The 2002 Expedition was my family’s first SUV. We would have purchased a Ford Explorer but because we are a large stature family, we needed something larger.
The Expedition proved itself as a family friendly vehicle with the most space of any vehicle of its era, adequate leather seating, an easily maintainable interior and most importantly – a design focusing on utility use.
Since the vehicle’s introduction in 1997, it has remained the top selling Full Size SUV in America. According to [Wiki], over 1 million Expeditions have been sold since 2004 - a testament to its likeability.
http://www.epinions.com/content_255612128900

Earlier today, I tested a fully loaded “Redfire Metallic” Eddie Bauer model with a 5.4 Liter V8; 20” chrome rims, Navigation system and climate controlled seats. The Total Vehicle price with options was $43, 975 and the Total MSRP was $44,795. Taxes and dealer fees would add about $2600 to the price before you factor in options and rebates.
I also tested the new “White Sand”, tri-coat painted Expedition EL which was also fully loaded.


EXTERIOR STYLING & INTERIOR PANELING

The exterior of the 2007 Expedition appears to be tough.
The front grill is huge and flat. The air dam venting is very truck-like and appears so squared out that the truck appears to be made entirely of steel – lacking in aerodynamics. Chrome grills are optional – readily available for the XLT model especially - and only accentuate the trucks massiveness. I felt that the grill design looks better on the Navigator, but, I am a bit disappointed Ford has chosen to make the 2007 Expedition look so much like a hardened truck. I think what bothers me most is the reduced length of the front end’s lower bumper. Without a large front bumper, the front end appears too upright.
As long as you have the Chrome grill of the Eddie Bauer or the Xlt, the look is passable but if you simply have the Limited model’s painted front end, the vehicle looks “cheesy” – like a Toyota Avalon. You’d definitely need to add pushbars to the front, simply so another vehicle backing up – accidentally bumping you – didn’t damage the paint and make the entire front end look bad.

Normally, I wouldn’t have expected a Ford vehicle to have very lavish paneling for the interior and centerstack console due to the relatively low price, but strangely enough both the 2nd generation Expedition and now the 2007 model come with panels which are richer than the 2nd generation Escalade and considerably nicer than GM’s new trucks: 2007 Tahoe and Denali. The 2007 Escalade’s panels and centerstack looks a bit nicer, but, it also costs you about $30,000 more wherein Expedition affords you excellent tech at an affordable price. With the dark brown wooden trim I saw on the tester I’d go so far as to say, Expedition is starting to look like Mercedes Benz’s R-class. I am not really a wood trim person. As long as I get great technology in a car, the entire interior could be made of plastic and I’d be happy, but, the 2007 Expedition seems to make no compromises and offers you a very stylish, expensive look without making you dig too deep.
What did surprise me a bit was the overly industrial look of the interior. Everything from the A/C louvers to the knobs have a very industrialized appearance that you’d expect to find in some type of steel works or mill. This is most likely because the designers are trying to impress strength upon us, but I personally liked the 2nd Generation Expedition’s look much better. This look is fine for the F-150 trucks but the Expedition – a family hauler - is supposed to have a more “domesticated” look.


SEATING

Once again, Expedition succeeds in offering uncompromising space and high quality Leather seats and utilities to families and workers who need an SUV for carrying capacity.
I was used to the 1st Generation Expedition’s huge driver’s space. It offered incredible headroom and the largest hip and leg space (for both the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rows) of any full sized SUV in the industry. The list of Full sized SUV’s during 2002 was quite short. Then came the 2nd generation Expedition with its side-curtain airbags which reduced hip and head space and its higher, closer dashboard which reduced leg and knee space for all three rows. So much focus was placed on the 2nd generation Expedition’s fold-flat seats that a huge amount of space was lost for all the passengers while the vehicle remained at the same 205 inches of length.
The 2007 Expedition fortunately has a redesigned dashboard that is much more forgiving on the knees of taller drivers. I for example am 6 foot, 7 inches tall and I felt very comfortable in the 2007 Expedition. By comparison, The 2007 Escalade is cramped for anyone over 6 foot,5 inches. Though the 2007 model has a large center armrest and side curtain airbags, there is not as much of a loss of hip space and leg space as there was in the 2nd generation Expedition. I found the 2007 model to be generously comfortable and reminiscent of the 1st generation's spaciousness.

