Built and sold by the Ford Motor Company, the Ford Expedition is a full size sport utility vehicle. The Expedition was first made available in 1997 and was intended to fill the gap between the smaller
Ford Explorer and the larger and now discontinued
Ford Excursion. The Expedition offers consumers the convenience of nine passenger seating in an addition to a range of powerful V8 engine options. The Expedition was redesigned in 2003 and consumer response was favorable as more than one million Expeditions have been sold since the 2004 model.
The Expedition was introduced to a very competitive market as it was meant to compete with the Chevy Suburban, Chevy Tahoe, and the GMC Yukon. The Expedition replaced the Bronco is the Ford lineup, which were big shoes to fill. With nine passenger seating and the ability to tow up to 8,000 pounds, the Expedition appealed to a wide variety of people.
Beginning in 2003 the Expedition used the Ford U platform, which increased the towing ability to 8,300 pounds as well as third row seating. The base 4.6-liter V8 engine was replaced by the 5.4 liter V8 in 2005 in addition to being updated with 24-valve technology. From 2003 until 2005 there were five different engine options for the Expedition, which were a 4.6-liter V8, a 5.4-liter V8, and a 5.4 liter 3 valve V8 providing a great range of power.
Starting with the 2007 model the Expedition will be redesigned again on the T1 platform that was also used with the F-150. The new platform will provide the Expedition with a more torsional rigidity than before. The new Expedition will also feature a 5.4-liter Triton V8 engine that will provide 300 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque. An extended edition of the Expedition will also be produced to replace the Excursion and will be named the EL.
