The Ford Expedition has won Kelley Blue Book’s Best Buy Award in the full-size SUV class for seven consecutive years. It strikes a balance between serious comfort and serious performance, including true off-road driving performance and excellent towing capacity.
However, the current model has been on sale for seven years. It faces off against GM’s rivals, the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Yukon, all of which have received significant updates for the 2025 model year. Ford knows it needs answers.
Introducing the 2025 Ford Expedition with new technology interfaces, an off-road Tremor model, and a new split liftgate. Ford has not disclosed pricing. Pricing for the 2024 model at dealers now starts at just under $60,000, with prices rising to the mid-$80,000s.
Carryover powertrain – so far
When Ford’s Lincoln luxury division updated its Navigator full-size SUV for 2025, it kept the powertrain and chassis the same, but redesigned the body and interior.
So far, we’re seeing the same approach with Expeditions. That means a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that makes 400 horsepower in base form and 440 horsepower in the high-output tune. The new Tremor trim comes standard with a high-output version, but that engine is optional on other trims.
It is offered with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive (RWD or 4WD) with a 10-speed automatic transmission. There’s no word yet on hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric versions of the Expedition, but a Ford representative responded with a sly smile and responded to the obvious question by saying, “We’re talking about future products. “I can’t comment,” was the standard response.
Reshape without fundamental changes
Designers have widened the grille, but the bottom edge arches upwards to keep it from looking too big. It’s tempting to say it has a friendly, slight smile framed by thin LEDs shaped like brackets. These are also gently curved, softening the look a bit from the way Ford runs it on its trucks.
The split liftgate, which folds three-quarters and folds one-quarter like a truck tailgate, is new and shared with the Navigator. The folding third-row seat “converts to turn the tailgate into a serving table, and the cargo area’s power outlets are at arm’s length,” Ford said.
A new approach to interiors and screens
Ford’s Lincoln luxury division is taking a radical new approach to in-vehicle screens for 2025. Expedition borrowed ideas from the theme, but the execution was half-hearted.
A 24-inch panoramic display screen sits in front of the driver and extends towards the center of the car. It is mounted far away and high near the base of the windshield. This keeps it within the driver’s field of vision, eliminating the need to look down from the roadway to see turn-by-turn directions or check speed. It’s not a touchscreen, so it’s too far away to touch.
Ford says the nearly square steering wheel “allows your eyes to look over the steering wheel, rather than through it.”
It’s operated by a small touchscreen mounted on the center stack that you’re used to seeing.
We tested a similar setup in the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus, and that car’s high-mounted screen extends almost door-to-door. Expedition’s is much smaller.
With Lincoln, setup is intuitive and effective. We need to test whether Expedition works as well on a smaller scale.
If you want to use voice commands, you can choose a voice assistant. It has Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa built-in. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring are standard.
The all-new Ford Connectivity Package adds “Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, the ability to seamlessly use Google Play apps, and embedded Google Maps.” The system can handle up to 10 connected devices simultaneously, up to 50 feet away from the vehicle. However, it comes at a cost. Ford says buyers can bundle the subscription into their purchase price or accept a one-year free trial and then pay annually.
As for subscriptions, Ford’s award-winning BlueCruise hands-free highway driving assistance system will be “activatable” with a 90-day free plan.
Second-row passengers have a built-in device holder that “securely secures nearly any digital device, from standard smartphones to extra-large tablets.”
tremor model
Ford will discontinue the Timberline Off-Road Expedition in 2025 and introduce the higher-performance Tremor model.
“10.6 inches of ground clearance is better than any other vehicle in the full-size SUV segment,” Ford says. It is equipped with 33-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires.
Engineers retuned the suspension and electric power-assisted steering system for the trail and gave it “Raptor-style running boards and a front skid plate.”
You can spot the Tremor thanks to badges and exterior trim finished in a color that Ford calls “Electric Space Orange” and others call yellow. The same shade adorns the inner stitching and colors the Tremor logo on the front seats.
We’ve long admired Expedition’s excellent balance of family-friendly space and work ethic. The Chevrolet Tahoe tends to outperform it with the help of fleet buyers, but the Expedition may be a better option for many individual buyers. The 2025 model’s unique interface could make it even more effective if it works as well on a small screen as Lincoln’s movie theater-sized setup.
I’m looking forward to testing so I can be sure to let you know.
