Words and photos by Perry Mack
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Expedition Max provides extra length for all your gear
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Expedition Tremor A
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Expedition Platinum
Occasionally when you miss a turn onto your destination, you benefit from the experience. This is what happened on our test of the new 2025 Ford Expedition. Ford has produced the first ever Expedition Tremor for adventurous families. The Expedition three row SUV designed to go anywhere in the outdoors and yet provide a refined ride for urban commuting. Returning to our missed turn, the GPS instantly rerouted us to a nearby alternate route. After our first turn, things got interesting. We passed the ‘No Exit’ sign in a blur of black and yellow. However, the GPS showed a clear route through to our destination. GPS has been wrong before. We glided over the pavement until it became a two-lane gravel road.
This was an excellent opportunity to feel the suspension work in less-than-ideal circumstances. Several more warning signs were difficult to read as we sped up, testing the handling while a cloud of dust and gravel chased us. Then two lanes became a forested single-lane trail. The reason for the warning signs became apparent as the forest closed in on all sides. Branches reached out to come within inches of the Expedition. Then gravel became small rocks and the trail before us rose up becoming a washboard hill. We could feel traction control engage.
A reasonable drive team would slow down. Washboard tends to vibrate the suspension more quickly than it can react, causing a loss of steering control. But we felt good. We were grinning ear to ear as the cloud of dust relentlessly pursued. Then the smiling ended. We were back on pavement. Excellent off-road performance in the Expedition’s luxury Platinum trim, not the off-road specific Expedition Tremor. We’ve saved our Expedition Tremor review until the end. For us, this is saving the best for last.
The Expedition fills a uniquely Canadian niche in that it’s designed for families who live big lives, especially outdoors. From big gear events like hockey practice, to hauling the boat to the lake, to long hauls pulling a trailer. This SUV proved to us it could entertain every member in every seat of the family with onboard technology, smart design features for tailgating and camping, seductive comfort, confident performance in severe weather and road conditions, with handling and safety features that declare the owner is conscientious transporter of precious cargo.
We understand that this is the boldest of bold statements, and we didn’t love every detail in design and function, but we’ll describe those as well.
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Expedition centre dash for entertainment.
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Expedition centre dash for information.
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Expedition centre dash for driver assist, climate control and more.
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Expedition key features and benefits for the family.
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Expedition Flex Powered Console.
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Expedition eyes up dash display.
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Expedition Rear Passenger device mount.
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Expedition power ports for second row passenger devices
Sliding in behind the driver’s seat there’s a lot to attract the eye. Above the steering wheel, close to the windshield, is a 24” long screen. The clear sharp display provides all the important driving information in a way that allows you to keep your head up and easily switch from eyes on the road to eyes on information, including navigation and driver aids. In the centre stack is a 13.2” rectangular screen with access to a host of navigation, media, interior/exterior lighting and climate controls. There are still some key tactile controls, but they are minimal, creating a clear uncluttered dash. It would be boring if not for the designers’ use of an elegant mixture of textures and materials.
The flattened steering wheel is one of the design features we don’t love. It may just require getting used to but our initial reaction after spending six hours behind the wheel is we would prefer a simple round wheel. Letting the wheel spin to centre after a turn has the irregular shape bumping into your hands.
More positively is the Flex Powered Console between the front seats, which has the required charging ports, wireless charging, cup holders, organizing trays and best of all, a hidden, locking storage compartment. Slide the armrest to the rear to expose the charging station, slide it forward against the dash to create an invisible, locked space for your valuables when you leave and lock the vehicle.
The rear seats can keep passengers occupied for hours with their own charging ports and newly designed device holders built into the back of the front seats.
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Expedition cargo area can power most electrical devices from tablets to coolers and TVs.
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Expedition controls for seat folding in the cargo area.
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Expedition is ready for tailgating parties with the Cargo Tailgate Manager.
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Expedition lower tailgate up lets you load the cargo area easily like a pickup truck.
Moving outside to the back is where the Expedition shines with advanced functional design. The new Ford Split Gate opens with a 2/3 upper and 1/3 lower. The reduced upper section allows it to clear trailered boats more easily as well as protruding power RV legs when it is raised while simultaneously giving the owner more room to slide between truck and towed. The bottom can open at the same time or remain up like a pickup truck tailgate. Load the cargo area without worrying about the coffee cream falling from your Costco bag or watermelon hitting the pavement. You can open it with your fob, but if your hands are full just stand at the tailgate for a few moments and the Expedition will recognize your fob and open it for you.
