about to buy the expy 2012 basic 4x4

[naim]

hello guys,

I bought my first ford car in 2009 -ford edge limited- and after using honda civic, Mercedes E 280, I decided to switch to american/canadian cars. the edge did me very well, but now am about to buy the expedition 2012 and I was wondering if any of the recent owners of expy had faced any troubles with the car, or if there are common faliures to expect in the vehicle.
I'm torn between the expy and Tahoe/Yukon, I really need your advice.

Thank you

 

[thegeneral]

For me, in my opinion, it's about price.

the Yukon/Suburban/Tahoe is a better built SUV. Which brings a higher price tag.

The Expedition is amazing and will give you everything you need/want, but my 2008 has bubbling paint on the hood and tailgate, and shudders when downshifting up a hill.

Ford was no help on the 5 year old paint job bubbling up, which puts it in my court, for me to pay for.

I owned a 2000 Yukon XL with almost 250,000 miles when I sold it, perfect paint, transmission, engine, and is still going strong with the new owner.

I also know someone who owned a 98 expedition with 300,000 miles that is still kicking (albeit on its third transmission).

So, for me, it's all in the pocketbook and what is the look that you're going for,

For me, the expedition handles/drives much more solid, like a BMW, but the Yukon/Tahoe is more reliable.

Up to you 2012 SUV buyer!

 

[911jason]

If you're going to use the third row at all, make sure you sit in it in both vehicles. When I bought my 2007 EL, I tried a Suburban and couldn't even put my size 11 shoes straight in the floor space of the Suburban. I had to turn them sideways to fit! The Expedition's third row ain't bad at all.

 

[GAINMOB]

I wear 12's and don't have a prob sitting in 3rd row...5'11 and I'm always in 3rd row tuning my system

Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk

 

[Toyman]

The deciding factor for me was the fold flat 2nd row seating (cargo load) and the fold flat 3rd row seat. Now I wasn't looking at 2012's but the GM equivalents ('08 - '10) did not have these features.

 

[dariod]

In my opinion Ford vehicles are more reliable then GM. I am in Limo bussiness and Lincoln Town car is better then Cadillac Deville. Lincoln navigators are more durable then escalades and expedition has the most third leg room. Most fleet cars are and more becoming Fords due to their relaibility compared to GM

 

[Drth Vdr]

I was in the same boat exactly 2 years ago. Here's how I made my decision:

1) interior usable space - expedition wins over Tahoe / Yukon hands down. The fold flat 3rd row is a huge step up from the GM standard length SUVs this regard (theirs flip forward, and are able to be removed. power fold flat is HUGE). When comparing the Expedition EL vs. the Suburban / Yukon XL, the Expedition wins again. It's a bigger vehicle, and the engineers made sure to make the extra exterior space show up on the interior too. The Suburban / Yukon XL gives more 3rd row foot and leg room vs. the Tahoe / Yukon, but the standard-length Expedition gives still more. The only thing to look at is whether you will ever have more than 4 people in the car, if so, this is a big deal. If not, don't worry about it. I went with a standard length Expedition Limited, and will plan to go to an EL or Navigator L if/when we have child #3.

2) exterior styling - it was honestly a toss-up between the Denali / Escalade and Expedition Limited. All of them look good. Some days wish I had the growl that the Denali exhaust has from the factory, but that's only a muffler swap away.

3) reliability - these are all big trucks, can handle serious work and if maintained well will last a LONG time. My '08 Expedition with 50k miles is the stiffest, most sturdy vehicle I've ever owned. The doors on it close more solidly than my '11 Lincoln MKX and my '08 BMW 5 series. It rolls down the highway better than any car I've ever owned, those other two included. The paint bubbling is a PITA, but if you get a new one or one under its 3/36 warranty, any paint bubbling issues will be taken care of under warranty. Just make sure to do a thorough check before you roll over that 36k mile mark.

4) fuel economy - none are great, but honestly they are all better than they have any right to be. Big, heavy, tall bricks rolling down the road, powered by 300+ hp V8s don't get good fuel economy. The Expedition is much better than my Wife's prior car, the underpowered Hummer H3.

5) price- the Expedition is a good deal, when compared to the GM versions. You can get a fully loaded up Limited or King Ranch for many 1,000s less than the Denali / Tahoe LTZ / Escalade.

I wear 12's and don't have a prob sitting in 3rd row...5'11 and I'm always in 3rd row tuning my system

I'm 6'1, 220 lbs and wear size 13. I have sat in the 3rd row for a couple quick trips around town, and it was quite comfortable.

 

[GAINMOB]

well if we're gonna talk about weight...lol...i go between 205 and 250...depending on if im going for muscle and power or lean/cut...no...im not a body builder...summertime is when i slim/cut and winter is gain...thats what our bodies naturally do anyways...i was 240lbs in april...down to 225 lbs now...by august hoping to be below 200...then i'll bulk up again during the winter...

 

[911jason]

We have some out of town relatives visiting this week and with this thread in mind, I took a 20-mile trip tonight with my father and I sitting in the 3rd row, my kids sitting in the front 2 rows with my 17-year old son driving. There was plenty of space, we were totally comfortable. The rear air also works much better than I realized!

Oh, and I'm pushing 275 or so...

=)

 

[tallsville]

naim depends if you want an independent rear suspension or a solid axle. The expedition is a nicer ride, while the gm suvs will ride more like a truck(harsher ride). Also depends on if you are keeping it stock or trying to lift it. If lifting gm has more options. and i fit in 3rd row if i sit sideways by myself. size 15 shoes kinda hard to fit most places.

 

[Imad]

A few things to consider:

Space - much better in the expi. Awesome room in the rear - we have 3 kids - 2 in car seats, plus parents visiting plus me and The Wife and were still able to fit everyone in comfort including everything we needed for a day in the dessert with a bbq.

