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AUTO REVIEW AUTO REVIEW

2021 Ford Expedition King Ranch

By Stephen Schutz, MD

General Motors announced recently that they intend to stop pro- was scared but completely unharmed. Thank you “big metal vehicle”
ducing vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035. Since and thank you Ford.
electric cars are “The Future”, it wouldn’t surprise me if other man- Nevertheless, the exterior design of the Expedition is uninspiring.
ufacturers including Ford made similar announcements soon. While the F150 upon which the Expedition is based looks unequiv-
I’m no Luddite, but I still don’t get it. Battery electric vehicles ocally cool, no matter the version the Expedition seems to have been
(BEVs) are less than 2% of the US market, about the same as five styled tentatively. It’s not ugly, to be sure, but it isn’t cool either.
years ago, and sleek new offerings from Audi and Porsche have yet Given its raison d’etre—carry kids, dogs, and parents/grandparents
to move the needle. So far the dogs aren’t eating the dog food. to the soccer/lacrosse/ballet event comfortably and safely—that’s
What are the dogs eating? Full size pickups and SUVs for one not surprising, but I wish it looked as good as GM’s new full size
thing, all with internal combustion engines, and many built, ironi- SUVs do.
cally, by GM. I drove one non-GM example recently, the Ford Ex- The interior of the Expedition, predictably, looks a lot like the
pedition, and was reminded of why these big brutes are much more F-150’s. The plastics and other materials are well considered, and,
popular than any BEV. in the better optioned models like my King Ranch press car, very
Consider who buys an Expedition. It’s usually a 40-ish mom or nice. No, the interior of an Expedition will not make you think
dad with 2-3 kids who uses their big Ford to ferry their progeny you’re in a Mercedes or Range Rover, but it’s inviting and comfort-
hither and yon along with sports gear, friends/teammates, and a dog able nevertheless.
or two, doing all they can to raise what they hope will one day be All Expeditions come with a turbocharged EcoBoost 3.5L V6
productive and happy adults. Reaching that (laudable) goal generally mated with a smooth 10-sp automatic transmission. Fuel economy
involves driving a spacious vehicle thousands of miles around home, is 17MPG city/24 highway, and horsepower is 375 for most versions
in addition to many road trips to soccer (or whatever) tournaments and 400 for the King Ranch and Platinum. While Expeditions start
and family vacations. And doing all that is exactly where the Expe- at just over $50,000, my loaded King Ranch tester came in at around
dition excels. It handles all of the transportation needs you and your $75,000, and I would guess that the average transaction price for all
family might have, not just some. models is in the $60-65,000 range (Ford considers both the King
It is undeniably big. Measuring around 16ft long x 6ft wide and Ranch and Platinum editions to be equivalent, with the former
6.5ft tall, the Expedition can carry pretty much anything a family of aimed at rural buyers while the latter is intended for urban cus-
five might need to haul. Neither driving pleasure nor parking ease is tomers).
happening in an Expedition (please don’t act surprised), but the abil- I accept that the future belongs to BEVs, but I also know that the
ity to see above traffic and cruise serenely on the highway definitely present belongs to internal combustion engined vehicles like the Ex-
are. And let’s be honest for a sec here: when you’re a stressed parent pedition. It may be big and thirsty, but the Expedition fits into and
who has to go from school to ballet to baseball to (OMG where is helps the lives of many Americans. I don’t expect it to go away any
it, I’m already late?!!) some pizza place in Boerne, having a Ford Ex- time soon.
pedition to drive there is a good thing.
An Expedition is safe too. As noted above, it’s a large vehicle and As always, call Phil Hornbeak, the Auto Program Manager at
heavy too, weighing in at roughly 5400lbs. That means that the like- BCMS (210-301-4367), for your best deal on any new car or truck
lihood that you and your children survive a serious crash is high, brand. Phil can also connect you to preferred financing and lease
which matters to any parent (or grandparent). rates.
A quick aside. Years ago, a friend and I were driving on I-10 just
outside of San Antonio when we spotted an Expedition going the Stephen Schutz, MD, is a board-certified gastroenterol-
other way weaving erratically. As we watched horrified, it suddenly ogist who lived in San Antonio in the 1990s when he was
drove into the median and rolled over and over many times. Since stationed here in the US Air Force. He has been writing
we’re both physicians, we immediately turned around and ran over auto reviews for San Antonio Medicine since 1995.
to help. Inside the crushed cabin was a wide-eyed young woman who

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