We’re all used to cargo screens that hide the contents, but Ford designers have taken this two steps further. The Cargo Tailgate Manager is a hard bifold screen, which can create a shelf to store essentials while parked, and folds to create a tailgate seat back when the lower gate is open. The weight rating of 500 lbs seems more than adequate, and yes, we tested it! Using this space in the dark wouldn’t be easy so there are also lights in the upper gate. In fact, there are four exterior lighting zones to illuminate your camping or tailgating adventure.
We’ve owned a few SUVs in the past including a Jeep Sahara, Nissan Murano, GMC Suburban, Isuzu Rodeo and Ford Explorer. In all cases including the Suburban loading long objects involved lowering folding seats (often from the rear doors), losing much of the rear seating in the process. The new Expedition is purposefully designed so the seats can be lowered from the rear hatch in various configurations with a passthrough space in the first row. You’re now able to effortlessly slide lumber, skis, kayaks, paddle boards etc. on the floor through the entire interior length. Choose the longer Expedition Max to get an extra 11.8 inches.
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Expedition well equipped to confidently handle trailering.
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Expedition easy access hidden hitch cover.
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Expedition Pro Trailer Hitch Assist backs up hands free for the perfect hitch to ball alignment.
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Expedition Pro Trailer Backup Assist makes backing up a trailer as easy as turning a dial under your right hand.
Towing is made easy with the 4x4 Expedition models offering a max of 9,600 pounds when properly equipped with the standard Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package. As with all max tow figures, this max amount is reduced depending by the options you choose and the amount of people and cargo you have on board.
Ease of trailering is an essential objective and there is a suite of hitch features that will calm the novice and amaze the expert. Engage the new Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and by using the rear and side view cameras the Expedition will locate the trailer hitch and stop when the vehicle ball is directly below the hitch in the proper location. An existing feature is the Pro Trailer Backup Assist. Rather than using the steering wheel to backup your RV or boat, engage this feature to use a centre console knob to steer. Rather than the unintuitive requirement to turn the wheel in the opposite direction you need the trailer to go, sometimes wildly swinging your arms around correcting your overcorrections, simply turn the knob in the direction you wish to go while slowly backing up.
Our Blackrock 28RKS trailer required antisway stabilizing arms to maintain control. They are heavy and require experience and patience to install each trip. This is still a requirement depending on the size of your trailer. However, if your load qualifies, improved stabilization is achieved with the Expeditions’ CCD (Continuous Control Dampening). Your car’s suspension, body, steering, and braking movement data is analyzed every two milliseconds. The truck’s computer assesses the adjustment required in each corner independently to maintain a stabile drive experience. We had the opportunity to tow a 25’ Yamaha AR250 boat and trailer with a combined weight of 5800 lbs. Accelerating from a stop was a powerful surefooted experience. Passenger Ford employee eyes went wide as I swerved back and forth across the two lanes of private road. One of the dangers in towing is the tail wagging the dog. A lack of stabilization (among other conditions) between the trailer and tow vehicle can cause a catastrophic loss of control. Naturally we didn’t push our rig that far, just enough to see if there was a sign of fishtailing, and there wasn’t.
Another feature which we enjoy in our motorcoach is the side view cameras built into the side mirrors that appear when the turn signal is engaged. The same safety feature is available in the Expedition. Changing lanes with a trailer in tow requires extra care. Checking the mirror and side camera gives you the confidence to have the time and space for a safe lane change. Driving north on the 400 from Toronto, we were regularly passed on both sides by vehicles travelling far, far above the speed limit. Using the turn signal to activate the side cameras gave us an opportunity to see who might be approaching at an excessive speed before they momentarily passed through our blind spot as we changed lanes.
Relaxed trailering also requires a power train with sufficient power and torque. Choose from the standard 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, which produces 400 horsepower with 480 lb-ft torque or a high-output 440-horsepower with 510 lb-ft torque version that is available on select trims.
