MY experience with non-retracting Ford side steps is that they are not positioned for ease of entrance/exit, but more likely positioned to keep your feet from slipping through the bar/step and breaking an ankle (potential product liability issue). They are positioned such that you take a big step up to the fixed bar/step and then a tiny step up onto the floor. The Ford or AMP Research power steps position the step in more of a middle position making entry or exit less awkward. Had my Expedition not come with standard Ford power steps, I would have purchased the AMP Research ones. I had those on my F-150 and in the ten years I owned it, the only issue were: the LED puddle light on one side coming loose and getting crushed by the retracted step, and a failure of the control module to operate the step on one side. The nice thing about the AMP products is that they help you troubleshoot and then sell you only the parts that you need, unlike Ford dealers who are required to sell you an entire step assembly with motor and idler arm no matter which of them failed.