Price - Don't know about Saudi, but we got a great price in Qatar for a brand new 2012 - about 40,000 riyals less than the equivalent GM. On the converse side, the Fords do tend to depreciate faster out here. Also, servicing really good value at Ford.

Reliability - to soon to say - The Wife has only just put 2000 kms on so far! So far no problems. However, the reason we got the expo was that after 85,000kms of on and off road abuse our 2008 F150 hasn't put a step out of place..

Then there is the gear stick. I hate shifters on the steering column. Maybe because I am English - I don't know, but I just can't stand them. In the Expi, the gear shift is where it should be.

 

[b514]

I went through the same dilemma last year when we bought our 2004 expy.

The reasons we chose the expy over the tahoe/burb were:
- decent size 3rd row with plenty of legroom.
- side curtain airbags on 1st and 2nd rows, which GM trucks didn't offer at the time (no longer an issue with latest model GMs)
- i trust Ford reliabity more than GM
- i find that the design of 2nd gen Expys (especially the front) looked much better than same year tahoes, suburbans and yukons. Escalades looked a bit better but were much more expensive or beat up. This is no longer an issue with latest model yukons and burbs which look badass. I still don't like the GMCs with their rounded off headlights.

 

[Barry Smith]

I just went throught this too. After having my Yukon for 9 yrs. I didn't care if the Expedition had nails for seats there was no way I was buying another GM product. The Yukon was like a kid, everytime I took it to town I had to buy it something. I went through 3 factory DVD players just replaced water pump, thermostat, window regulator....on and on. I loved this Expedition from the first time I sat in it. I had just bought my first Ford in 09 when I bought a F-250 4X4 diesel. After owning it for the last 3 yrs I knew what I was buying my wife.

 

[rexster314]

I just came from a 09 Enclave, which to me had the best ride/handling I've ever experienced for a large car. We just got a '12 King Ranch 4x4 Expedition last month, and it equals the Enclave ride and handling in every area. First time ever for a 4x4 and we used it (4A) several nights after the purchase when we got in a hard rainstorm. Roads were still slick and it was the surefootedness of the vehicle that made me glad we got it.

 

[gdinero]

We had a 2007 Yukon SLT2 2WD and decided to go with a 2011 Expedition XLT Premium 4WD. Both vehicles have Navigation and a lot of premium features.

My take is this, and of course others will have different opinions.

Yukon strengths over the Expy
1. The Yukon is a quieter ride and a less bumpy ride (2007 2WD vs 2011 4WD at that).

2. The Yukon climate controls are FAR superior to the Expy's. I don't know what Ford engineer was given the green light to have a single button to cycle through having air blow on feet, face, defrost etc, but it's stupid. And you have to press the "auto" button in the Expy to cycle between dual and single climate controls. there is more to talk about here, but ... you get the idea.

3. Our Yukon didn't have bluetooth, but you can get it on the newer ones. And the Yukon has both a "call" and "end call" steerwheel button whereas the Expy has a single button and after pressing it, you have to press a number/button on the nav screen. It's a terrible design on the Expy.

4. The Yukon had a button above the rear view mirror to automatically flip forward the 2nd row, making it easier if you have kids that need to enter the 3rd row.

5. I personally preferred the steering wheel gear shift vs the center mounted shift to save more space for storage in the center console. And the Yukon has steering wheel automatic buttons to shift between gears which is nicer than the old fashioned rugged method of the expy. Both work fine, this was my preference.

6. The yukon felt stronger and easier to accelerate, and seemed to hunt less for the right gear.

7. The yukon has cylinder deactivation which improves gas mileage. I can't say by how much vs the Expy for sure since our Yukon was 2WD vs our 4WD Expy, but a comparable vehicle will get better mileage.

8. The button to close the auto-liftgate on the Yukon is located on the liftgate; it's a better design vs the Expy.

9. The moonroof controls were a little bit nicer. I don't like how on the Expy I have to press the button twice to fully open the moonroof.

10. The factory remote start is built into a single key fob and works like you'd expect, where the engine stays on even if you open a door. On the Expy, you have to troll these forums to figure out how to make that happen. Our factory remote start initially shut off when we opened the door... dumb design.

11. The button for the powerfolding mirrors is more intuitive. And the rain sensing wipers seemed to work better. Our Expy's wipers come on during dry sunny weather for no reason.

12. The Yukon headrests are much better angled for comfort. We almost didn't get an Expy because of how uncomfortable we found the stock headrests.

==== Okay, so by now you are asking, why did I get the Expedition...? ====

Expedition strengths over the yukon

1. You can get cooled seats at a MUCH lower price point. This was a big deal for us being in Dallas and not wanting to spend $63K on a 4WD Yukon Denali.

2. The powerfolding fold-flat 3rd row is MUCH better than the 55lb non-fold-flat Yukon seats that you have to take out of the vehicle to get full storage capacity.

The two points above are why we got an Expedition vs a Yukon.

3. We thought the sync system would be significantly better than the Yukon's nav a/v unit. That said, now that we have it, I'm not convinced. It has some great and unique features, but I have a lot of nits with the design.

4. The expedition's built in garage door opener is MUCH easier to program.

5. Expy's come with two visors over the driver, so you can have one down in front of you and one down on your left side simultaneously.

6. Some Expy's (not ours) 2nd row seats can slide back or forth, and recline signficantly as well.

7. The Expy has a 110 volt plug in the rear (maybe the new Yukons do also, I don't know)

8. The Expy back-up cam has better guidance for distance with lines for yellow/green/red. I know the newer Yukons have the lines, but don't believe they are color coded.