During the commute home this evening I was thinking about my Expedition and why I like it so much compared to my Jeep Cherokee and other trucks I've owned (Chevs, Jeeps, Suzukis). It's borderline irrational.
There is just something about the styling of the truck that appeals to me. Some don't like the front end of the 10th gen pickups and the first gen Expedition - not "truckie" enough or aggressive looking enough I guess. I really like how smooth it is and how it visually appears like the engineers made an attempt to make some aerodynamic efficiencies for such a large vehicle.
I really like the rear end of the truck. The hatch and rear quarter angles have a nice look to them.
I also like how this generation of Ford looks smaller than the newer full size stuff. I guess being more round and less slab sided helps with that perception.
The drivetrain is plenty robust for the intended purpose. The larger rear axle and transmission in the 5.4 equipped trucks is a nice touch.
The interior is plenty nice and comfortable if dated by today's standards/expectations. The dash has the late 90s melted soap bar look to it but at least it'll fit a modern 2 DIN touch screen deck with minimal drama unlike the dash in my Cherokee. I'm going to try to do something with mine this winter to modernize the look of it with some faux wraps or something.
Power is decent, it gets decent MPGs for what it is (20+ mpg unloaded, unlifted), and it tows everything I care to tow without drama (camper and open race car trailer).
Size wise it is just so much more useful than my Cherokee. In 2014 we did a ~10,000 km road trip towing a ~5000 lb tent trailer (loaded). Nuts in retrospect - the Expedition would have been much better suited - and that trip is the reason why I have the Expedition now. With the trailer in tow I was doing 11 mpg with the Cherokee. The Expedition manages 15-17+ mpg and more importantly drives like it isn't towing anything.
The Cherokee was meant to get us places and then drop the trailer so that day trips could be done exploring old trails and such with a built truck/jeep. Anywhere I was willing to go with the Cherokee when being 1000s of kms away from my workshop the Expedition would have also handled. There were a couple of tail dragging deep water fording points and that was it for harder off-road.
I could have bought a newer vehicle, in fact I looked at 100 series Land Cruisers, Sequoias, G-Wagens, LR3s, etc. but the bang for the buck and functionality of the Expedition won me over - plus I just like how it looks with ~33-35" tires and a mild lift. When I started looking for a new truck I more or less expected to end up in a 100 series Land Cruiser / Lexus LX470, but... funny how things go in the end. It's just a no BS full size truck.
These Fords are no panacea. They are complex to troubleshoot when things go wrong but thankfully replacement parts are cheap compared to others. Aftermarket is a little light but my days of trying to be a rock crawling hero are long gone so it's not a big deal.
What is it that drew you to the first gen Expedition? What keeps you messing with it? Do you consider yourself an Expedition enthusiast or is it just a car to you?
There is just something about the styling of the truck that appeals to me. Some don't like the front end of the 10th gen pickups and the first gen Expedition - not "truckie" enough or aggressive looking enough I guess. I really like how smooth it is and how it visually appears like the engineers made an attempt to make some aerodynamic efficiencies for such a large vehicle.
I really like the rear end of the truck. The hatch and rear quarter angles have a nice look to them.
I also like how this generation of Ford looks smaller than the newer full size stuff. I guess being more round and less slab sided helps with that perception.
The drivetrain is plenty robust for the intended purpose. The larger rear axle and transmission in the 5.4 equipped trucks is a nice touch.
The interior is plenty nice and comfortable if dated by today's standards/expectations. The dash has the late 90s melted soap bar look to it but at least it'll fit a modern 2 DIN touch screen deck with minimal drama unlike the dash in my Cherokee. I'm going to try to do something with mine this winter to modernize the look of it with some faux wraps or something.
Power is decent, it gets decent MPGs for what it is (20+ mpg unloaded, unlifted), and it tows everything I care to tow without drama (camper and open race car trailer).
Size wise it is just so much more useful than my Cherokee. In 2014 we did a ~10,000 km road trip towing a ~5000 lb tent trailer (loaded). Nuts in retrospect - the Expedition would have been much better suited - and that trip is the reason why I have the Expedition now. With the trailer in tow I was doing 11 mpg with the Cherokee. The Expedition manages 15-17+ mpg and more importantly drives like it isn't towing anything.
The Cherokee was meant to get us places and then drop the trailer so that day trips could be done exploring old trails and such with a built truck/jeep. Anywhere I was willing to go with the Cherokee when being 1000s of kms away from my workshop the Expedition would have also handled. There were a couple of tail dragging deep water fording points and that was it for harder off-road.
I could have bought a newer vehicle, in fact I looked at 100 series Land Cruisers, Sequoias, G-Wagens, LR3s, etc. but the bang for the buck and functionality of the Expedition won me over - plus I just like how it looks with ~33-35" tires and a mild lift. When I started looking for a new truck I more or less expected to end up in a 100 series Land Cruiser / Lexus LX470, but... funny how things go in the end. It's just a no BS full size truck.
These Fords are no panacea. They are complex to troubleshoot when things go wrong but thankfully replacement parts are cheap compared to others. Aftermarket is a little light but my days of trying to be a rock crawling hero are long gone so it's not a big deal.
What is it that drew you to the first gen Expedition? What keeps you messing with it? Do you consider yourself an Expedition enthusiast or is it just a car to you?
