I recently traded my '99 Explorer XLT for a '03. Both have 4.0L V6, 2 wheel drive and 3.55 axle.
The '99 is rated 16 city, 20 highway, the '03 is rated 15 city, 21 highway. My driving is approximately 35% city, 65% highway.
I record every gallon used, and enter it into a spreadsheet which calculates tank mileage, 10K mile average, and overall average. The first thing you notice is a tendency for the tank-to-tank mileage to go up and down about 1-3 mpg. I feel that any measurement of just a tank or two probably contains significant errors. Here are the totals from my two cars:
'99 Explorer 57362 miles, 3036 gallons 18.89 mpg. '03 Explorer 4063 miles, 234 gallons 17.36 mpg
Bottom line, I'm surprised the new Explorer is getting lower mileage.
Toby G.