First look: Ford Explorer Sport Trac.(Evaluation)

What'll it be, pickup or SUV? For hauling dirty stuff, a pickup is better. But an SUV makes room for the family and keeps your cargo out of the rain. The 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Tracis some of both--a conventional, five-seat ExplorerSUV with a short, 4-foot pickup bed instead of a trunk. It's got a wheelbase 14 inches longer than the Explorer's, but other differences are minor.

Ford portrays the Sport Tracas a new "crossover" vehicle, but the basic premise here is hardly new: Full-size "crew cab" four-door pickups have been around for decades. And for 2001, virtually every compact pickup offers a crew-cab configuration.

The Sport Trac, typically equipped, has a sticker price of $27,625, compared with $30,500 for the Explorer. It drives pretty much like a regular Exploreror like Ford's compact pickup, the Ranger. No one familiar with the current Explorer will be surprised by the stiff, bouncy ride. The 4.0-liter V6 provides adequate thrust but isn't particularly refined. The five-speed automatic shifts smoothly, and handling is fairly responsive. The ...