Rented a 2017 Ford Expedition for the day...I was surprised...
02-06-17, 06:49 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Rented a 2017 Ford Expedition for the day...I was surprised...
My LS460 was in to my independent mechanic today for the 30k service and new front brakes, needed a car for the day so I rented a full sized car from Enterprise. Got surprised with an upgrade to a 2017 Expedition Limited. Put a good many miles on it, drove it in the city, parallel parked multiple times, spent some time on the highway. It had been a long time since I have driven an Expedition, with it being so long in the tooth (it shows in look and feel inside and out) I was actually pleasantly surprised...I liked it...more than the new Suburban I drove a couple weeks ago actually.
The Suburban/Tahoe is a lot nicer inside, and looks a lot better IMHO, but I was surprised by how drivable that Expedition was. Comfortable, rode well, reasonably quiet on the highway. Audio was good, bluetooth phone worked well. Not tiring to drive at all, even around DC. In fact...dare I say...I liked driving it better than the new LX570 I drove a couple months ago. It had a heavier feel to it, the weight seemed to sag on it when accelerating, braking, and turning. Steering was very heavy, while the Expedition felt effortless to drive, and nowhere near as big as it is.
Really surprising...
Issues I had? Interior is total crap. No dead pedal, feels ancient. Ford's tech is okay, although oddly my well equipped leather Limited with Sync and touchscreen didn't have navigation. Its pretty ugly. I left half of the roof of it at my parking garage at work. Other than that though, I liked it. Perhaps I will consider an SUV next time.
The Suburban/Tahoe is a lot nicer inside, and looks a lot better IMHO, but I was surprised by how drivable that Expedition was. Comfortable, rode well, reasonably quiet on the highway. Audio was good, bluetooth phone worked well. Not tiring to drive at all, even around DC. In fact...dare I say...I liked driving it better than the new LX570 I drove a couple months ago. It had a heavier feel to it, the weight seemed to sag on it when accelerating, braking, and turning. Steering was very heavy, while the Expedition felt effortless to drive, and nowhere near as big as it is.
Really surprising...
Issues I had? Interior is total crap. No dead pedal, feels ancient. Ford's tech is okay, although oddly my well equipped leather Limited with Sync and touchscreen didn't have navigation. Its pretty ugly. I left half of the roof of it at my parking garage at work. Other than that though, I liked it. Perhaps I will consider an SUV next time.
02-06-17, 07:23 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Got surprised with an upgrade to a 2017 Expedition Limited. Put a good many miles on it, drove it in the city, parallel parked multiple times, spent some time on the highway. It had been a long time since I have driven an Expedition, with it being so long in the tooth (it shows in look and feel inside and out) I was actually pleasantly surprised...I liked it...more than the new Suburban I drove a couple weeks ago actually.
The Suburban/Tahoe is a lot nicer inside, and looks a lot better IMHO, but I was surprised by how drivable that Expedition was. Comfortable, rode well, reasonably quiet on the highway. Audio was good, bluetooth phone worked well. Not tiring to drive at all, even around DC. In fact...dare I say...I liked driving it better than the new LX570 I drove a couple months ago. It had a heavier feel to it, the weight seemed to sag on it when accelerating, braking, and turning. Steering was very heavy, while the Expedition felt effortless to drive, and nowhere near as big as it is.
Really surprising...
Issues I had? Interior is total crap. No dead pedal, feels ancient. Ford's tech is okay, although oddly my well equipped leather Limited with Sync and touchscreen didn't have navigation. Its pretty ugly. I left half of the roof of it at my parking garage at work. Other than that though, I liked it.
The Suburban/Tahoe is a lot nicer inside, and looks a lot better IMHO, but I was surprised by how drivable that Expedition was. Comfortable, rode well, reasonably quiet on the highway. Audio was good, bluetooth phone worked well. Not tiring to drive at all, even around DC. In fact...dare I say...I liked driving it better than the new LX570 I drove a couple months ago. It had a heavier feel to it, the weight seemed to sag on it when accelerating, braking, and turning. Steering was very heavy, while the Expedition felt effortless to drive, and nowhere near as big as it is.
Really surprising...
Issues I had? Interior is total crap. No dead pedal, feels ancient. Ford's tech is okay, although oddly my well equipped leather Limited with Sync and touchscreen didn't have navigation. Its pretty ugly. I left half of the roof of it at my parking garage at work. Other than that though, I liked it.
As you noticed, the Ford people worked quite a bit on the F-150's body-on-frame underpinnings and truck-suspension to try and get a smooth ride for the Expedition, yet still maintaining good tow-ratings. I noticed that good ride comfort, too, when I reviewed a long-wheelbase Expedition EL for a former co-worker a few years ago.
Perhaps I will consider an SUV next time.
02-06-17, 07:25 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Glad to hear your overall experience was good. I had a Chevy Traverse while my A4 was in the body shop and it was just awful. Aside from the fact that it was just too big, it had Chevy's aqua lighting and hard plastics, and it was underpowered. There was an aqua lighting strip above the glovebox that I thought was pretty cool during the day, but at night it looked like plastic tubing. I thought maybe they had left the plastic coating on, but I was wrong. ;-)
02-06-17, 07:26 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
02-06-17, 07:27 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Glad to hear your overall experience was good. I had a Chevy Traverse while my A4 was in the body shop and it was just awful. Aside from the fact that it was just too big, it had Chevy's aqua lighting and hard plastics, and it was underpowered. There was an aqua lighting strip above the glovebox that I thought was pretty cool during the day, but at night it looked like plastic tubing. I thought maybe they had left the plastic coating on, but I was wrong. ;-)
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02-06-17, 07:47 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
02-06-17, 07:53 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
02-06-17, 07:56 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
02-06-17, 07:56 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Ford hasn't publicly announced a specific date, but as I understand it, sometime within the next 12 months as a 2018 model. It will supposedly keep the body-on-frame configuration, but, like the new F-150, use aluminum and high-strength boron steel.
02-06-17, 08:09 PM
#13
I have a 15 explorer sport livernois tuned I'm gonna have to line up the 300 against it soon
02-06-17, 09:14 PM
#14
Lexus Test Driver
Curious if you are using an independent mechanic to save money or for another reason. The cost to rent a car vs. a free loaner from most Lexus dealerships may negate any cost savings. *discuss*
