2022 Ford Expedition Goes Large on Energy and Tech

UPDATE 7/29/22: This assessment has been up to date with take a look at outcomes for the Expedition Timberline mannequin.

Over the course of 4 mannequin years, the current-generation Ford Expedition has gone from one of many full-size SUV section’s latest entrants to one in every of its oldest. With the 2021 redesigns of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, the rebirth of the Jeep Wagoneer for the 2022 mannequin 12 months, and the upcoming arrival of a brand new 2023 Toyota Sequoia, the getting old Expedition now finds itself grouped with the even older Nissan Armada. Reasonably than relaxation on laurels, Ford has totally up to date the Expedition and its prolonged Expedition Max counterpart for 2022, donning it with extra enticing and memorable entrance and rear ends, a contemporary dashboard design, new trim packages, the provision of Ford’s newest infotainment and driver-assist know-how, and barely extra energy.

Expeditious Expedition

A twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 continues to energy each 2022 Expedition. The engine now produces 380 horsepower (5 greater than earlier than) in XL, STX, and XLT trims. Increased-end Restricted, King Ranch, and Platinum fashions get a lift to 400 ponies, which Ford beforehand reserved just for the Platinum. Examine the choice field for the Restricted’s out there Stealth Efficiency bundle or go for the off-road-oriented Timberline trim and the output swells to 440 horsepower, a sum shared with the mechanically similar Lincoln Navigator.

Each the Stealth Efficiency bundle and the Timberline are new to the Expedition lineup for 2022. The previous setup pairs the highest powertrain’s further grunt with model-specific tuning for the suspension and brake pedal, neither of which notably improved the Expedition’s plodding dynamics throughout our drive on the largely straight, flat, and surprisingly closely trafficked two-lane roads round Holly, Michigan.

The boosted V-6 and the usual 10-speed automated transmission gave us little cause to suspect something amiss in regards to the Stealth Efficiency bundle’s straight-line energy. The setup shares the minimal turbo lag and the deluge of low-end torque (its 510 pound-feet of twist peaks at 2250 rpm) of its much less highly effective stablemates. Although the Stealth Efficiency bundle’s suspension updates and accompanying adaptive dampers appear to quell extra physique motions with out noticeably affecting trip high quality, the setup fails to make the Expedition any much less cumbersome. The common model’s 210.0-inch size and gradual, numb steering exacerbate the Expedition’s unwieldy nature in city environments.

Given its $78,070 price of entry (practically $10,000 greater than a base Expedition Restricted), the Stealth Efficiency bundle appears to supply minimal efficiency enhancements for a hefty premium. Admittedly, this sum additionally brings a handful of good-looking styling particulars, together with black-painted 22-inch wheels, black exterior decor, red-painted brake calipers, and pink stitching all through the cabin. However many of those ornamental objects will be had with the easier Stealth bundle, which prices over $5000 much less.

Platinum Blues

We might wager that these available in the market to spend north of $75K on an Expedition ought to look to the $81,345 Platinum mannequin. Moreover ditching the usual analog gauges and 12.0-inch touchscreen infotainment setup for a 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster and a portrait-oriented 15.5-inch touchscreen, the Platinum additionally consists of Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving assistant. Not like the massive screens which are non-obligatory on different Expedition fashions, BlueCruise is a Platinum-exclusive characteristic that enables the driving force to cede management of the automobile on greater than 130,000 miles of divided roads at speeds as much as 80 mph. In apply, the setup carried out as marketed on a brief stretch of I-75. Nonetheless, BlueCruise stays a step behind Basic Motors’ Tremendous Cruise, which permits hands-free driving at larger speeds and, in its newest iteration, performs automated passing maneuvers. (Ford plans so as to add that latter characteristic to BlueCruise by way of an over-the-air replace.)

Potential high-dollar patrons unmoved by BlueCruise’s capabilities might wish to take into account stepping as much as a fancier full-sizer, such because the $78,965 Lincoln Navigator. Whereas the Expedition’s cabin depends on arduous plastics befitting the entry-level $54,200 XL’s base value, the Navigator’s high-quality insides appear and feel like these of a correct luxurious automobile. Whereas the Lincoln’s 13.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system lacks a number of the pizazz of the Ford’s out there show, its panorama orientation and bodily buttons make it far simpler to function on the transfer.

The Expedition’s massive display, alternatively, depends nearly totally on touch-sensitive onscreen buttons that often require a short look to determine, notably the low-mounted climate-control features. After all, sticking to the Expedition’s smaller touchscreen largely eliminates this challenge, because it, just like the Lincoln, employs bodily climate-control and audio switches.

Breaking Path

These bent on shopping for a 440-hp Expedition might wish to set their sights on the brand new $72,245 Timberline mannequin. Ford limits this trail-friendly trim to the standard-wheelbase model and gives it strictly with four-wheel drive (a $3050 further on all different Expeditions). Alongside its distinct styling and decor—beefy entrance and rear bumpers, pink tow hooks, black-painted 18-inch wheels, and inexperienced inside upholstery with contrasting orange stitching—the Timberline features a multitude of {hardware} enhancements that we put to make use of at Holly Oaks ORV Park.

Regardless of its girth, the Timberline clambered over rocks and ruts with little drama, its knobby 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires gripping the path’s dusty floor as F-150 Raptor–sourced skid plates clanked and clanged in opposition to the undulating terrain. Like within the Bronco, a Path Flip Help perform can brake the within rear wheel to assist the Timberline pivot round tight turns. With 10.6 inches of floor clearance plus larger method, departure, and break-over angles—28.5, 23.7, and 21.9 levels, respectively—the Timberline ably ascended and descended massive rock faces that most likely would have hung up its much less succesful siblings. In the meantime, its two-speed switch case and electronically locking rear differential helped this full-size Ford crawl by sand and dust pits with ease. We’re anxious to see how this setup compares to different trail-oriented massive rigs, such because the Tahoe Z71, the Yukon AT4, and the Sequoia TRD Professional.

The Timberline’s off-road gear does few favors for the SUV’s on-road efficiency. These knobby all-terrain tires, which contribute to the Timberline’s off-road prowess, notably hinder its lateral acceleration and braking capabilities. Our 5832-pound take a look at automobile exhibited simply 0.65 g of grip across the skidpad and wanted a pitiful 216 toes to come back to a cease from 70 mph—important downgrades versus the stunning 0.79-g and iffy 196-foot figures we recorded for a 2018 Platinum model on extra street-friendly all-seasons.

Nonetheless, the tall sidewalls of the Timberline’s tires contribute to an appropriately comfortable trip that is complemented by mushy springs that deftly take in any highway irregularities. The chunky tread has little impact on cabin quietness, with our instance producing simply 65 decibels of inside noise at 70 mph—two decibels lower than a six-figure Lincoln Navigator Black Label we just lately examined.

Although the Timberline equipment might negatively have an effect on the Expedition’s dealing with and braking, its impacts on the 440-hp SUV’s straight-line acceleration are minimal: Runs to 60 mph take simply 5.1 seconds, and accelerating from 50 to 70 mph is completed in 3.9 seconds. For reference, the aforementioned 2018 Expedition Platinum wanted 5.7 seconds to achieve 60 mph, and a equally hefty 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 geared up with a 355-hp 5.3-liter V-8 required 7.5 seconds.

Whereas the 2022 Ford Expedition is now not the younger gun within the section, its revised seems to be, further energy, further trim packages, and out there hands-free driving tech definitely improve its attraction, even when its trucklike driving traits and middling inside supplies stay. In a extremely aggressive section, Ford’s full-size SUV stays solidly succesful and has even discovered just a few new methods.

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