The second row of the 2007 Expedition wasn’t as fortunate as the 1st row however. Every single truck I have surveyed from the Denali to the Tahoe to the Escalade to the Navigator has a relatively cramped 2nd row. An adult who is 6 feet tall – 250 pounds would be ok here but anyone bigger than that might be very disappointed. In comparison, the 1st generation Expedition/ Navigator had so much space in the second row, you could actually get an adult who was 6 foot,5 inches and 450 pounds back there. That story is beyond the scope of this review, but, trust me, I tested that figure and it is true. [One of my girlfriend’s friends was a very big person]
Second row comfort is slightly helped by the Expedition's reclining 2nd row seats. They recline to about 40 degrees -enough to get a decent nap on the road.

The 2007 Expedition comes with a new optional feature called the Center Slide seat which is offered in a 40/20/40 split bench design. For women who have babies that they want close to them, this is a fantastic Ford first. All you do is put your little one in the child seat, secure it and slide it forward and you can feed your baby without having to sit in the back or lean. Ford Brilliance
Also keep in mind that Ford’s Expedition and Navigator were the first vehicles to offer power folding 3rd row seats and a power liftgate – Even before $60,000 Cadillac Escalade did it.

Ford claims that the 3rd row was tested for adults who were up to 6 foot 7 inches tall. Indeed, there is a generous amount of space in the 3rd row for legspace, but when you add legspace to the girthyness of American men, it gets cramped and a bit uncomfortable to get into. 3rd row space is good enough for small children but forget getting 3 large adults back here.

The Expedition claims it can seat 7 passengers plus driver when you include the 2nd row center seat but I believe that 7 passengers would be much too tight for a long ride unless the people are physically small (5 foot,10 inches - 180 pounds maximum). You can negate the center seat of the 2nd row, allowing occupants to walk to and from the 3rd row through the center isle. This is referred to as the 6 passengers plus driver configuration and it is probably the more comfortable option.
Ford has also increased the length of the doors a bit to make getting into the 2nd and 3rd rows easier even when the front seats are titled.

If you intend to use Expedition as a people hauler, sweeten up the ride by getting the optional roof mounted DVD player for the second row.

What I did like about the 2007 Expedition Limited and EL models is that there is a plastic cargo spacer built into the floor behind the powerfolding 3rd row (on the Eddie Bauer/ LMT/ and EL) which can keep items such as tools and groceries from sliding around.
Also keep in mind, Expedition and Navigator's 2nd and 3rd rows fold flat into the floor - wherein the GM truck’s 3rd row must be removed to access a flat floor.





NAVIGATION RADIO

The navigation system in the new Expedition was one of my major focuses when I was writing my review. This is because most people who want to buy a new car want navigation systems that are stock since they aren’t willing to purchase after market products like Tom Tom or Alpine’s Navigation systems due to the extra clutter and off-warranty considerations.
The Expedition’s new radio is designed most similarly to Alpine’s tilt-faced DVD Navigation radio. The seams around the head unit are so tight that the fact that it tilts out to accept the Navigation DVD is unnoticeable. The system accepts a single DVD disk which has all points of interest (as of 2006) stored on it. This is an upgrade from the 2nd generation Expedition’s navigation system which required 6 disks for North America that had to be interchanged depending upon what region you were in.
The system is touchscreen and most navigation points-of-interest can be entered very quickly and easily with a few soft key strokes. I was very happy with this new Navigation radio. It is large, easy to read and very nice even when compared to “higher end” systems on Mercedes Benz and BMW models which tend to offer too many features for easy use. Ease of use is the key here. This was obviously designed for the average driver who wants to delve in technology.

