In this class, Ford has the Edge and the Road Shaker, but the two are only close in size, and the positioning and tuning are far apart. Produced by JMC Ford, the Shaker is based on the non-load-bearing chassis of the Ford Ranger pickup, which emphasizes off-road performance compared to the edge, and at the same time achieves the comfort close to that of an urban SUV, which is already very good among SUVs based on the chassis of pickup trucks.
 
The Roadshaker has two powertrains, one is a 2.2T diesel engine paired with a 6-speed manual transmission, which has relatively low sales, and the other is a 2.0L EcoBoost GTDi turbocharged engine paired with Ford's 6F50 6-speed automatic transmission, which is also the kingpin model.
 
The curb weight of the road shaker reaches 2.3 tons, even if the maximum output of this 2.0T engine is adjusted to 248 horsepower, the zero hundred acceleration can only run for about 10 seconds, which is more than 1 second slower than Highlander and Edge, but this car can still run for 10 seconds, and the daily driving power is definitely enough. The biggest problem with this collocation is fuel consumption, the fuel consumption of the road shaker in the urban area is about 14 liters, and the high-speed fuel consumption is 12 liters, and the comprehensive fuel consumption of 100 kilometers is 13 liters, which is at the bottom of the same level.
 
The 6F55 of the Road Shaker can also continue Ford's usual level, and when it is in good condition, the gear shift action is relatively smooth, and there is no sense of impact, but the reaction will be a little slow when revving high. During the driving process, the most obvious feature of the Road Shaker is the "happy throttle", which has already output most of the power in the first half, but there is no sense of acceleration when stepping on the rear section, which may also be due to Ford's heavy adjustment of the Pedal Map for the Road Shaker, so that the low torque is not too weak.
 
The suspension of the Road Shaker adopts double wishbones at the front, and the rear multi-link integral bridge with a watt linkage. There is a difference between the watt linkage on the pickup truck and the sedan one, it is to fix the two connecting rods on the frame, and the rocker arm is fixed on the rear axle to suppress the left and right shaking of the body, while the sedan is mainly to suppress roll.
 
The suspension tuning of the road shaker is a bit confusing, it is faster in the compression process, but the speed of the rebound in the front and middle of the spring is slow, resulting in more fine vibrations when passing through uneven roads in daily life, and the support of the suspension is not enough. In the off-road process, the front and middle sections are also soft, resulting in a decrease in vehicle traction, especially in muddy and undulating sections. The rear section of the suspension is relatively stiff, and when you go over a large ditch, you will feel that it is really a bit hard. Still, the Shaker is able to create a bit of a sense of luxury, possibly with a softer bushing that has a noticeable cushioning when passing speed bumps.
 
The four-wheel drive system of the roadrunner is provided by BorgWarner, the center differential is a multi-piece clutch structure, which cannot be completely locked, and most of the power is transmitted to the rear axle for daily driving, and the front axle will always have more or less power distribution, so even if it looks like a time-sharing four-wheel drive, the manufacturer calls it intelligent full-time four-wheel drive. The rear axle has a tooth-embedded differential lock, which is electronically controlled and is only available in two positions: locked and disconnected. Under the 4*4 Low mode, the middle difference cannot be completely locked, the power of the front and rear axles is distributed on demand, and the torque is amplified by 2.48 times.
 
As an SUV built on a pickup truck chassis, even if the Shaker makes improvements to the interior, there is no way to significantly improve the texture and ergonomics of the cabin. It seems that a lot of leather and soft materials are used to wrap the inside of the carriage, but the workmanship of JMC is relatively average, and the assembly process is poor and the tolerances are large everywhere in the carriage. For SUVs at this price, it is rare for the steering wheel to only support up and down adjustment, and the adaptability to the driver's sitting position is relatively poor.
 
The early road shaker is only equipped with Sync2, which often crashes and responds very slowly, but now that it has been replaced with Sync3, the experience has been much better, although users of the early model cannot change the car machine, but the system can be updated.
 
Like the edge, the comfort of the road shaker in the front and middle seats is good, the seat material and wrapping are very good, the width of the left and right sides of the middle row is enough, and the knee room is abundant, although there is a raised platform in the center, but fortunately, the front central armrest box does not encroach on the space, and the platform can also be put on the foot, and it is easier to ride three adults normally.
 
There are 5-seat versions and 7-seat versions of the road shaker, the third row space of the 7-seat version is very reluctant, the seat height is very short, almost squatting, and the padding of the seat cushion is also very thin, squatting on it is like squatting on the skeleton of the seat, which is very uncomfortable, but the third row of seats supports electric folding, and the middle and rear exhausts can also form a fully flat space after the reverse, and the practicality is greatly improved.
 
The quality of JMC Ford and Changan Ford has always been criticized, but the monthly sales of the Shaker have always been about a few hundred units, there are no large-scale quality complaints, and the number of samples is too small, it is difficult to make a conclusion about reliability.
 
The Road Shaker 2.0T Automatic 4WD Deluxe participated in C-NCAP's first batch of crash tests in 2016 and received a 5-star safety rating, with an overall score of 55.8 points. The Trailblazer also took part in the 2015 A-NCAP crash test, receiving a 5-star rating.
Ford Trailblazer test report