LOUISVILLE, KY – The timing couldn’t be much better for the 2025 Ford Expedition.
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced there would be an array of tariffs on imported products, including a 25% tariff on imported automobiles.
On April 3, Ford Motor Co. announced its “From America. For America,” its employee-pricing-for-all program originally to run until June 2 but now extended to July 4.
On April 30, Ford launched the all-new Expedition at the Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP), an 8,800-person (hourly) strong plant that received a $500 million infusion to build the latest generation of the fullsize SUV.
There should be little surprise that when Ford initiated production, it used the slogan “From Kentucky. For America.” But it is worth noting that there’s a lot of other American content in the vehicle, with components coming from nine other Ford plants in four other states, including stamping plants in Buffalo, NY, and Chicago.
What’s more, with four new Expedition models – Active, Platinum, Tremor (pictured, below) and King Ranch – ranging from $62,000 to $83,655 to start, that employee pricing will undoubtedly help at the dealerships.
This Is What “Fullsize” Means
The Expedition, now in its fifth generation, remains huge. The 3-row vehicle, which can seat up to eight, is 209.9 ins. (5,330 mm) long, 78.1 ins. (1,980 mm) tall, 79.9 ins. (2,033 mm) wide, and has a 122.5-in. (3,110-mm) wheelbase. The passenger volume is a family-room-like 171.8 cu. ft. (4,865 L), and if you leave everyone at home and fold the second and third rows, there’s 108.5 cu. ft. (3,072 L) feet of cargo volume.
Although the body panels are aluminum for purposes of weight savings, a 2-wheel-drive Expedition has a base curb weight of 5,404 lbs. (2,451 kg) and the 4-wheel-drive model is 5,668 lbs. (2,571 kg).
The 2025 Expedition offers two powertrain choices, both 3.5L twin-EcoBoost V-6s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. The standard engine produces 400 hp at 5,000 rpm and 480 lb.-ft. (651 Nm) of torque at 3,300 rpm and the “high-output” version churns out 440 hp at 5,400 rpm and 510 lb.-ft. (691 Nm) of torque at 3,300 rpm. Both engines are impressive, with nothing lost with the less-powerful V-6. It and the 440-hp version handle the freeways with elevation changes and two-lane roads that curved through the countryside in northern Kentucky without so much as a wheeze.
There can’t be a credible vehicle in this category that lacks towing chops, so campers and boaters will be happy to hear the 2025 Expedition handles up to 9,600 lbs. (4,354 kg).
Tackling Tough Trails
Another word about performance:
While most of the time Expeditions are going to be used for daily excursions and family road trips, the Tremor trim is engineered for off-roading as well as those sedate daily drives. There are skid plates, ordinarily found on things like the rough-and-tumble Raptor, front and rear. The Tremor grade also has 18-in. wheels with an orange-colored (“Electric Spice”) pocket indicating where the valve stem is for inflating and deflating tires as conditions warrant.
The Tremor also has a 3.73 electronic locking rear differential and a heavy-duty engine radiator, and a suspension tuned to ride higher and with premium passive shocks. Intelligent 4WD with a terrain management system and a Trail Control feature that allows one-pedal driving (apply the brakes as needed) and Trail Turn Assist (the electronic power steering is adjusted to make tighter turns) round out its equipment list.
We took a Tremor to the Interlake State Recreation Area in Warrick County, IN, where there are 3,500 acres (1,416 ha) with an array of off-road trails. The vehicle manages the obstacles with authority, and despite tight turns between trees and rocks, the Trail Turn Assist operates as advertised, tackling the puddles turned into ponds and lagoons by a prior day’s rain.
Inside Execution
The interior of the new Expedition – just named a 2025 Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX winner – starts with cloth on the seating surfaces for the entry Active model, then immediately goes to leather for the remaining three grades. Wards 10 Best judges evaluated the white-and-black Premium grade and found it luxurious and comfortable, as well as highly user-friendly in terms of technology and features.
Ford has been working with Google to bring to its vehicles the “Ford Digital Experience.” While there are familiar things like Google Maps for the navigation system, Ford designers have adjusted the graphic presentation, so visuals differ from other OEMs using Google’s Android OS.
On the instrument panel, a 24-in. (61-cm) panoramic display that provides information generally found in a gauge cluster (e.g., speed, fuel), as well as ancillary information (e.g., navigation, music). It is positioned on top of the IP such that the driver keeps eyes forward. In effect, it not only makes a head-up display irrelevant but also provides more information in graphically sharp colors.
That display is supplemented by a 13.2-in. (33.5-cm) display in the center stack, used for controlling navigation, audio and HVAC systems (pictured, above) (Yes, there is a physical volume knob directly below the screen).
The Expedition is equipped with Blue Cruise 1.4 hands-free driving capability. This version of the system includes new motion control that provides enhanced in-lane stability (which proved its value while sharing I-64 with an array of semis).
Two Clever Approaches
But what’s more interesting are the screens that aren’t there.
Ford is offering a digital device holder that’s mounted to the backs of the headrests of the front-row seats (pictured, below). As this is a family vehicle and as members of the family who sit in the second row undoubtedly have their own screens, this device is engineered such that it can grip phones and even pads.
A clever design on the exterior that facilitates use on the interior is the “Split Gate” tailgate (pictured, below). The upper three quarters, including the backlight, operates like a traditional SUV tailgate. The lower quarter is more like a pickup tailgate, as it folds down. This configuration lends itself to a variety of things, like a cargo management system that essentially allows shelving in the back or a backrest that provides vertical support to someone who sits on the top of the lower quarter, such as in a literal tailgating situation.