Circling back to the technology we found a number of Ford features we’ve seen before. They are worth mentioning if you are considering the new Expedition and haven’t owned a late model Ford. The available Phone-As-A-Key feature lets you turn your phone into a key fob using the available FordPass® app. Find your vehicle, control the windows & tailgate, or activate the horn and lights. We are iPhone owners, so we appreciate the ability to use Apple Maps and other third-party navigation software. Ford equips Android Auto, which offers Google Assistant™ while driving your vehicle and provides access to mobile features and apps, such as on-screen navigation, text messaging, and more via your in-vehicle display.
Ford Co-Pilot360® offers driver-assist technology including Lane-Keeping System, Hill Descent Control™, BLIS® With Cross Traffic Alert and BLIS With Trailer Coverage, which alerts you to vehicles in your blind spots and detects traffic in the lanes beside what you’re towing.
Adaptive Cruise Control will slow down your vehicle as needed when catching up to slower vehicles ahead, Auto High-Beam Headlamps switch on to light the road when necessary.
The 2025 Expedition offers the latest version of Ford BlueCruise. It’s a hands-free highway driving aid that lets drivers set their speed and keeps them in their lane. It worked well on clearly marked four lane highways like Hwy 400 but constantly required our intervention on smaller roads and highways, especially those without shoulders. Tapping the turn signal engages Lane Change Assist for a hands-free lane change, and In-Lane Repositioning makes small adjustments to move away from vehicles in adjacent lanes. We would like to clarify that BlueCruise is not autonomous driving software.
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Expedition Tremor.
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Expedition Tremor front facing camera shows a turn at the top of hill invisible to the driver.
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Expedition Tremor Orange Fog light bay and Orange Tow hooks.
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Expedition Tremor Trail Turn Assist brakes the rear tire inside the turn to dramatically reduce the turn radius in soft terrain. Just like Ford Bronco.
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Expedition Tremors rear locker gives 100% traction with only one wheel on the ground.
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Expedition Tremor front facing camera lets drivers see the road even when the windshield sees only sky.
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Expedition Tremor with one pedal drive helps to gently clear fallen logs.
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Expedition Tremor with 7 skid plates when rock crawling is necessary.
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Expedition Tremor has Raptor style running boards to clear water, mud and debris.
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Expedition Tremor orange in the wheel highlights the valve stem location.
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Expedition Tremor gets additional embroidery and contrast stitching. The panoramic roof brings the outside to life.
The Expedition Tremor deserves special attention. This the offroad version with not only cosmetic enhancements but also engineering enhancements taken from Ford’s most accomplished and globally recognized offroad trucks, the Ford Raptor and Bronco. Drivers might not intend to drive in challenging conditions but as our story began, sometimes you just find yourself there and the only way forward is through. We were given the opportunity to test the offroad prowess of the Expedition Tremor on a closed test course. A course which provided ample opportunity to test the veracity of the seven skid plates, also called bash plates. The front facing camera is a feature that every off-roader appreciates. The ability to see the terrain to pick the best line through a rock garden, see turns and obstacles as you’re cresting a hill, and choosing the timing of overcoming approaching obstacles.
The side mounted tire cameras fulfill some of the same roles especially when driving over obstacles on the trail. The rear e-locker is an invaluable traction aid. Undulating terrain can lift a drive wheel, or loose sand or mud can frustrate the tires’ ability to grip and move drivers forward. Tight switchbacks are a fact of life when hills or mountains are involved. The Expedition is not a small vehicle with a short wheelbase, but Trail Turn Assist can reduce or eliminate the need for three point turns by dramatically reducing the turn radius.
Trail one-pedal drive is essential for the uninitiated offroad drivers. Professional and accomplished amateurs can driver two pedals (left foot on the brake and right foot on the gas) to accurately surmount obstacles like logs and rocks where hard landings can be avoided by braking as you crest the obstacle. With one-pedal control, depressing the gas moves you forward and off the gas applies the brake.
Trail control lets a driver set a speed between 1 and 20 mph. This helps when navigating an obstacle like a rock garden. With the speed set regardless of how the trail changes, the driver can focus on steering to find the best line through an obstacle like this.
Not all the features we’ve discussed are standard, however even the ‘base model’ Expedition is very well-equipped. Overall, we heartily enjoyed, and were impressed by the new Ford Expedition. It’s a vehicle that is eager and capable enough to fulfill you and your families’ needs for years. We’ve always believed you should be proud of what you own, and we would certainly feel this way with an Expedition in our driveway.