“Ground Force 1” – 2011 Ford Expedition EL Limited

After a much needed stop at “Five Guys Burgers” in Tampa Bay, FL we load up.

We landed in Tampa on a coldish morning, rotten from a red-eye flight from California. Even though there were only two of us at the time, we knew we needed a vehicle that could do justice to the task at hand. It was quite simple, really. People. Stuff. Carry it all.  A full-size SUV, please? Alamo answered our call and even gave us choices: A 2011 Chevy Tahoe or a 2011 Ford Expedition EL Limited. It was a no brainer. Immediately, the Expedition EL looks bigger.

The Tahoe, while noble in its efforts, just didn’t make the cut in terms of useable space with all three rows up. I mean, we had some serious people and serious luggage to hall. We had 7 days of serious work to do and the 108 cubic feet of available cargo room in the Chevrolet Tahoe was too busy being the court jester. The 138 cubic feet of available cargo space in the Expedition EL was just as serious as we were. Now, if a Suburban was around, we could start an argument but still both the Burb and the Tahoe have drawbacks. We’ll come back to that in a minute.

There is no other color that fits the Expedition EL like black. In fact, seriously, don’t bother with any other color. The two tone choices come off cheesy compared to black. In keeping with the serious theme, the serious color and stance of the Expedition made anyone who journeyed in what one rider endearingly dubbed the “ballermobile” feel like an aristocratic royal president. Airport-run after airport-run every passenger made reference to a Hollywood movie star or the Commander-in-chief. And that was all before they stepped inside. “Ground Force 1”, as one driver called it, didn’t fail at much.

Another reason the Expedition EL Limited kicked the Tahoe out of the playoffs? Well, the Tahoe was the stripped version, the kind that gets sent to rental car places and, much like too many cars and people these days, it looks good on the outside, but feels plasticy and empty on the inside. In lieu of our serious business, a little luxury went a long way, and the Expedition was not short on luxury. I’m sure a herd of cattle or two were slaughtered in the name of leathering up two large front captain’s chairs and two large rows of passenger seating behind. Unfortunately, these cows had to have been from Barstow, CA or some other obscure place where non-quality leather grows. It felt just a bit cheap for an SUV that commanded over $45,000 when it was brand new. It didn’t help that sometimes the leather felt like the hardened palms of a ranch-hand or a seasoned cowboy too manly to wear work or riding gloves. Perhaps the King Ranch trim, a step and $3,000 up, has the rich soft leather a $40,000 automobile should have. Or maybe you’ll find it in the hoitier and toitier twin, the Lincoln Navigator, where one seriously reaches luxury Nirvana. Either way, one rider claimed that her “I-just-got-off-an-airplane look coupled with bloodshot, tired eyes” were still incongruent with the lap of luxury she was about to enter.

We got over the cheap-ish leather real quick, thanks to Ford and its techno-ness. Everything connects to the car via Bluetooth or auxiliary jack.  Everything is power: Seats (both front and third row folding), doors (do they make cars without power door locks anymore???), and lift gate. The two front captains chairs are both heated and cooled. The stereo sounds bombastic. The backup camera is located in the review mirror (where they all should be) and super useful with its parking guides (which all backup cameras should have, but don’t…). It magically appears when “reverse” is selected and disappears for regular driving. One rider noted that the interior “had cup holders fo dayz” and “plenty of power sources” for all the i-gadgets and Droid doodads.

Even though at one point we had all 8 seatbelt positions called for, we did not feel like clowns in a Beetle. No tomfoolery. This was a serious trip in an SUV with serious space. A trip to Walmart with 8 people didn’t phase its cavernous space behind a raised third row. A trip to Florida Hospital Church for audio/visual supplies and a full-size keyboard didn’t phase the savannah that was created in the back with the third row and part of the second row down. And when it was time to board our home for 7 days, the good ship ms Ryndam, God could have created another universe and put it in the void created by having both rear rows completely folded, the third row effortless with the power of two buttons.  And all those yahoos who thought the earth was flat? Well, had the Expedition EL existed prior to the 3^rd century BC, not only would some civilizations be wrongfully worshiping it, but the flat earth would fit perfectly in the back, with its completely flat floor, once all the seats were down. Which brings us back to the Tahoe/Suburban brothers. One cannot truly achieve a flat floor in either of those vehicles and the rear seat must be removed in order to get maximum space behind the second row. When they are redesigned (Do you really think GM would drop its full-size truck based SUV line? I, as well as the boating community, highly doubt it), hopefully, GM will take into account the value of a flat rear load surface without the mess or fuss of removing seats.

