The versatility of the extra room in the EL makes me wonder why Ford waited 71 years to produce a direct competitor to the Suburban, and along the way had their misguided overshoot on the Excursion that was so much larger than the Burb, without being much bigger inside.
Ford loyalists kept telling them "Make a truck *exactly the size* of the Suburban!" and Ford ignored until 2007.
My 07 EL has been used to move my sister's stuff, twice. Can cram a lot of furniture, clothes etc into one.
The Excursion's problems was probably more timing than anything else.
Remember all the outrage when gas first shot way up? The activists were hating on large gas guzzling SUVS. They set fire to some sitting on the lots! No environmental impact there!!!
I don't think the Excursion is that much bigger that Suburban but it is bigger and either the V10 or the diesel was nicer than GMs powertrain.
The Excursions have all the power you need empty or really full.
I think the Excursion is about 2 inches wider in the floorpan too. Would have to look up exact specs but they can be misleading.
The inside of an SUV is not as simple to measure as a landscaping trailer.
The way they angle or bow or curve can make a big difference in usable width.
The published width is not what you always get.
I say this from a limousine conversion because the Excursion became the one to stretch if you wanted capacity and the most room.
The H2 Hummer was popular for looks but was too short for headroom and not quite as wide but close.
The Escalade was too narrow as was the Navigator.
When they maxed out passenger levels with face to face (or knee to knee) seating, there was little aisle between the long seats going down each side.
Some of the Hummers were terrible with the overlap and you had to maze through like a mouse to go to the front of vehicle.
The Escalades are always tighter and narrower inside.
The inside usable floor and wall width is what determined this and not the published outside width.
The Suburban has changed over the generations too and I doubt they were all the same size inside or out.
I liked the look of the square late 73-91 too but the inside of the was not very nice.
92-06 are prob my favorite look even though there are technically two generations in there.
I like the stance of a 2000 Expedition more than an Excursion due to shorter and taller look but they are not as capable as Excursion.
I think they were robbed by timing and maybe out marketed by others.
There is a cult-like following of owners who love them and want to always have a nice one..
