So this weekend I took my wife to a Ford dealership to prove that the new Explorer could kick the pants off of anything Toyota has to offer (she loves Toyotas for some reason). Anyway, She still thinks the grille looks like crap, but she fell in love with the interior and how easy it was to use the Sync system.
We first tried out the Explorer, but she didn't like how big it was, so we tried out the Edge and that's when we really became impressed with the system because it had climate control, voice commands, backup camera, and free crash response and vehicle status/maintenance updates all with a 8" touch screen all for a $1000 option. It didn't come with navigation, however the dealer explained that the sync system could give spoken directions just like OnStar for free using your cell phone's data plan.... I should note that crash response also relies on your cell phone whereas OnStar does not. So in a life or death situation, I'd rather have OnStar, but still, quite the package for $1000. You can also add traditional navigation with maps to the system for an extra charge.
So needless to say, Sync packed quite a punch, and I would definitely be willing to pay $1000 up front for all that instead of $29.99/mo for OnStar w/o a backup camera, or all the other neat sync features... I hope Microsoft starts allowing other manufacturers to use the sync system, because I'd love to have it in the Camaro. GM needs to consider the Sync as serious competition because it is far more impressive than anything else out there that I know of.
But anyway, back to the story because it ends on an even better note. After being wholly impressed by Ford's interiors from a design perspective and because of Sync, we went to test drive a Toyota Venza. She's not even a car buff but she noticed a lot of body roll in the Venza compared to the Edge, she also felt like the AC didn't adequetly cool the car down during the whole 10 minute test drive. But she was so disgusted by the backup camera that it made me laugh out loud when she said that it was useless to the salesperson's face! It was on a much smaller 3-4" screen, but it wasn't in the center console by the radio/AC controls. It was shoved way back on the dash near the windshield and no matter what angle the car was at there was too much glare to clearly see the screen! Well. I think we converted a Toyota fan to a Ford fan haha.
BTW, the Mustang is still ugly. I just like Ford's SUV lineup in general. And I'm keeping my Camaro. The SUV is for the wife!
Edge:
Venza:
