The Ford Excursion can last as long as , miles. An Excursion user whose vehicle has lasted for over , miles claims it is still in excellent condition. According to him, your Excursion can last that long with no expensive repair. As we discussed, there will be at least three trim levels. Does it ring a bell? By A. They left no written history, but the ruins of their great pueblos speak eloquently of the abilities and aspirations of these mysterious people. Well, up to a point. Around , these native farmers and builders suddenly abandoned their homes in Canyon de Chelly and other pueblo sites.
Prolonged drought leading to crop failure? Anthropologists have theories. But all anyone knows for sure is what the eyes can see. New for is a pair of jumbo SUVs. GM has slipped an all-new machine under its renowned Suburban nameplate. By lore and legend, this is the Conestoga of the SUVs, a go-anywhere hauler with amazing owner loyalty.
Ford, after years of being marked absent in this class, finally countered this year with a whopper of its own, the Excursion, a machine much reviled by enviros and big-city columnists—for what?
Being seven inches longer than the Suburban? Unquestionably, these are big machines. Too big for canyon questing? We left Phoenix on an April morning while the shadows were still long and arrived miles later with enough daylight to scout the canyon floor from overlooks feet up along the south rim.
At Spider Rock Overlook we spotted a small ruin in a fold on the opposite side, halfway between top and bottom.
For that dweller, the commute home would have been straight up or straight down, and impossible either way. Yet there were the stones set into man-made walls.
Seeing this bruiser of a sport-ute— pounds at the curb—crawling the same quicksand bottoms and climbing the same creek banks as the others confirms its basic off-road competence, but it does not begin to explain how this supersized SUV is different from the others. Highs: Way-up there view from the conning tower, J.
Hunt hauling capacity, long roaming range of the gallon gas tank. The Excursion is truckier. Its sheetmetal and front structure are borrowed from the F-series Super Duty pickup. In this four-wheel-drive version, leaf springs and a Panhard rod locate a massive solid front axle. The Excursion is never carlike. Trucky, too, describes the way the Excursion lumbers through our test-track trials. Stopping from 70 mph takes feet, longest of the group. Road grip, at 0. And We trusted the automatic setting until, after a short stop at Junction Ruin, the rears began digging into the soft sand.
No drive to the fronts. Lows: Loose suspension control, loose body structure, loose regard for directional stability, and the fiscal impact of those gallon fill ups. Still, the Excursion never got stuck, never stopped swallowing more of our gear, and never refused the next challenge. Past White House Ruin—named for the white plaster walls of the upper section, built during the last 50 years of Anasazi residence—the stream cuts deep and narrow.
The banks are abrupt and muddy. What lies unseen beneath the rushing water? But engine braking in four-wheel low holds back this leviathan to creeping speed as it slips into the water. Pongs and sharp clanks resonate from the submerged machinery as the body wallows over unseen rocks. Maybe a loose bushing? Or the hefty anti-roll bar hitting the end of its travel? Something troubling but not fatal, we decide. Faster going brings discomforts as well. The Verdict: Spray it school-bus yellow and watch traffic stop for you.
For passengers, this is the space shuttle, with vast expanses of leg- and headroom in the second row, and footrests angled just right. The bottom line? Highs: Eager agility over cratered roads, adjustable pedals fit all inseam lengths, quiet interior.
The four-wheel-drive system is similar to that of the two GMers, and nearly identical shifting procedures apply. Check seating capacities. Both vehicles offer third row seating. The Excursion has seating capacity for up to nine passengers, while the Ford Expedition comfortably seats eight. Evaluate engines. The Ford Expedition boasts a V-8 engine, which was also standard on the Excursion, but some Excursions have an optional V engine. Consider features.
Since it hasn't been manufactured for years, innovations like rear view cameras, navigation systems and wireless phone technology are not likely to be built-in to an Excursion. Measure it.
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