After the demise of the Excursion, which handled, braked, and drove like a battleship...one of the most ungainly vehicles I've ever driven, Ford now has another big, extended SUV the size of the Suburban....the Expedition EL.
The standard-length Expedition, of course, competes directly with the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, but there has not been an extended-length Expedition to go head-to-head with the larger Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL.....until now. That job was formerly left to the Excursion, which was big enough to do the job ( even bigger ) but it was a miserable vehicle to drive ( I cannot overestimate this ) and did not have a sophisticated AWD system like the Suburban.....only a part-time 4WD.
Let's hope Ford did the engineering better on this new vehicle.......I'm sure they did.

http://www.truckinweb.com/brandpages.../photo_02.html

http://www.fordvehicles.com/futureve...63743|26281435

http://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/200...xpedition.html

 

That's just like Detroit, focusing on a product with a limited customer base which will have crappy sales. No wonder they're all headed for bankruptcy.

 

I forget which magazine(a November 06 issue), but they pitted the Expedition EL against the Suburban and in so many words, the Expedition beats the Suburban at its own game. Exceled by quite a margin in EVERY category.

off topic - we got a lot of bimmer folks joining these forums recently. WELCOME matsarge.

 

I just drove a co-workers brand new Navigator the other day. Boy it is a piece of junk. The interior isn't bad, except for the leather which is very low quality, exterior isnt my cup of tea, but the way it drives is just disgusting.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I noticed this forum has a good group of people who are passionate about their vehicles. That's to be respected.

BTW, on your location. I'm originally from South Jersey (my dad was born in South Philly) and I've been to Gino's (and Pat's) alot. Both are great places.

 

OT as well but I was born in philly and lived there for 12 years...I never once went to Gino's or Pat's....<hangs head>...I was out in the suburbs in North Philly so thats my excuse I guess...I did have Lee's Hoagies and Cheltenhams Sub's all the time though....When we went to Jersey shore it was Sacco Subs.

 

gferg, it was Motor Trend...

 

I've driven a Navigator, too....though I didn't do a formal write-up. I agree that some of the interior materials are cheap and that it is not particularly impressive on the road, but the difference between the Navigator and Ford's former Suburban-fighter, the Excursion, is just like night and day. The Excursion, on the road, was truly awful. It had the weight and mass of a battleship, an extremely high center of gravity, pounded over bumps, bobbed up and down like a boat in rough water when you hit the brakes at low speed and came to a stop, and was almost impossible to corner with anything even remotely approaching stability. It was OK as a super-heavy-duty hauler or towing machine but was almost totally unfit for anything else.

Though I haven't driven it yet, I'm glad to see the much better reports from you posters here on the new Expedition EL. It sounds like Ford has addressed most of the Excursion's roadability problems.

 

Well, not quite. Gas has come down almost a whole dollar a gallon in the last couple of months. That may expand its customer base a little...especially since this vehicle seems to drive much better than the Excursion did....see my comments above.