The last time the Ford Expedition was redesigned was for the 2003 model year. SUV sales were still strong, even as many people languidly predicted the inevitable downfall of large SUVs. And then it happened a few years later: Gas prices shot through the roof. That and other factors encouraged people to practically abandon their big sport utes on roadsides for cozier, fuel-sipping models. One can imagine Ford marketers pulling their collars away from their necks and blotting the sweat from their brows as they started to develop their marketing plan for the new Expedition in the face of an industry-wide decline in sales of large SUVs. That downturn has translated to a drop of 32 percent in sales of the Explorer, and 42 percent for the 2006 Expedition, during the second quarter of this year. Still, the Expedition competes in a segment that, while smaller, is still quite large. Ford predicts that there will be 650,000 large SUVs sold this year (down from one million in 2004).
With the bigger-is-better, latte-sipping nouveau riche eyeballing high-tech hybrids and compact SUVs, Ford's sales pitch for the new Expedition might pay off. The company is stressing the utility (and indispensability) of the spacious, nine-passenger SUV to what the company calls "family adventurers," or parents who pack their cars full of kids, dogs, suitcases, and munchies, hitch up a runabout, and set out for the classic American road trip (also remembered by grown children as the Summer of Noogies and Wedgies). This Expedition is well suited for this and starts at a relatively reasonable price of $29,995.
The Expedition is based on the F-150 platform. Therefore, it shares the same overall improvements with the F-150, some of which were applied to the redesigned 2006 Explorer. This makes for a tough, stiffer chassis that handles better and rides quieter. It has a fully boxed frame that is 10 percent stiffer and front and rear independent suspension. And innovations such as feeding the axle shafts through frame portholes rather than hanging below the frame lowers the center of gravity (for better handling and stability and maximum third-row passenger space). Quiet Steel laminate in the dash isolates engine noise, and tweaks to the aeros help reduce wind noise. AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control is standard, as are seat-mounted front side airbags and airbags that deploy down the side of all three rows if the vehicle rolls over. These are just some of the improvements.
There are two versions of the Expedition: big and really big. The latter is the stretched version called the EL (extended length), which is more spacious than the regular Expedition (130.8 cu ft versus 108.3 behind the first row of seats, and 14.8 more inches of overall length). Both vehicles are stacked against the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, respectively. Three trim levels include XLT, Eddie Bauer, and Limited. The Expedition uses the 5.4L V-8, mated to a six-speed tranny for more fuel efficiency and versatility. It has a very low first gear and only uses that gear when launching while under a heavier load. Otherwise, the tranny launches from second gear under normal conditions. The Expedition tows up to 9,200 pounds.
We had the opportunity to take the Expedition for a spin for a few hours in northern Oregon and southern Washington. It's difficult to give a detailed riding impression from such a short amount of time spent behind the wheel, but we can offer some general observations. Let's start with the third row of seats. Normally that's the place where no fully grown human would choose to sit, so it was the first spot we tried. It wasn't bad there for a tall person, and Ford claims that foot room is more spacious than in the Tahoe.