If you're not actually in the market for something as big as the Excursion sport-utility that Ford recently unveiled, it's pretty easy to make fun of this rolling example of how feelings of sexual inadequacy can drive a market segment. (See what I mean abou
But if you really do need something that will seat nine and carry a goodly pile of their stuff, then the Excursion is the answer to a prayer that is a little too big for GM's Suburban models to carry.
For all of Ford's efforts to produce smoke to hide the reality of the Excursion (and they are mighty efforts), there is no escaping some of its basic truths: curbweights between 6,610 and 7,648 pounds, 80-inch width and height measurements, a length of 226.7 inches, an engine lineup that starts at 5.4 litres and goes up from there, and fuel economy figures that will be among the worst in Canada.
As outlandish as this all sounds to most buyers, there will undoubtedly be a small but well-heeled number of Canadians (maybe 1,000 a year or more) who won't mind coming up with about $40,000 or more for an Excursion. That's an estimation of Excursion's possible price based on Ford of Canada's commitment to it being competitive with the Suburban.
Though some of them will do it for reasons you don't need Freud to explain, a lot of them will actually buy an Excursion because they need it for very specific reasons.
As explained by Gurminder Bedi, the vice-president of Ford's truck vehicle center, the demands of those customers are pretty straightforward. The new vehicle is designed "to provide customers with a fresh new choice in the heavy-duty utility market. Excursion offers more space and convenience for passengers, more utility for activities such as towing and more versatility for carrying cargo and luggage, while at the same time setting a bold new standard for safety and the environment."
With regard to space and convenience, the huge external size that narrowly escapes the need for the warning lights that go with being an oversized vehicle result in some obvious benefits:
it will handle nine adults with more overall head, legand shoulder room than the Suburban models from GMC andChevrolet
it has class-leading cargo volume, including 48.6cubic feet of space behind the third row seat, 108.3 cubicfeet when the third seat has been rolled out, and 165 cubicfeet when both rows of rear seats are out of the way
access to that cargo area is through a window thatlifts and a pair of side- hinged doors that swing out toalmost 180 degrees, with a detent position of approximately105 degrees
the rear side doors are long (about 5.5 inches longerthan Suburban's), for easier access to the second and thirdrows
the second-row seats tip independently and have atip/slide feature
Excursion also has front and rear air conditioning with 360-degree adjustable registers, power rear quarter windows, running boards with optional lights, a low-profile roof rack that holds up to 200 pounds, and as many as 10 cup holders and five power points.
For taking stuff as well as people, the Excursion can tow up to 10,000 pounds for gasoline and diesel engines, has a payload capacity of as much as a ton, and can be equipped with a 4-wheel-drive system with electronic shift-on-the- fly capability.
On the safety-security front, there's a bunch of familiar things and one departure -- the BlockerBeam, a hollow cross member of steel that hangs on 7-inch L-shaped brackets 2.5 inches below and 6.5 inches behind Excursion's front bumper and is designed to connect with the frame rails of any car it runs into.
This is supposed to stop the Excursion from driving up and over the car and is meant to help spread the impact forces between the two vehicles. This could very well be a good thing for the safety of the people in the traditional car, but nothing can really get beyond the fact that the Excursion weighs about twice as much as a car.
A standard trailer hitch setup at the back is supposed to reduce the chance of a regular car going under an Excursion.
The familiar safety items would include fore and aft crumple zones, second- generation front air bags, steel side door beams, a buzzer to remind you to do your seatbelt up, but not, surprisingly, side air bags. Surprisingly because Ford has been tub-thumping its commitment to make side bags available in all of its products.
The official word from Ford on no side airbags here is that the parts needed for such things are in short supply and the company thought they would be more useful in cars, which don't have the mass of an Excursion.
Ford does its best to make the case that this huge vehicle is environmentally friendly, but the case only holds water if you believe that a vehicle this size makes sense. From that perspective, it probably matters that an Excursion will produce up to 43 per cent fewer tailpipe emissions than permitted by law, be more fuel efficient than two average full-size sedans capable of transporting equivalent loads of people and cargo, and is one-fifth made from recycled materials, including various steel, aluminum, rubber and plastic parts.
Towing capacity ranges from 6,200 pounds (4x2 with base 5.4-liter Triton V-8 engine) to 10,000 pounds (6.8-liter Triton V-10 gasoline or 7.3-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel).
Keeping the amount of noise entering the cabin to a minimum was a priority for the Excursion development team, Ford says, and the company says it was particularly successful with the optional 7.3-litre diesel engine. The sound level inside this model is 8 to 10 decibels quieter -- or roughly half as loud -- for the driver and passersby than other diesels in production today.
On the subject of powertrains, all Excursions will come with an electronically-controlled 4-speed (with overdrive) automatic transmission. The base engine will be the 5.4-liter Triton V-8, which delivers 260 horsepower at 4500 rpm and 345 pound-feet of torque at 2300 rpm. Another Triton-badged product, the 6.8-liter V-10, is the optional gasoline engine, delivering 300 horsepower at 4250 rpm and 430 pound-feet of torque at 3250 rpm.
Finally, there's the 7.3-litre diesel V-8 with its piddling 235 horsepower (at 2700 rpm) and its house-hauling 500 pound-feet of torque at 1600 rpm. Clearly, the Excursion moves Ford into a market level that neither it nor any other company has ever been.t it being easy?)