Positives: Conservative attractiveness made even better with a slight refresh, cavernous interior, big and bold infotainment system, easy to drive, powerful Ecoboost engine. | |
Negatives: Hiccups with infotainment, not as agile as the Suburban, not particularly fuel efficient. | |
Bottom Line: The Expedition is a worthy family vehicle that boasts power, space, tech, and a great ride. |
Driving Experience
Who needs a V8 when you can have a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 good for 380 horsepower. The Limited trim gets an even more potent 400 horsepower, and the Limited with the Stealth Performance package bumps output to a whopping 440 horses. To The ride remains compliant and smooth across the lineup thanks to an independent rear suspension setup. The Expedition can tow up to 9300 pounds, an impressive figure.
Ride Quality: Our tester came with the optional Continuously Controlled Damping w/ Sport Tuning Suspension, which keeps it more taut in the turns but doesn't sacrifice ride comfort. It ate up bumps and gaps without any drama.
Acceleration: It's hard to believe, but our Stealth Packaged Limited trim can do 0-60 mph in a mere 4.9 seconds. That blows away the completion by a couple of seconds. The 10-speed automatic makes quick work of shift, and there's very little turbo lag.
Braking: The brakes are good with no dead spots or mushiness. Pedal progression was linear, and we had no issues bringing the big SUV to a stop.
Steering: There's pretty much no feedback coming through the steering column, but there's a bit of effort and good precision.
Handling: The Sport Suspension helps matters, but the Expedition is not great in the corners. There's palpable body roll, and you can definitely feel the weight. It's far different from the BMW X7 M60i we recently tested.
Technology
The Expedition normally gets an already giant portrait-oriented 12.0" touchscreen with Ford's Sync4 OS, which is fantastic. It also comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wi-Fi, and over-the-air updates.
Infotainment System: Our tester was upsized to the even bigger 15.5" version. It was incredibly stunning to look at and very good to use, with the exception of the mid-drive shutdown that took place on the expressway. We had to reset the system, and then things were fine. While it wasn't a perfect system, it's one of the more impressive setups and far better than the old 8" screen. text
Controls: Most of the Expedition's controls such as climate and audio are touchscreen, which we don't especially like. Even the sibling Navigator does a better job in this departure. At least the rotary gearshift and the steering wheel buttons work well.
Styling
We quite like the looks of the Expedition because, even after the refresh, it doesn't look overstyled. Ford has kept its rakish handsomeness and made it even better with updated front and rear fascias and a much-improved interior. With the addition of the Stealth Package, the Expedition receives some black trim pieces along with matching black wheels.
Front: The grille has ben restyled to incorporate the headlights into the center frame, which more prominent now. The mesh pattern is also larger, giving the front end more presence.
Rear: The shape of the taillights remains the same, but the backup lights have been reformed. The license plate cutout is also narrower. It's still a very handsome, albeit conservative, back end.
Profile: The black wheels and black side mirrors keep things sporty, and the only chrome trim is along the base of the windows. Otherwise, the two body creases and the forward-canted C-pillar trim provide the only slightly edgy styling in the profile.
Cabin: The huge 15.5" center touchscreen dominates the landscape inside, and the rest of the cabin is very truck-like but not in a bad way. Materials quality is very good, and the contrast red stitching on the dash, doors, and seats adds sportiness to an otherwise fairly dark interior.
Comfort
In Limited trim there's excellent leather and refined matte trim on the dash and center console. Families will feel very comfortable in its roomy interior, as well. We do wish that there were more physical controls, but overall it's very well done and fairly easy to use. The Captain's Chairs and the automatic running boards are nice additions.
Front Seats: The Expedition's front seats are very accommodating with wide seatbacks and cushions, good bolstering, and just-right cushioning. The center armrest is in a good position.
Rear Seats: The second row Captain's Chairs are very good. The seatbacks and cushions are a bit flatter than those in the front seats, but they're still wide and comfortable. With 41.5 inches of legroom, there's plenty of space for tall adults. Even the third row gets 36.1 inches of legroom, which is a tad smaller than the Chevy Suburban's but still solid for adults.
NVH (noise/vibration/harshness): The Expedition is quiet at highway speeds, and the build quality is very good. We didn't notice any wind noise or excessive road noise due to good sound deadening.
Visibility: Visibility all around is very good thanks to big glass and the seating position.
Climate: The Expedition's climate system runs automatically in three zones, and it moves plenty of air. The heated and ventilated seats also work very well.
Safety
The Expedition does very well in federal safety testing, and it comes with a great set of standard safety features. Options include evasive steering, a surround-view parking camera, and front parking sensors. The new Ford Expedition also offers Ford Blue Cruise, a recent technology that improves on the Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control. allowing the driver to operate the vehicle hands-free with a camera to ensure driver attention on the road.
IIHS Rating: Not tested.
NHTSA Rating: The Expedition earned five stars from the federal government.
Standard Tech: The Ford Expedition comes with automatic emergency braking, front collision warning, rear parking sensors, automatic high beams, a rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keeping assistant.
Optional Tech: None.
Storage/Cargo
The Expedition is cavernous, and it's not even the larger Max version. It offers up plenty of small item storage space in the cabin, and the load floor in the cargo area is capacious, flat, and wide.
Storage Space: The center armrest is huge, and the door pockets are also very large. The center console has a front binnacle where the wireless phone charger is, but it can also hold small items.
Cargo Room: The Expedition offers 20.9 cubic feet behind the third row, 63.6 cubes behind row two, and a huge 104.6 cubes with the seats folded flat. It doesn't beat the Suburban's 144.7, but then again, nothing does.
Fuel Economy
We have pretty much zero expectations for something this big, heavy, and powerful to get good gas mileage. That said, the Expedition is consistently underwhelming in this department but not totally surprising. The EcoBoost V6 is better than a V8 but not by much. Our numbers didn't hit the EPA estimates, but we drove it Sport mode for much of the time. We drove on highways about 75% of the time.
Observed: 18.2 mpg.
Distance Driven: 228 miles.
Audio
On the Limited trim, the Expedition gets a premium Bang & Olufsen stereo, which sounds great. The bass is strong, and there's no distortion. It''s not as impressive as the Jeep Grand Wagoneer's 23-speaker McIntosh system, but it's still very good, and we love the fact that it's standard on the Limited. We enjoyed listening to it.