2015 Ford Expediton: EcoBoost To The Future

How do you take something old and make it new again?  If you're Ford, you stuff as much high tech equipment inside the 2015 Ford Expedition as possible in a bid to keep the full-size SUV relevant in a world where crossovers have eaten away almost entirely at a people moving market that was once dominated by traditional utility options.  And you know what?  It works, as the decision to invest in the body-on-frame hauler has given it a new lease on life and transformed it from near-dinosaur to viable do-anything driver.  I had the chance to spend a morning with the 2015 Ford Expedition on the twisty mountain roads of West Virginia and became intimately acquainted with just how much effort the Blue Oval has spent modernizing its flagship SUV.

The More Things Change

The biggest difference between the 2015 Ford Expedition and the outgoing model can be found under the hood, where last year's ancient 5.4-litre V8 - a motor you can't even get with the F-Series pickup anymore - has been replaced by a 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6.  Not only does the twin-turbo six-cylinder deliver considerably more power compared to the now-departed V8 (365 horses and 420 lb-ft compared to 310 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque), but it's also that much more frugal, with Ford claiming a 15 percent improvement in fuel consumption over the 2014 edition of the Expedition (official numbers have yet to be released).

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Buyers will also be able to coddle themselves via an optional continuously-variable damping system that makes its first appearance in the Expedition for 2015.  Cribbed from the Lincoln Navigator, which shares the same platform, it allows Ford drivers to select between Normal, Sport, and Comfort suspension settings as the vehicle automatically adjusts shock response to best handle the terrain at hand.  Comfort definitely eases up on the transmission of vibration through the Expedition's chassis, although the Sport setting is somewhat optimistically named - this is a big vehicle that never lets you forget just mow much it weighs.

Not everything new sits under the 2015 Ford Expedition's skin, as the SUV gains the latest edition of the MyFord Touch with SYNC vehicle interface, offering a modern touchscreen at the top of the center stack that is complimented by two configurable LCD screens nestled into the gauge cluster.  The Platinum trim, a high-level luxury offering familiar to those shopping the F-Series pickups, also now becomes available for the Expedition, bringing with it copious amounts of leather, enhanced sound proofing, and ambient interior lighting.  Retractable running boards, and a push-button starter round out the SUV's new features.

The More They Stay The Same

It's important to note that the 2015 Ford Expedition remains just as practical and rugged as ever, maintaining its available eight passenger capacity as well as offering the choice between either a 190.4-cm wheelbase or a longer 209.6-cm edition.  The latter dwarfs the competition from General Motors (specifically, the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL) by way of its 3703 litres of total cargo space with the rear rows folded out of the picture.

Also along for the ride is a six-speed automatic transmission, standard low-range four-wheel drive, and the Expedition's independent rear suspension, another area where it pulls ahead of its cross-Detroit rivals.  The setup gives the truck not only the fold-flat load floor necessary to boast such impressive amounts of interior storage, but also plants it more comfortably in corners and perfectly complements the vehicle's optional adaptive suspension system.  The SUV's towing capacity - a function of both its strong chassis and powerful EcoBoost engine - continues to meet the needs of all but commercial buyers with a rating of 4,200 kilograms.

A Dying Breed?

Despite a tweaked front end and a few other minor changes to its sheet metal, the 2015 Ford Expedition looks very much like the model that it replaces.  This isn't a bad thing, as the traditional buyer who's interested in a huge, highly-capable vehicle is likely to be charmed by its conservative, box-like shape.  At the same time, the modernization of the now-EcoBoosted Expedition reveals the limitations associated with its body-on-frame platform: this is probably the best version of the truck that we'll ever see.

There's really nowhere else to push the full-size SUV, and while sales of the Expedition and the few other options in the class have never been strong in Canada, they continue to be profit centers for automakers who can move premium editions at a significant mark-up to buyers who can't find this kind of towing or hauling capability outside of a similarly-large pickup.  We might be arriving at the end of an era, but there's no denying that the 2015 Ford Expedition is getting a proper send-off.