OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2015. The Ford Explorer and Edge earned rave reviews during all-encompassing media drives recently. ?

Caribbean and Central America media tested the vehicles in a pair of drive events, most recently Dec. 2-4, when they got behind the wheel of the 2016 Ford Explorer for an overnight adventure that took them from a Puerto Rican beach to the mountains. ?

Setting off in groups, the 16 journalists were accompanied by product specialists as they explored the island in Explorer XLT, Limited and Sport models, traveling either the northern or southern coast to the town of Rinc?n. Along the way they visited popular attractions and shared their adventures on social media, offering thoughts on the vehicle’s capabilities and even posting selfies taken with the Explorer. ?

The routes took them along city, highway and rural roads. Viktor Rodriguez of Metro Puerto Rico praised the solid feeling the Explorer exhibited on the road. He also was happy with its off-road capability, tweeting, “There is no better feeling than the mud and the Explorer has power for offroad,” accompanied by photos of a mud-splattered Explorer. ?

Both drives were preceded by a detailed review of the vehicle’s attributes. But while media in the Explorer drive followed pre-determined routes, those participating in the Edge drive chose their own paths. ?

The overall intent, according to Pablo Haase, regional manager, Caribbean and Central America, was to continue the momentum surrounding the Edge launch earlier in the year by giving media and other influencers an opportunity to drive the vehicle they first glimpsed under laser lights at the Puerto Rico Convention Center.

Rodriguez, who participated in both drives, praised the Edge’s styling, including the “ergonomic cockpit,” and its stability when handling curves, and wrote he expects it to be a success in Puerto Rico. “Definitely, the new 2015 Ford Edge has multiple management technologies, entertainment and security that will excel in the local SUV market.”