In August I had the privilege of test driving a 2018 #FordExplorer by taking it out for a week of camping in the Kootenays!

Initially I was going to be meeting a friend at the campground, but it ended up just being me, so I loaded the car up with a week's worth of gear and food and set out on an eight hour(!) drive through the mountains.

There were a bunch of things I was super grateful with the car right off of the bat.
#1) It was about 35-37 degrees each day of the trip, and the car warmed up if I had to park in the sun for a while, but the front seats had air conditioning. Kind of like butt warmers in the winter, these cooled the leather down so my legs didn't burn or stick to the seat.
#2) The hands-free door unlocking system. The amount of times I had to carry gear to-from my house, or onto the site and away again for the night (bear safety!) and had my hands full was a lot. But the even with the keys just in my pocket the doors and back hatch (with a wave of the sensor with my foot) would open and I didn't have to juggle or put things down.
#3) The seats in the back folded down in multiple ways! I could stow them completely or just lower them when I was picking up groceries. I could just put half down, or the entire two back rows, which meant I didn't have to stack things and go digging for equipment. It was all easy access.
#4) All of the charging options. Being away for such a long period of time, I had to charge my phone, iPod, speaker, and even my laptop after I did some work (vacation is never really a vacation). There were so many USB outlets, and even a plug for the laptop, so while driving (into town for ice, or on a mini trip to Robson, BC) I could charge everything, while I was on the road!

Some other awesome things were the speaker system (I listened to podcasts on the way and could easily pause it with the media centre), the GPS for unplanned adventures to visit friends also in the area, and the backup camera to help me avoid trees and posts on the ground at the campsite!

I would take this truck out again in a heartbeat. Funny enough I ended up having to drive two friends, their (small) dog AND their suitcases back to Vancouver with me and managed to fit everyone and all my gear comfortably too. And even more amusing, I got back to Vancouver and found out my parents in Ontario traded in a truck of theirs for the exact same Ford Explorer, only in red.

Huge thanks to Ford Canada for getting me to my trip safe and sound. I don't have a car in the city, so being able to comfortably get EIGHT HOURS (sixteen round trip) away was amazing.

If you had this car for a week, where would you take it in BC?! (Leave a comment and let me know, I'm always up to find new places!)