My DH's dream was to own an Explorer. I was not too happy about it but it was his dream.....so we bought one. He didn't want to put miles on it so he took my little Grand Am for work & I got "stuck" with the Explorer.
Well, it didn't take long before Explorer & I bonded! We ended up being inseparable! I fell head over heels! Loved the way it handled, loved being so high up, loved the cargo room, etc...it was perfect for the road trip down to WDW since I could even pack in the kitchen sink if I wanted too.
Then I had another baby......it was to be the end of my relationship with my SUV! As you know Beth, my mom lives with us & we have Nicholas & then we had the baby & Nicholas was still in a booster type car seat, along with baby's car seat, guess what...my mom could barely fit in. (She's not a big woman either!) She couldn't get her seat belt buckled since they were all so sqooshed in the back seat. So we ended up taking 2 cars to go to church, or wherever...it was not very convenient anymore. So, as many times as I told my DH that I would handcuff myself to the steering wheel if he ever wanted to get rid of MY Explorer, I had to give it up for a van. I truly miss my Explorer but it just didn't fit our needs anymore. We've had the van just a little over a year now & I'm (finally) starting to form a relationship with my Ford Windstar SEL. We did test drive an Expedition & seriously considered it before purchasing the van but it was not "stroller" friendly. We knew we'd be using the 3rd row in the Expedition & the way the 3rd row seat leans, it won't hold a stroller in. You can put one in, but as soon as you open the back hatch, the stroller comes flying out at you. It fits perfect in the van though.
So that's my waaaay too long experience with my Explorer, Van & almost subsequent Expedition!
Hope you enjoy whatever you buy...but if you want people room, I would not recommend an Explorer. They are not that big. Not much leg room back there either...especially for growing boys!
JMO!
P.S. The gas mileage really sucked too!

Oops! Can I say that?