For some, bigger really is better. There’s no trying to sway their opinion or get them to see the light of the smaller day. Nope, they want behemoth. They want ginormous. And for people like that there are vehicles like the Yukon, Tahoe, QX80, and the Ford Expedition.
I am not one of those people. I think, unless you have five children (which really isn’t that common, is it?!), and two Labradors, then having vehicles the size of Tahoes and Expeditions is a bit… overkill. But who am I with my one child and two cats that hate going in the car anyway? But I digress…
Big, oh so big
Yeah, this thing is huge. From the outside, the 2015 Ford Expedition is everything you’d hoped it would be: manly, squared off, rugged in all the right ways, and not at all flashy or fashionable. This isn’t a stylish vehicle this is a let’s-get-the-job-done automobile. The Ford Expedition was designed with space and practicality in mind.
Heading to IKEA? Perfect. Dropping off the kids (and a portion of the team as well) at soccer practice? Done. Rescuing oil-covered birds off the Gulf Coast? You’ve got plenty of room in the trunk to set up shop for your rescue mission.
With all that in mind, it’s clear why those who opt for the Ford Expedition do just that. The headroom, legroom, overall room is just fantastic in this thing. Getting in and out is a breeze thanks to the power running boards, and installing a baby seat was no trouble at all. Up front there are gobs of space and storage bins, and even getting into the third row is doable (even for an adult).
Of course, the trunk is severely diminished when the third row is up and shrinks from 1,557L to 528L. Regardless, there’s still a lot of room in this thing, you’ll never be wanting for space, that’s for sure.
There was one foible on the Ford Expedition that really got on my nerves throughout the week: the small rear passenger door openings. For a vehicle so large it seemed almost ludicrous that my 3-year-old had to squeeze himself out of what seemed like less than 45-degree door opening. The uber large door pockets seem practical, but they also eat into the space where you’d like to put your foot on the retractable step. It was all very cramped in an otherwise spacious vehicle design -- just odd.
Wait, am I driving an F-150?
From the driver’s vantage point, it feels extremely similar to being in an F-150, which is fine with me. The Ford Expedition features one of the same engines available in the F-150: a powerful and responsive 3.5L EcoBoost V6 that’ll push out 365 horses and 420 lb-ft of torque.
I really liked the performance of this engine in the Ford Expedition. It had just the right amount of guts to get the behemoth going, and the sound of the V6 under hard acceleration was pleasing to the ear and brought a grin to my face. The 6-speed automatic featured a SelectShift option, but I chose to let the vehicle think for itself throughout the week, and it did extremely well. Never did it search for a gear or struggle to pick up speed when asked to downshift via throttle prod.
Sitting up high in the Ford Expedition, the driver’s vantage point is mint (again, just like an F-150), and it made maneuvering the big beast through tighter city situations a breeze thanks to great visibility.
Is bigger really better?
If you really need it, then it most definitely is. Personally, I found the Expedition way too big. However, I did appreciate the ability to snatch up snow-pile-ladden parking spots avoided by smart cars in the downtown core (on the other hand, though, I was routinely directed to the “large car” parking spots at the very outskirts of lots, which began to give me a complex…).
Everything about this thing is big from the interior space (room for 8) to the wheels (22”) to the fuel tank (106 litres) to the price tag (starting at just under $50k). However, if bigger is really what you’re looking for then you won’t be disappointed with what the Ford Expedition has to offer. Sure, there are other big boys out there (Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia) perhaps with a bit more class and luxury, but the Expedition gets it done and with just as much enormousness.
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