today. The smaller engine has technology Ford said will give the seven-passenger SUV the same fuel economy as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry sedan that gets 19 mpg in city driving and 26 mpg on the highway. That's more than 30 percent better than the 2010 Explorer.

“We really want to make a statement that the old baggage on fuel economy with the Explorer is gone,” Jim Holland, the Explorer's chief engineer, said in an interview. “To get great fuel economy it takes technology, and it's our view that people will pay for that.”

“Why would you want to pay more for fuel economy when gas prices are going down?” said Hall. “People have very short memories.”
Src: Bloomberg

Ford 2011 Explorer buyers have to shell out more bucks for the smaller Engine.