The Radio itself is also a great piece of equipment. The Audiophile speaker system comes packed with 6 speakers and a subwoofer that has a total of 340 Watts output. Already, the system is loud enough for the majority of drivers. In fact, I found this system at its highest levels to be even better in clarity and output power than the 2007 Navigator’s THX system - Navigator’s being targeted towards DVD entertainment rather than loud music. Ford gives you built in Sirius XM radio (for Howard Stern fans especially) the typical 6-disc changer and the capability to listen to the rear seat DVD player in 5.1 sound which will fill the entire cabin.
Fortunately, Expedition has also offers a standard line-in Jack for Ipod users as well as the ability to play MP3 formatted files from CDR’s or CDRW’s. This means you can place 200 songs on each of 6 disks for about 1200 songs or so – driving around with your entire music collection. Very Nice .


DRIVING THE EXPEDITION

The 2nd generation Expedition was a massive improvement over the original model in that it added the first in-class independent rear suspension. While the original model was extremely bouncy over rough terrain, the 2nd generation model felt much more civil and ironed out. The 2007’s ride, at first, does not seem to be very different from the 2nd generation’s ride but, when you begin making sharper turns, I noticed that the truck did handle a little better than the previous model.
This new Expedition is designed around the T1 Platform which was originally launched on the redesigned 2004 F-150. The new frame is designed with advertised improvements of about 10% in torsional rigidity along with the new independent rear suspension and computer monitoring technology for the suspension. Interestingly enough, the new Advancetrac system with its new Roll Stability Control has been given a huge amount of control over the truck’s handling. Advancetrac can automatically increase or decrease power to individual wheels – including braking, reduce engine power, and alter traction. The system monitors vehicle pitch, yaw and roll very closely and automatically adjusts many times per second during the ride to keep the vehicle stable and level. This device is designed around a type of gyroscopic technology. In my opinion, both the 2007 Expedition and the Navigator greatly benefit from this technology since they always feel firmly planted and the body feels much stiffer. The truck does not throw your body from side to side like the older models when you make a very sharp turn and it has almost no seesawing motions like the previous models. The ride of the Expedition is very similar to the Navigator, obviously, considering they are virtually the same vehicle with different trim, however, I did like the Expedition’s ride much more than the new GM trucks. The GM trucks lack an independent rear suspension and it is noticeable when you get to seriously poor terrain. Expedition performs much better on and off road than the Denali and the Escalade.

The new steering wheel in the expedition looks great and feels adequate enough to control all the functions a driver would want easy access to. Naturally, the steering wheel has built in buttons to change radio stations, media sources and also set the cruise control functions, yet, Expedition even includes buttons to quickly alter the temperature settings and the A/C Fan speed. The buttons take a little getting used to but once you do, you will easily be able to drive in confidence without taking your eyes off the road. GM’s new steering wheel by comparison is a mess and far more difficult to manipulate without taking your eyes off the road. I found Expedition's steering to be highly responsive, despite the fact you are driving around in 3 tons of vehicle. Expedition points itself as quickly as you spin the wheel.
While the Expedition's steering column lacks the power tilt found in the 2007 Navigator - and neither of the GM or Ford trucks offer telescoping columns - I was pleasantly suprised to see that of all the new trucks, Expedition probably has the best overall *feel* in regards to driver comfort. The wheel is just the right size and the Expedition does not feature low window sills like most of the new luxury trucks. A couple of the other trucks made me feel as if I was going to fall out of the window.

