2003 Ford Expedition – First Drive Review – Car Hutt Reviews

This spring Ford is launching an expedition into deep space. Settle down, Trekkies, we’re talking inner space here. Specifically, the neutral zone located under the third-row seat of the jumbo-ute Expedition, where a large and unwieldy live axle used to thrash around.

Peace and human habitation have been brought to this sector courtesy of an all-new independent rear suspension. With a rigidly mounted differential (hovering a full 10.5 inches above the road) and axle shafts that run through the frame rails instead of under them, the new, lowered chassis leaves room for a proper seat for three adults. Skeptical?

Relative to the rear seat in Ford’s bread-and-butter Taurus family sedan, the Expedition’s third row offers 3.5 inches more shoulder room, about the same headroom, and just 2.2 inches less legroom. Best of all, that 60/40 split seat now folds flat (electrically, on Eddie Bauer models!) into a floor that is slightly closer to the pavement than before, and the 110.4-cubic-foot cargo capacity nearly equals last year’s 110.7.

That this additional space has been colonized in a truck whose exterior dimensions barely wiggle is impressive. That it occurs in one that weighs a couple hundred more pounds and yet gets similar or better gas mileage borders on science fiction.

The new aluminum-control-arm, coil-spring rear suspension reduces unsprung weight by 110 pounds but adds about 75 pounds to the curb weight. (A ride-height-adjustable, air-spring suspension option will add even more.) The fully independent suspension is damped by new monotube shocks and bolted to a largely hydroformed chassis boasting 70-percent-better torsional rigidity, all of which ought to improve ride quality. A broader stance, standard 17-inch rubber, and a new rack-and-pinion steering system with 29-percent-less friction can be expected to markedly improve steering feel and handling. (Lord knows there’s plenty of room for improvement.) Larger vented disc brakes clamped by calipers that are twice as rigid as before should improve brake feel and performance, and a new brake-assist feature is claimed to shorten panic stops for timid drivers.

The double-five-star NHTSA-crash-rated truck gets side-curtain airbags and seatbelt pretensioners this year, along with available tire-pressure monitoring. The optional AdvanceTrac stability-control system is said to be the first in use with a four-wheel-drive system that locks the front and rear axles together.