SummerObsession

What is the verdict?
I am trying to find the "perfect" new vehicle. They don't make one.
What makes my decision difficlut is this: We have four small children, haul a 5000+ lb boat, and want to do it all in comfort and style. Gee, I don't want much, do I?
What about the Navigator? Do they haul much?
I have a '02 GMC Denali that does a pretty good job right now, but this is a second vehicle.

FunHome

Man, They are really going to have to do a lot to the Expedition for it to be anything like the "Big X" The one I rode in made me car sick in about 3 min.!!! Also they have to short of a wheelbase to be a great towing vehicle. They are kinda like a 4 Door Tahoe or the 4 door Yukon, and I really don't care for the way they ride either, I guess I'm just use to the longer wheelbase of the Suburban, (Yukon XL)

jr

I've got 3 kids. 7,4,and 3. After having them in the F150 which was the main family vehicle I would never, NEVER have a vehicle that didnt have the third row. EVER. After countless hours of "He's touching me!!!" I would gladly throw down 40 grand for the X. With our lifestyle, some traveling, boat towing, grocery getting with kids, the X was the perfect vehicle. We can go somewhere, separate the kids, tow the boat, and still have room for all the stuff we need. I like the Navigator but as a daily vehicle never. If you go shopping for the family you have to pile the groceries on the back seat because there isn't enough room behind it. Then the kids are back sitting together and fighting. Okay then pull out the back seat. Tell your wife that when you forget to do it for her the night before. Then where do you put it.

In my opinion the Nav is a good weekender for a family of 4. More than that you will always have the back seat in, and everything will go on the roof. I have the PSD 4x4. It tows well, has room for 2 adults and 4 kids all with one seat of space between them, much heavier duty and longer lasting than the Nav. But it does not ride nearly as well with out mods to the suspenion. I would never trade it. The room behind the back seat was the most important factor in our purchase, towing 2nd, ride 3rd. Getem while you can.

HavasuCat

My girlfriend used to drive an Acura, and not only could I not stand to ride in the thing because it was so small, but I feared for her safety should she get into an accident. I have seen to many accidents where the small vehicle loses. I tryed to get her an Excursion but she was to small to drive the thing (5' tall). We ended up getting her a Suburban which is the next best thing. She loves it and I feel better about her driving something safe.

As far as gas mielage is concerned...An Excursion with a PSD will get at least 15, and maybe a little better if speeds are kept down. Not bad for a vehicle of it's size. I got 13.5 towing a 42 tiger in my new F-350 with a PSD.

puder

my major qualm is with people that buy them and dont; haul anything or have a need for a tank of a truck. And where i live that is the case.

Additionally people being kille din elittel cars. I drivea very litle car. And it is safer than most out there. Hell its a 2 seater with 4 airbags. I could drive head first into a tree and probaly survive. But if oen of those suburbans or expedition slammed into me it woudl be over with. Not becasue my car isn't safe but becasue those thigns are just massive.

I think people could drive more smaller and mid sized cars and be safer if there were less huge tanks out there.

If you need to drive it that is fine. Ijust think you shodul be ABLE to drive one. Hence requiring a special liscense. I ride a motorcycle and they require a special liscense for that.

dockrocker

FWIW, I haven't been able to find anything about Ford discontinuing the X on any of these Ford or auto industry related websites:

www.blueovalnews.com
www.f150online.com
www.fordexcursions.com
www.ford-diesel.com

The only thing I've seen is the plans to put the new 6.0 diesel and 5 spd auto in the X for the 2003 model year. Sounds like the dealer has rumoritis...

Frequency

The sales manager at my dealership told me sales were improving, he heard nothing about Ford dropping the Excursion.

Two years ago at an intersection, someone pulled out DIRECTLY in front of us as we were traveling through at about 45 mph. We forced the doors open and walked away from our E150 conversion van with a few scratches and air bag burns. The next day my wife told me to trade in the Ranger pickup. I showed her an F150. She said "Not big enough", hence my F250.

The accident demonstrated for me that the best defensive driving skills won't help you avoid every potential problem. I don't want my family to die from another drivers mistake. My new thinking - if your're going to put yourself right in front of me for no explainable reason - I'm going to win.

SummerObsession

jr: Thanks for the info! I have to agree with you about the 3rd row seat thing. We curently actually have two Denali XL's, and really love them! My biggest problem with the X is the ride. I would be very interested in suspension mods to help with the ride. Also, as aked above, do they make the "No boundaries unlimited" in white? Also, is a tv/dvd player an option? I guess I need to go to my dealer, but sometimes they don't really know much .

Designie

This argument about safety doesn't have much to do with anything. It's America, you're free to buy whatever you want. It's OK to say you want it because it's BIG and it's cool. But to safe they're safe is a little far fetched. Every morning driving down I-696 in Detroit, and I mean EVERY morning, I hear the same thing on the radio: "Rollover accident on I-696 and so and so..." What kind of vehicle do you think rolled over? Until people learn how to really drive instead of strapping themselves in a tank and saying "It's safer", the point is mute.
I'm taking delivery of my General Dynamics M1A1 next week, I hear it earned 5 stars in the crash tests....

jr

Summer..., the suspenion mods I was talking about are different springs, shocks, and a sway bar on the rear. The first problem is that the thing is under sprung. The front continually bounces off the bump stops because there is only about 3/4 to an inch of clearance. These are rubber bumpers that keep the axle from smacking into the frame or anything important. After awhile the springs natually sag and you get close to riding on the stops. Ford won't replace springs unless there is over 3/4" of sag. Then they just re-arch the springs. Putting different springs on it which raises the front end away from the stops gives more suspenion travel it also levels the truck. Then the better shocks control it. And the sway bar on the rear keeps the ass end from swaying around. Some that tow add airbags to the rear to compensate for the sag from the trailer and level the truck back out.

Go to ford-diesel.com and under the PSD Excursion board there is alot of info on what to do and with what parts. But a word of caution, I talked to the dealer about it an it would void my 3/36 warranty and make it 12/12 for the bumper to bumper. So I'll wait. All these things should have been done by Ford from day one.

Designie, looks like we have another Michigan boy, welcome.