What is disappointing about the ride however is the acceleration. The 2007 Expedition features the same engine found in the previous 2nd generation Expedition – a 300 HP Triton V8. The engine is good enough for city driving and its 9100 pound towing capabilities, but, its acceleration is mundane due to the fact it must pull so much weight. 2007 Expedition weighs around 5800 lbs, but, the EL weighs a little over 3 tons!.
Passing big Semi's on the highway isn't hard but don't bother trying to race a Yukon Denali or even a Nissan Armada. You will lose !.
The fuel economy on the new Expedition - like the Navigator - has been slightly improved over the last model. You'll get about 14MPG in the city and about 19 on the Highway. No these numbers aren't spectacular but considering the amount of vehicle utility you are getting, it is understandable - for now.
Until Ford releases the Ford Boss engine with its 425 horses, Expedition and Navigator won’t get the power to compete with the Cadillac Escalade’s 403HP Vortec.



CHOOSE YOUR FLAVOR


The 2007 Expedition comes in 3 main models. The first is the XLT which is the lowest priced model, at about $39,000 loaded. This vehicle comes with 17” aluminum wheels, molded body claddings surrounding the entire lower portion of the truck, the Audiophile sound system and multiple choices between leather/cloth seating – and the aforementioned bench seating options. The Xlt will probably be the most purchased model of the truck due to the relatively low price but, stupidly , Ford does not allow you to equipt this low end model with a DVD Navigation computer as well as a number of cool options. The Nav computer is a $2000 option, and the only reason the salesman could offer as to why it wasn’t an option on XLT is that “the sound system is entirely different”.
In fact, XLT misses out on the premium sound system I enjoyed so much. Rather than the 340 Watt Audiophile which pumps out Bass like a Tuba, XLT is limited to a limp 160 Watt single disk Cd Changer with MP3 capability. The 6-disk changer version of this audio system is optional - as if a 6 disk CD changer really costs that much these days !?!

Why is there no hot swap feature for Navigation systems?

To be perfectly honest, I hate the Eddie Bauer's multi toned trim around the wheel wells and I much perfer the XLT's color scheme.

XLT also misses out on a steering wheel with radio&climate control buttons; dual zone A/C; power liftgate; heated/cooled front seats; power mirrors w/ heating; and the cool cargo spacer ???
None of these features are even optional with the XLT. You can't even ask Ford for a Chrome Exhaust tip!
Not being able to get the XLT model of the Expedition with the factory options I want is annoyingly dissapointing.
I think I will write an angry letter to Ford about this.



The next model is the Eddie Bauer which will most likely be the option people choose when they find out that they can’t get the Navigation computer on the XLT model. The Eddie Bauer model loaded with a moonroof and the Navigation system will cost about $42,000 before rebates and incentives.
It includes: driver's 10-way adjustable power seat and passenger's 6-way adjustable seat; two toned leather interior and exterior appearance as well as a dual zone A/C system. Eddie Bauer models can be purchased with optional Heated/Cooled front seats. Bauer does come with a standard power folding 3rd row seat.


The Limited model offers you standard 18” chrome clad wheels; chromed roof rails (like Escalade) 10-way adjustable power chairs (driver and front passenger); memory mirrors with heating; and most noticeably, negates the lower body cladding and the chromed grill for a very monotonous appearance. If you choose this model, I would recommend you get pushbars to keep people from damaging your paintjob when they back into your bumper.
At this level, you may choose optional chrome roof rails; chrome exhaust tip; leather wrapped steering wheel with wood trim and body colored bumpers.
The limited models start at about $49,000 loaded.
This is an excellent price considering this top model Expedition is a better overall SUV than the 2007 YUKON DENALI which starts around $48,000 in the base offerings.

There are also towing packages that may be purchased, remote start systems and Homelink systems that may be purchased to operate garage doors.


