Ford's Expedition: Bigger, Better, but Behind the Times

What a shame. Ford's largest SUV would have been a smash hit in 1999, but it's too fuel-inefficient for today's consumers

by Matt Vella

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Great interior build quality, macho looks, cavernous interior

The Bad: Deplorable gas mileage, conspicuously large

The Bottom Line: Large, and largely irrelevant

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

The 2007 Expedition is likely the best mega-SUV ever to come out of Ford's factories. The number of standard features is up, the base price is down, and—thanks to a host of new technologies—safety is much improved. Unfortunately, this better-than-ever Expedition comes at a time when gargantuan gas-guzzlers couldn't be more irrelevant to most consumers.

High gas prices last year chilled sales of truck-based SUVs. According to Automotive News, Expedition sales fell 23.6% last year, to 87,203. Sales were so bad across both the Expedition and Explorer badges, in fact, that Ford's (F) game plan for the foreseeable future consists of building so-called crossover vehicles, like its newly released Edge, which looks like an SUV but rides on a car platform.

The company ceased production on the larger-than-life Excursion in 2005—even before last year's runup in fuel prices, consumers just found the thing too big. In the meantime, Ford has tried to make the best of a bad situation, styling the refreshed Expedition to mirror the still-popular F-Series pickup and bringing the base price down to an attractive $29,995.

The interior is capacious beyond belief and well-appointed. Still, even with three vast rows of seating and an impressive 9,000 lbs. of towing capacity, it's hard to make a case for buying into this giant.

My test vehicle, the 4x4 Eddie Bauer Expedition, has a base price of $38,475. Options were plentiful, including $1,595 all-season tires, $795 second row captain's chairs, $100 skid-plate package, $45 daytime running lamps, $950 power moon roof, $675 convenience package, $55 rubber floor mats, $350 trailer tow, $1,995 navigation, $495 power-lift gate, $195 satellite radio, $485 load-leveling suspension, $625 climate-controlled seats, $1,500 rear-seat entertainment, and—phew—$75 chrome exhaust pipe.

Although a few of these should probably be standard—the $45 daytime running lights are a perfect example—Ford's options are generally well priced. Despite the laundry list, my total stayed shy of 50 grand, coming to $49,230 including an $820 destination and delivery charge. At price points like that, is it hard to believe demand isn't on Ford's side?

Behind the Wheel

To lug the Expedition's nearly 6,000 lbs., Ford ginned up an excellent 5.4 liter V8 that makes 300 horses and 365 lb.-ft. of torque. That much power proves plenty to keep the Expedition from feeling sluggish, though hard acceleration elicits a healthy, titanic roar. A new six-speed transmission does a good job of refining the experience.

Driving heavy, truck-based SUVs used to be a lot like driving heavy trucks—unrefined and unpleasant at long intervals. But Ford has brought ride and handling a long way, roping in the forces of gravity and inertia to give the Expedition reasonably well-composed road manners. At high highway speeds, however, the body still jiggles a bit.

Designers profitably adopted cues from the F-Series pickup, notably the Expedition's three-bar grill. The theme is simple: big. The squarish headlamps are modern, if imposing.

On paper, the Expedition looks a little, well, plain. But in person the effect of the truck's uncomplicated lines is more impressive, given its sheer size. My garage guy summed it up well: "That's a lot of truck." It's hard to get the whole thing into perspective without stepping back—way back.

Inside, the Expedition shows that General Motors (GM) isn't the only company making headway on interior quality. There are a lot of plastics throughout the cabin, but a decent mix of textures keeps the door sills and center console from feeling cheap.

Ford's navigation system, meanwhile, is one of the best in the business, at any price point. The cabin's dash is so vast, however, that some components, like the air vents, are spread awkwardly far apart.