Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Thinking about a new Expy? - 2016 Ford Expedition
  By Andrew Cohen - July 16 - 12:50 am

  I replaced my 99 when it had 233k miles. It served us well, but it was time. I recommend you rent each car you are looking at. A day should be enough. Make sure you drive on the highway. I was almost sold on a Durango until I drove it on the highway in a cross wind. The newer Ford technology, independent rear, etc. is all good. Comfort is excellent. Gas mileage is 50% improved. Sometimes there is a little turbo-lag but when it sets in, it boogies pretty fast; much faster than the v8 (yes, believe it or not). Plenty of power. The voice recognition is pretty darn good. Making calls by voice command is pretty easy. The nav responds very fast & its good. There is only 1 fairly major and unexpected complaint; wind noise. My 99 had this 16 beat. Once you pass 45mph, air entering the compartment or if there is a/c or heat on, pressurizes the cabin and pushes the driver and passenger doors out at the top. The end result is wind noise, and its significant because otherwise this vehicle is like a quiet living room on 4 wheels. My 99 had weatherstrip on both the frame and the door. The 16 only has it on the frame. I am sure that is a factor. I made sure to get the XLT because the power floorboards are clearly a mistake that has gone on far beyond being recognized as such. The steering ratio is clearly different than my 99. It takes a little more turning to aim where you want to go, but you get used to it easily. The tilt-tele works well, but the wheel should go lower. It stops mechanically while still on quite an angle. My Chrysler 300 goes lower and that makes driving more comfortable. Dashboard visibility is excellent. The seats are not quite as comfortable as those in my 99, but I think that is because of all the mechanisms inside this one. Powerfold seats and mirrors get my vote. 4x2, 4awd, 4x4hl all shift well, quietly and solidly. Brakes are good but pumping them a bit makes them great. In rush hour stop and go, you need great brakes. Shifting and orchestration of lockout clutch are excellent. Control of gears is intuitive. Limit of up-shift can be set by buttons on shifter. Heat and cool operations work very, very well and I did notice that the reaction time of the system to respond to a change in the temperature setting is the fastest Ive ever seen. Very responsive and cabin temps were very good; no swings beyond the high or low temperature thresholds for comfort. It zeroes-in on the temp you set very nicely. I did notice that water lodged on the roof after a rain and it was a significant amount. This is surprising because my driveway is sloped down, but each time after a rain, when I would back up or come to a stop, down came the river. The 99 didnt do that. So far, build quality is good and solid. Starts easily and idles quietly. Remote start enables the hvac to make if comfortable when I get in. I like that. The turn signal and warning/status chimes are a pleasing tone. Moonroof is solid, no rattles (unlike panoramic sunroofs - rattleboxes; stay away from those) The mechanism works nicely. Back side vent windows work nicely too. Entertainment system is pretty darn good, but lacks an SD card slot, which makes no sense in this day and age (I dont want to load my phone up with music). The wireless system works to contact passing open public wi-fi, but updates require that you permit it to blindly contact Ford for I/O. I can understand that it may need to download updates, etc., but there is a definite privacy issue. What other information goes back to Ford? Driving habits? Locations? Phone lists? Who knows??? I just left updates disabled for now. 110volt ac outlet was not sought after but turns out to be a nice feature which I used to charge a video camera battery on the way to my daughters softball game. The addition of a drivers side grab handle seems like an obstruction at first but soon yields to function. Its great when standing in the doorway to get something on the roof or to clean the roof (and moonroof glass). Expect that many of the surfaces on the new one are squared-off whereas the older ones were rounded-out. There is no cargo net in these and no fasteners if you wanted to add one. My 99 had a nice net which worked great when carrying things that you dont want to roll around. The backup camera is excellent; day and night. The warning system is a bit nervous, but once you get used to it, it will help. Between the two, I can park the battleship within 4" of the curb, go back and forth and never touch a car ahead or behind. All in all, Im happy but the wind noise thing really bugs me. There isnt any reason for that noise to be present in a vehicle like this. If youre coming from a trusted old Expy, you will like this but expect some changes; many, many good... some that are good but take time to adjust to, and a couple that are not so good. Overall, its the kind of vehicle that you look forward to driving.