Confession time. When it comes to Detroit, I am not a Ford guy. I’m a Chrysler guy. Even when they were pumping out junk, I stuck with them (even though I have not yet had the opportunity to own a Chrysler). So when I actually got behind the wheel of this monstrosity, I was biased the wrong way. Seriously, all it took to begin the process of being impressed was backing out of the tight Alamo parking garage space. This behemoth was well behaved and extremely nimble. Its turning radius was surprising for a truck this big. It was a forgiving, gentle giant and it successfully navigated mall parking lots with the same first-class identity crisis-laden moves of a crossover car-based SUV.

The praise continues to its road manners: It was zippy enough for the most part (we’ll come back to that), and the long wheelbase made for a comfortable ride. You point, it goes. No protest, no argument. It didn’t sag or buck. It was quite the perfect steed and no matter where one was seated (no children included in this equation) there were no complaints. Each seat felt like it was designed to take an adult from point “A” to a distant point “B” in everlasting comfort from the chassis and from the seats. Acceleration is smooth, but a few more horses would be nice especially in the EL (extra long, extended length, Even more to Lug, whatever it stands for…). The one time I floored it was up an on-ramp and it was the only time I wished I had a couple more horses. The 6-speed transmission was always eager, but not too eager, to seek out the proper gear for the serious work needing to be done. Needless to say I was as impressed as those people in the Ford commercials. Dang. I honestly would trade my 2005 Honda Pilot EX-L for an Expedition EL Limited. And with it returning 17mpg average for our trips to and from airports and between Tampa and Orlando, it wasn’t far off my 18mpg daily average in the Pilot. I confess! I like the Expedition! One rider’s note actually said, “This is the first large SUV I’ve ever lusted for”. That’s serious.

Being 6’ 2” tall, I had to adjust my seat up a bit in order to completely reach the pedals. I can count on one hand the cars where the driver’s seat does NOT go all the way to its rear most position with me at the helm. However, its lack of a telescoping steering wheel made finding the right driving position more tedious. I mean, in this era of auto manufacturing and design, a $40,000+ vehicle should have a telescoping steering wheel. Just sayin’…

What else didn’t we like? Well, there wasn’t a sunroof, but I figure that comes with a package that rental car companies typically don’t order. Besides, those who don’t drive daily with sunroofs are more likely to leave them open by mistake. No worries. The interior of the Expedition is big enough to contain Noah’s flood, but all the technology and leather may be collateral damage that Alamo simply didn’t want to deal with. There was no in-dash GPS, nor was there an entertainment system. Once again, the casualty of being a rental. It took several tries to tether a Blackberry to the Bluetooth system, but I fear operator error had something to do with it at first. For the safety of all 8 occupants, the vehicle must be in park or neutral before any Bluetooth tethering can happen. Oops. I will neither confirm nor deny any neutral gear coasting in the name of Bluetooth tethering. Besides, we were slightly distracted by some of the cheapish plasticy (yes I made that word up) surfaces. Like I said…$40,000!!

The King Ranch Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator had to have something one-up over the EL Limited, so if I ever get a chance to dance in an even more upper echelon of luxury, perhaps all these negative claims against the lowly Limited will be dropped. Besides, compared to our post 7-day Cruise With a Mission rental steed, which wasn’t quite as exciting or serious about success, the Expedition was a gem.

The 2010 Chrysler Town and Country had cool stuff like Stow ‘N’ Go seating, dual power sliding doors & lift gate, and in-dash hard drive for music, and comfortable seating for 7, but it wasn’t quite as luxurious as the “ballermobile”. It felt cheap, took more effort to park, and simply didn’t grow on us. We all agreed, that the Expedition EL definitely has the “gotta have it factor” even if you’re not a full-size SUV kind of guy. And, well, a minivan just isn’t as cool or presidential. And the backup camera in the dash (Town & Country) is harder to use than the one in the mirror (Expedition). One opinion: “After riding in the ballermobile everything in the minivan seemed even lamer than it would have been without the comparison. ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all’ –every mom ever”. He’s right. Sorry Chrysler, but it just seemed lame.

So how serious are you about mass transportation of both people and goods? Without having driven a Tahoe/Suburban, a Toyota Sequoia, or a recent version of a Nissan Armada, I’d say they ALL have their work cut out for them if they’re serious about stealing full-size SUV market share from what seems to be the pinnacle of SUV success. The Expedition doesn’t just make driving easy, it kinda begs to be driven. It doesn’t just go, it goes with amazing ease and purpose. If you’re a minivan the only thing you got going for you is a sticker under 40 grand and an average MPG of 20 or above. Otherwise, why?? As one rider said, “I’m not sure if it was the sick speaker system, the sleek lines or the smooth ride that lulled us into an alternate universe, but for one weekend, we were not just renting transportation, but rather, we were transported.”  Seriously, we were.

– Fidz

For more info, check out Cars.com for specs or go onto Ford.com for specs and pricing on the 2012 Ford Expedition.