At $5,500, Does This 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac's Price Track?

While the standard Ford Explorer served the needs of soccer moms and dads nationwide, today's Nice Price or No Dice Sport Trac fulfilled the role of the "cool uncle who's always going on adventures." Let's see if the truck and its price are still as cool.

While perhaps living in the shadow of its big block Hemi-head brethren, Mopar's 318 CID V8 has still been vaunted as an engine that punches well above its weight class. First introduced for the 1968 model year, the 318 enjoyed a long production run, finally being retired from action at the end of 1991. Along the way, it powered the 1977 Plymouth Volare station wagon we considered on Wednesday. That car also had four-on-the-floor and some cool in-the-family alloy wheels. Unfortunately, it also had a patina that couldn't be called people-pleasing, and an interior that was less than inviting. All that, and the Volare's reputation for being a craptacular car, soured any interest in paying the seller's $7,100 asking price. The ad called that "negotiable," but the 82% "No Dice" vote showed few of you were interested in that parlay.

Quick question: what's the most interesting pickup truck on the market today? Yeah, that's a tough one, isn't it? The Ford F-Series may be the best-selling vehicle in the country, and the competition from GM and Ram may not be far behind, but loin-stirring? I think not. Smaller trucks aren't much more exciting, although Ford's unibody Maverick is perhaps the most intriguing of the bunch.

What if, however, you wanted a less-than-gargantuan truck that offered visual interest, a good bit of flexible utility, and some solid off-road capabilities? I know, so many questions this morning!

I'm going to propose that this 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac hits all those beats, and while it's rough and tumble, it's pretty well equipped, so it shouldn't be too hard to live with on the day-to-day.

We've already discussed the Sport Trac at length, noting that these first-generation trucks were a mix of parts, sharing the full front clip with the three-door Explorer, its front doors with the four-door wagon, the tailgate from the F-150, and its frame and drivetrain with the Ranger. Let's then get into the details on this particular machine.

With its tonneau top and lockable tail gate, the Sport Trac could be considered one of the world's beefiest three-box sedans rocking the biggest and most flexible trunk imaginable. In addition to that, it has four doors, five seats, and a power rear window that can be lowered to air out the cab.

Standard power for the Sport Trac came from Ford's SOHC 4.0-liter Cologne V6. The last iteration of that engine for the U.S. market, it produced a solid 210 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque. These engines have a reputation for eating their timing chain guides, but with 140,000 miles on the clock and the assurance of having been well-maintained over the years, that's probably less of a worry here. Behind the V6 is Ford's five-speed automatic, column shifted despite the spacious console between the two front bucket seats. Push-button 4WD with a solid rear axle and independent front suspension completes the picture. According to the ad, the truck "runs, drives, and shifts great."

As far as looks go, buyers could do far worse than this black-over-gray leather edition. The bodywork appears clean with no apparent issues in the paint or underlying metal. The only discrepancy is a small crease in the plastic cap of the rear bumper, just below the tail lamp. Another oddity is the mounting bracket for a tow bar that is noticeably jutting out of the front bumper. Were many of the Sport Trac's miles racked up towed behind a motorhome? On the plus side, there's a roof rack on top of the cab, something rare in a small truck these days. There's also Ford's brilliant SecuriCode keypad for keyless entry on the driver's door.

Craigslist

Opening that door reveals an interior that's both well-optioned and in amazingly nice shape. The leather upholstery remarkably doesn't show its age, while the plastics have likewise stayed in the game. Yes, Ford wasn't firing on all cylinders in the early aughts when it came to dashboard design or material choices, but this all looks perfectly livable. It's also pretty posh, with manual/electric seat controls, power windows, locks, and mirrors, a tilt wheel with cruise control, and a moonroof. Additions appear to include a double-DIN stereo head unit with a touchscreen and an odd, conspicuously large toggle switch protruding from the storage area in the center console. Call me compulsive, but I really want to flip that and see what it does.

Per the ad, the truck has a clean title and is free of "foul odors or stains," likely thanks to that Breezeway rear window. This may not be the best choice for frugal fuel users in today's age of crazy gas prices, but save for the Maverick Hybrid, which isn't going very far off-road, it won't be much worse than most other modern trucks.

And unlike all other modern trucks, this Sport Trac comes with a four-figure price tag that likely won't cause tears the way filling a tank of gas on darn-near anything does these days. That asking price is $5,500, which puts it right smack-dab in the middle of the current Sport Trac market. There are quite a few of these for sale at the moment, but this one is about the nicest you could find.

What's your take on this Sport Trac at that $5,500 price tag? Does that feel like a deal to get into a versatile and fun compact truck that stands out from the crowd? Or is that too much for a truck with perhaps too compact a bed?

You decide!

Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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