Still unusual, if no longer unique, the
2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac combines the interior room and comfort of a mid-size SUV with the open-air, haul-anything capability of a mid-size
pickup truck. You might think of it as three-quarters of a Chevy
Avalanche for about two-thirds the price.
Sport Trac is an SUV with a pickup bed. It has an outdoorsman's interior designed for easy cleaning and a bed made of a nearly impervious composite material. Yet it can carry a family of five in the comfort of a well-equipped Ford Explorer.
As its name implies, the Explorer Sport Trac is based on the Ford Explorer, the best selling sport-utility in America. That would be a very good thing, except that the Sport Trac is based on the previous-generation Explorer, not the 2003-04 model, so it does not have the current Explorer's all-new chassis with independent rear suspension. The previous-generation Explorer represented the state of SUV design in 2001, but the new Explorer, as well as competing mid-size SUVs, have since passed it by in ride, handling, and overall refinement. Time marches on and vehicles get better and better.