Apparantly Ford Expeditions Suck offroad...

[Sierra Lima1470]

USA TODAY - http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...2-trucks_x.htm

Posted 3/2/2004 12:10 AM Updated 3/5/2004 1:47 PM

Careful if you take that SUV off-road
By James R. Healey, USA TODAY
The most popular sport-utility vehicles are the worst for true off-road driving, says a new ranking by Consumer Reports magazine.
The four-wheel-drive vehicles that handle tough off-roading best, not surprisingly, are those with specific equipment for off-roading, exceptional ground clearance, or both. The top-ranked Toyota Tacoma pickup, for instance, was equipped with a differential lock to prevent wheelspin as well as larger tires and special shock absorbers as part of Toyota's TRD off-road option.

Top off-roaders

Consumer Reports rates 14 four-wheel-drive vehicles, of 34 tested, true off-roaders. From the best down:
Toyota Tacoma TRD
Chevrolet Avalanche
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Land Cruiser
Land Rover Discovery
Toyota 4Runner
Lexus GX470
Dodge Ram
Land Rover Freelander
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sorento
Nissan Xterra
VW Touareg
Mitsubishi Montero

Worst

Weight, on-road design put Expedition at bottom:
Chevrolet TrailBlazer/GMC Envoy
Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Ford Explorer
Ford Expedition





The magazine tested 34 vehicles with four-wheel-drive (4x4) systems that included low-range gearing, which is intended for extreme off-road situations where a combination of high power and very low speed is necessary to avoid getting stuck.

The magazine's engineers picked the 4x4 vehicles they thought would truly handle off-road situations. That turned out to be 14 of the total. Those that scored poorly generally are known for their smooth on-road behavior. The suspension systems and chassis layouts that do so well on pavement hampered the vehicles on the magazine's challenging slope, strewn with boulders and smaller rocks embedded in concrete so the rocks are in the same place for each test.

Two of the worst, Ford Explorer and Chevrolet TrailBlazer, are the two best-selling SUVs in the USA. Ford Expedition, judged worst of any tested, is the second-best-selling full-size SUV, behind Chevy Tahoe. Ford spokesman Jon Harmon noted that Ford SUVs are top sellers "because they offer the best combination of all-around utility, both on- and off-road." Chevy spokesman Mike Stoller pointed to TrailBlazer's strong sales and said, "TrailBlazer performs well for what it was designed for — use in everyday life, including off-pavement needs."

 

[jacks3am]

consumer reports magazine can suck on my tailpipe!

 

[tallsville]

i call BS on usa today. My Expy has probably more dirt than most tundras. I even had the dirt road disappear(found a dip that i didn't see) on me while doing 30. nothing happened to expy. Left about 20ft tow hook marks in the road. and took off license plate holder of front bumper, but who want that on anyways

 

[WHOISMOOTOO]

Boo they should be ran over with a convoy of expys! Both on road and off road

 

[dgray69]

quick fix. feed them a few ******. tie there arms to front bumper corners and there legs to rear bumper corners. belly down of course. under my expy. and take them on a trail ride. problem solved first tree stump ya go over. or rock ya slide across. just my thought. my expy does every thing my jeeps do under normal off road and trail conditions.

 

[panda24619]

shit my expo has more flex then most tjs i see on the trails. an di say most cause of corse there are some jeeps out there that have crazy flex! my rear is so flexy! i couldnt see the usa today. i guess i caught on too late, but still. ive seen talls and smooths expo do great on the trails. and talls had stock tires and no lift and smooth had lift and 2wd! and i got stuck! haha so i call bs! CR is really bad on some stuff, but good on others, i get mad when they try to rate some vehicles. like the expedition or the raptor even.

 

[nvycrmn]

well we will just have to wait and see when my rig gets into the Ultimate Adventure and FINISHES!!!

 

[tallsville]

ultimate adventure? please elaborate.

 

[panda24619]

this is 2009 but same difference. http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/ultimateadventure/09_application/index.html

what he should do is tough truck challenge. that would be cool to see and expo in there.

 

[walnuts4x4]

mine does some mean "mall crawlin" does that count?...lol

 

[panda24619]

mine does some mean "mall crawlin" does that count?...lol

i like putting my tire along the curb. does that count as off roading? what about hitting speed bumps at 40?

 

[KWT2000]

The FORD RAPTOR didn't make the list... i demand a redo that is a byist list

 

[panda24619]

what is dumb. is that they said suv, but the tacoma made the list? thats a truck!

 

[KWT2000]

what is dumb. is that they said suv, but the tacoma made the list? thats a truck!

So is the Tundra...



but lets put this against the Tundra i think Ford will dominate

 

[99 Expy]

What about the F150? If they have the ram on there then it should be on there. I've seen my parent's 08 go through some pretty impressive stuff. I think the article should also show what type of "off roading" they did.

 

[panda24619]

exactly. thats why i like off road mags. they compare apples to apples. or close to it. maybe red to green but its still apples.

 

[treycool94]

man my expy goes wherever my friends jeeps goes

 

[Racenut]

My 2wd Expy goes places (with a trailer) that some of my buddies 4x4's wont! and they have the nerve to say that the Expy's come in last - I say they need to suck It and go themselves!

Unfortunatley I did not get a pic of my buddies Pathfinder that was infront of me, but he was slippin and sliding all over the place, he had to put it in 4L just to get up the incline and was still spinnin . Pure shale rock, uphill, with fresh snow and neither of the 2wd FORDS ( on street tires ) even slipped a tire (we scaled the trailer when we got back to town and it weighd in just over 9k)!

 

[JDMitchell]

My expy is better off road than any other vehicle I have owned. But I didn't buy it to do any hard core wheeling, I will take off road once in a while but mostly to find a mountain bike trail, fishing hole, or hunting spot.

 

[jacks3am]

the expy's 4 low is scary, you switch it, it shows 4x4 on the dash, then...CLUNK...low range. you will crawl over anything