I’ve gotten LONGER

The 2007 Expedition is available in a new trim referred to as the EL, which stands for “extended length”.
Unlike the regular Expedition which is 205 inches long with a 119 inch wheelbase the EL is 221 inches long with a wheelbase of 131 inches. The EL is replacing the discontinued Ford Excursion which was 226 inches long and had a 137 inch wheelbase. The Excursion was a huge “bus” of an SUV, that was in my opinion, almost totally ridiculous for anything less than utility use. Excursion seems to have found a home with fire departments, EMS, police and the FEDS so you'll be seeing alot of them until the EL Expedition XLT takes their places.
As an SUV, Excursion was a nightmare to park and a nightmare to fuel, managing only 10 miles per gallon.

The EL is considerably more friendly to the average SUV family who desperately needs cargo space in addition to 7 passenger seating, but, 221 inches is still pretty long and parking in your local Walmart, movie theater or shopping mall parking lot will be a challenge.
Expedition EL is the same length as my Cadillac EXT and the Chevy Avalanche - a pair of infamous parking lot hogs here in NYC. The 205 inch Expedition’s tail sticks out a little from most parking spots while the EL is just begging to be sideswiped. Its too big for cramped city parking spots and will require special forethought to park.

The EL trim can be purchased with any of the aforementioned models; XLT, Eddie Bauer or Limited – currently it is only available as the Limited model.
EL’s come standard with most of the Expedition's options: huge chrome roof rails (similar to Escalade's), 20” Chrome wheels, 10-way power [driver] and 6-way passenger front seats with adjustable head cushions, memory mirrors, power folding 3rd row, and EL badging – to let everyone know you are driving the top model. The only other optional equiptment necessary are the moonroof and the Navigation system which I feel are an absolute must have.



Expedition VS TAHOE, YUKON DENALI - and even the ESCALADE?

The Expedition once again is a better choice than the smaller Tahoe and the smaller, more expensive Yukon Denali.
Expedition offers you plenty of power features at a reasonable price wherein the Y.Denali's options are overpriced and the Tahoe seems to be lacking in overall offerings by comparison.

For $48,000 (including tax) you can have a fully loaded Expedition that offers you every single feature that even the high&mighty Escalade offers (big Navigation screen, 2nd row DVD entertainment system, heated/cooled seats, etc) yet you are not paying $70,000 for it.
Believe it or not, Expedition actually rides softer than the Escalade does - since Escalade has a solid rear axle while Expedition has a retooled independant rear suspension - and Expedition does not suffer from body sway in wind gusts like the Escalade does riding on its Cadillac's stock 22" rims .

The EL model Expedition is easily a better buy than the cheaper looking, smaller 2007 Suburban/ Yukon XL Denali and will also cost you at least $5000 less when you compare both vehicle's loaded prices.

If you are a new car buyer and planning to get an SUV,so long as you are not swayed by GM or FORD loyalty, I would easily recommend the Expedition over all of GM’s new SUV models. Expedition offers uncompromising space and excellent features designed for families and dedicated to utility.
The only downside however is that Denali looks a bit “richer” (with its Escalade-like light fixtures) and both the Tahoe and Denali may be purchased with more powerful engines - though Expedition tows more.

If you want more luxury, then I suggest you check out the 2007 Lincoln Navigator - which fully loaded costs less than $64,000 ($10,000 less than a loaded Escalade). Navigator has everything Expedition has, but, far more opulent looks.


Overall after seeing both of the 2007 Expedition models side by side, I’d have to say you should either go with the Eddie Bauer or the Limited model. The XLT is strictly for utility purposes and is not going to give you the technological joy of a Navigation system or stock chrome touches. The 2007 Expedition is a worthy successor to the Expedition heritage.

EXPEDITION is a spectacular vehicle that just seems to get better and better.



2007 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR: http://www.epinions.com/content_258470416004

2007 FORD EDGE: http://www.epinions.com/content_299356556932



My Reviews of GENERAL MOTORS 2007 GMT-900 trucks:

ESCALADE: http://www.epinions.com/content_241990143620

CHEVY TAHOE http://www.epinions.com/content_251782336132

AVALANCHE: http://www.epinions.com/content_241034301060

YUKON DENALI: http://www.epinions.com/content_242261134980