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However, at the same time, the bulk of the Expedition also makes it difficult to live with, especially if parking is a premium. In fact, during the course of the short three-day drive, it was more than difficult—it was impossible to bring it out of at least one sticky situation. In one of them, it seemed that intuitive knowledge helped more than rear visibility as it took a seasoned Expedition owner to bring out ours in a parking lot maneuver snafu. In the end, despite the lifeless steering, he continued on to say, “hey pal, your front left-hand tire is too soft.” Wow—the great guru of the Expedition! The tire was too soft?! I couldn’t even feel if this car was going over the curb or the road and this guy says that the tire was too soft from just a short parking lot maneuver? Well, with this exception, everyone else will find the Expedition’s driving experience much less to be desired. Besides the dangerous rollover and handling booboos of the Expedition, the enormous bulk puts a heavy toll on the brakes. Though equipped with four-disc brakes with ABS, the Expedition’s brake feel is as soggy as day old bread left in the rain. The Confidence level of pushing this car to its limits is probably the same as the morale level of Napoleon’s troops as they charged into Waterloo. I’m no Napoleon or Custard for that matter, but I know for a fact that if you slot in a Mustang 4.6-liter V8 into the bonnet of a 2-ton SUV, you’d expect Ford to do something to make it even handle as half as good as the American muscle car. However, it ends up that the added bulk of the Expedition’s body leaves it with much more difficulty in maneuverability than the surprise, surprise, the F150 SuperCrew. Lastly, the greatest difficulty with leaving with an Expedition is that it requires the deep pockets of a Saudi national to power it. During the course of our test, the 4.6-liter V8 gave out approximately 4.5 kilometers per liter. Although not as bad as the Club Wagon’s figure, it doesn’t go well with the trends. With gasoline prices rising, maintaining the Expedition is one task that’s not easy. What’s more, the Expedition is due for a complete makeover by the end of this year, so buying this model may moot, unless you want to try to strike a great bargain with the loads of stuff they are putting in for free such as the LCD-screen / VCD player combo, leather interior, wood paneling and revised exterior details. |
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