Greetings every one, just got back from a 5 day vacation in orlando, fl. Its been almost 7 mnths since i bought my truck, and now after our first road trip with her, i can write up a comprehensive review on her. We went to fla from de, about 2k miles the whole trip. 4 ppl(friends met us in fla so 6 ppl there) on board, 36 hrs total drive time. She now has 8k mi.
First the positive. She is quiet. Never once during the trip did i think the truck was overly loud, even over textured roads. The seat comfort was also phenomenal, i was the least amount of fatigued in this vehicle than any other car ive driven long term or owned. As a reference, ive previously owned an 08 fusion, 09 navigator, also own a 15 mazda 6, all driven cross country. Spent many miles in 13 jaguar xf, 15 escalade,07 camry, ram 1500, 15 expy as well. The flexibility for seating and cargo is great too. With six ppl and luggage for all of us(took my friends to and from the airport), we were able to all fit in relative comfort. Fuel economy was amazing for a vehicle this big. Going down, usually set speed about 5 above posted speed limit, mostly at 71mph. Filled up twice each way and once there, 5 fill ups total. Computer says 23.6 mpg with 570 mi dte. On the way back, picked up speed a little bit more, 22.5 mpg with 540 mi dte. The sound system proved very much capable as well, the younger passengers said it was too loud lol, never. There were a lot of sync features i wished i used more like the weather radar (it rained 3 of the 5 days we were in fla) and movie showtimes. Lastly, we all can agree, the transmission and engine combo is one of the best in autodom. Smooth shifts, effortless power anywhere in the band, sounds great and the drive modes really change the character of the car.
Now for the negatives(well more small nitpick s). The steering is a bit numb on the highway. Theres a dead spot on center that sometimes causes the car to wander. This is more apparent when making highway speed directional changes, you have to fight the dead spot to turn the car, it oversteers and the lane assist goes nuts because your correcting the steering too much. My wife and i also noticed the trucks steering was susceptible to truck air drafts. Its great around town and in sport mode though. The nav system isn't great. A few times we got lost due to it being outdated or it not knowing road closures. The info screen in the tach needs work too. Too much open space, it could have more detailed nav directions, show media and climate info, date and time info, etc. Though the interior is very flexible, the new vehicle design in the rear does cut into cargo space with how narrow it is. Lastly, the ride (base suspension w/ 20”) is good, but can definitely be improved upon. In most instances, its very smooth, but not as isolating as id like on rough or washboarded roads and can be a bit too hard edged on bumps. For context, though its not as “harsh” as my dads escalade or my old nav, they had a more floaty feel on open road and better bump isolation at speed. Its weird though, at some stretches it felt rough, but most other times its smoother than glass and damn near perfect and i havent been able to figure out why. Changed the tire pressure a few times on it, and noticed the car tpms was not very accurate as well. It needs about 3 more inches of wheel travel or dual stage/bypass shocks to make it more fluid feeling without the extra impact harshness, something like how the new rams do to be perfect. My next expy will def have the ccd, but i dont remember the base suspension of the 15 expys i drove having that firm feel on bumps. I still understand even with the base suspension that its the best ride offered, but you can tell the money went to the ccd lol.
In all, she exceeded all my expectations and im so glad we have her. Our vacation was great, wifey, her siblings and i had a great time. Wifey adores the truck, i think she looks for reasons to drive it now and def drove 13+ hours. Hopefully this review will help those looking for a summer car or is just a good read. The expy is by far the best of its type of vehicle on the road. Btw i saw atleast 9 expys almost exactly like mine, everybody had an 18 in orlando either by ownership or rental. We went to universal studios and sea world. If you were in orlando this past week with any gen expy or another car, let us know what you did, we might have saw one of you guys lol.
First the positive. She is quiet. Never once during the trip did i think the truck was overly loud, even over textured roads. The seat comfort was also phenomenal, i was the least amount of fatigued in this vehicle than any other car ive driven long term or owned. As a reference, ive previously owned an 08 fusion, 09 navigator, also own a 15 mazda 6, all driven cross country. Spent many miles in 13 jaguar xf, 15 escalade,07 camry, ram 1500, 15 expy as well. The flexibility for seating and cargo is great too. With six ppl and luggage for all of us(took my friends to and from the airport), we were able to all fit in relative comfort. Fuel economy was amazing for a vehicle this big. Going down, usually set speed about 5 above posted speed limit, mostly at 71mph. Filled up twice each way and once there, 5 fill ups total. Computer says 23.6 mpg with 570 mi dte. On the way back, picked up speed a little bit more, 22.5 mpg with 540 mi dte. The sound system proved very much capable as well, the younger passengers said it was too loud lol, never. There were a lot of sync features i wished i used more like the weather radar (it rained 3 of the 5 days we were in fla) and movie showtimes. Lastly, we all can agree, the transmission and engine combo is one of the best in autodom. Smooth shifts, effortless power anywhere in the band, sounds great and the drive modes really change the character of the car.
Now for the negatives(well more small nitpick s). The steering is a bit numb on the highway. Theres a dead spot on center that sometimes causes the car to wander. This is more apparent when making highway speed directional changes, you have to fight the dead spot to turn the car, it oversteers and the lane assist goes nuts because your correcting the steering too much. My wife and i also noticed the trucks steering was susceptible to truck air drafts. Its great around town and in sport mode though. The nav system isn't great. A few times we got lost due to it being outdated or it not knowing road closures. The info screen in the tach needs work too. Too much open space, it could have more detailed nav directions, show media and climate info, date and time info, etc. Though the interior is very flexible, the new vehicle design in the rear does cut into cargo space with how narrow it is. Lastly, the ride (base suspension w/ 20”) is good, but can definitely be improved upon. In most instances, its very smooth, but not as isolating as id like on rough or washboarded roads and can be a bit too hard edged on bumps. For context, though its not as “harsh” as my dads escalade or my old nav, they had a more floaty feel on open road and better bump isolation at speed. Its weird though, at some stretches it felt rough, but most other times its smoother than glass and damn near perfect and i havent been able to figure out why. Changed the tire pressure a few times on it, and noticed the car tpms was not very accurate as well. It needs about 3 more inches of wheel travel or dual stage/bypass shocks to make it more fluid feeling without the extra impact harshness, something like how the new rams do to be perfect. My next expy will def have the ccd, but i dont remember the base suspension of the 15 expys i drove having that firm feel on bumps. I still understand even with the base suspension that its the best ride offered, but you can tell the money went to the ccd lol.
In all, she exceeded all my expectations and im so glad we have her. Our vacation was great, wifey, her siblings and i had a great time. Wifey adores the truck, i think she looks for reasons to drive it now and def drove 13+ hours. Hopefully this review will help those looking for a summer car or is just a good read. The expy is by far the best of its type of vehicle on the road. Btw i saw atleast 9 expys almost exactly like mine, everybody had an 18 in orlando either by ownership or rental. We went to universal studios and sea world. If you were in orlando this past week with any gen expy or another car, let us know what you did, we might have saw one of you guys lol.
