For the first time in years, General Motors has lost its monopoly on full-size 4-door sport/utility vehicles. The Suburban, sold in nearly identical guise by both Chevrolet and GMC dealers, nearly had the market to itself after International Harvester dropped the Travelall in the late 70s. Jeep soldiered on with the Grand Wagoneer until finally euthanizing it in 1991. Deciding on a full-size 4-door SUV in the early 90s was easy. The Suburban was the only choice; all buyers had to do was determine whether they preferred the egg-crate bow-tied grille of the Chevy edition, or the gape-mouthed GMC grille with big red block lettering.

By 1995, it became clear that the exploding sport/utility market could support a vehicle larger than a Blazer but smaller than a Suburban. General Motors expanded its powerful empire with the addition of the Tahoe and Yukon 4-door models. Based on the same platform as the Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon were appreciably shorter and slightly less-expensive than their bigger brother. They carried a maximum of 6 passengers, huge amounts of cargo, and best of all, they fit in most garages. Plant capacity couldn't meet consumer demand, and consequent shortages forced prices through the roof as dealers gouged customers for the few Tahoes and Yukons they were able to stock.

Ford Motor Company is current king of the compact sport/utility market. Ford sells hundreds of thousands of units more of the Explorer annually than its closest competitor, Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Explorer is popular because it offers almost all compact sport/utility shoppers almost all of the attributes buyers desire in a compact SUV. The Explorer is big inside, easy to drive, and safe. With the introduction of a powerful new overhead cam V-6 for 1997, the Explorer will no doubt remain at the top of the sales charts.

The success of the Explorer, F-Series pickup, and to a lesser extent, the Ranger, has given Ford reason to believe that trucks will continue to drive sales for the future. The Expedition is based on the new Ford F-Series platform, and is sized midway between Chevy's Tahoe and the Suburban. With the Expedition, Ford is attempting to bridge the gap between those who desire a vehicle that can be stored in a garage and those who require seating for as many as 9 passengers. The Expedition is designed to appeal to buyers who might otherwise shop for a Tahoe or Suburban, as well as those who might consider a top-of-the-line all-wheel drive minivan like the Chrysler Town & Country or Mazda MPV All Sport.

The most obvious difference between the Expedition and the Tahoe is size. The Expedition sits higher, has more interior room, and is slightly longer. Getting into the Expedition is more difficult for front seat passengers; rear seat entry/exit is hampered by height with the Ford, while the Chevy's small rear portal openings require some contortion to squeeze in. Most Expedition buyers who opt for a third seat will likely it, and with the seat stored in the garage, the Expedition offers a voluminous cargo hold. The Tahoe, which doesn't offer a bulky third seat, also provides travelers with large amounts of cargo space. Skip the third seat option. We're of the mind that if you need a 9 passenger SUV, you need to buy a Suburban, which can actually carry stuff in the back when all seats are installed and upright.

Once aboard, Expedition passengers will be more comfortable, at least until the truck starts moving. Seats front and rear are firm, supportive, and comfortable. Limit the third seat to kiddies only, thanks to a severe lack of leg and foot room. Our test Chevy offered flat buckets that provided little lateral support, and rear seat leg and foot room wasn't as generous in the Tahoe. That's not to say it was lacking, however. Rear passengers have more than enough room to remain comfortable over the long haul. Visibility is better from the Chevy's front seat, providing a clear view of the expansive hood and unobstructed rear views. The sculpted and squared-off hood provides drivers with clear points of reference for parking. On the other hand, the Expedition is difficult to wield in urban settings, with thicker pillars, rear seat headrests, and a sloping hood whose corners are invisible from the driver's seat. Visibility problems, accompanied by larger dimensions and a higher ride height, make the Expedition more difficult to park.

Both trucks are competent urban cruisers. The Tahoe is powered by a pushrod, 255-horsepower, Vortec 5700 V-8 engine that makes gobs of low-end torque. Adolescent fun can be had on suburban streets with this motor, which lights up the inside rear tire with little provocation in right turns. Punch the accelerator, and the Tahoe flat out hauls the mail. On the highway, the V-8 feels winded, but still serves up adequate passing power in most situations. Ford dropped a 5.4-liter overhead cam V-8 into our Eddie Bauer test vehicle. This engine makes 230 horsepower at lower rpm than the Chevy engine, but develops less torque than the Chevy, and at higher rpm. This means that the heavier Expedition feels more sluggish under acceleration, and you can forget smoky burnouts with the Ford. However, the Ford can tow 1,500 pounds more than the Chevy, so those with trailers should take note. The 5.4-liter V-8 is optional on the Expedition; the Vortec 5700 V-8 is standard on the Tahoe.

Most urban pavement is pockmarked, broken, potholed, or otherwise damaged by the ravages of Mother Nature and traffic volume. The softly suspended Tahoe soaks up these irregularities much better than the stiffly sprung and occasionally jarring Expedition. Steering is rather numb on the Chevy though, while the Ford provides excellent feedback and immediate response to driver input. Brake pedal feel is superior on the Ford; the Tahoe's pedal feels mushy, and the brakes don't engage until it has traveled half the distance to the floor. For the uninitiated, this trait is unnerving, particularly when approaching an intersection filled with rapidly moving cross-traffic.

Hit the highway, and the Chevy is obviously the superior interstate gobbler. Sounds strange, we know, but the Chevy has an on-center dead spot in the steering that makes for effortless highway travel. The responsive steering in the Expedition is great around town, but on the expressway the slightest movement of the steering wheel translates into a slight change of vehicle direction. At 75 mph in a crosswind, this feels unnerving to passengers who already feel that the Expedition is rather top-heavy and therefore less stable. Driving the Expedition on the highway is a chore because it requires constant direction corrections. The stiff suspension certainly doesn't contribute much to passenger comfort, either. The Tahoe requires little driver input to be kept in a straight line, and the softer suspension setup keeps pavement patch and expansion joints isolated from occupants.

Off-road, the Expedition positively trounces the Tahoe. The Ford inspires enough confidence and provides such superior ability that we completed our grueling 25-mile, mud-and-snow covered, off-road test loop in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains a full 20 minutes faster than in the Tahoe. We needed to grab four-wheel low in the Chevy on two occasions; the Expedition made do with four-wheel high the entire time. The Chevy's mushy suspension required care over boulders and through dips, while we vaulted the Expedition's nose into the air and came down with little fanfare and zero ground contact. The Expedition's modern engineering also proved its worth on the trail, where we could detect little body shimmy or door rattling. Based on a decade-old platform, the Tahoe rattles and shakes considerably on rough off-road surfaces. An added bonus on the Expedition is Control-Trac four-wheel drive, which operates in two-wheel drive until it detects rear wheel slippage. The system then transfers power to the front wheels automatically. We used it on less demanding portions of our loop, and it worked admirably and unobtrusively, keeping the Expedition pointed the right direction over ice and mud patches, and in washboard-surfaced turns. We had more fun on our test loop in the Expedition that we have in any other vehicle driven on that trail.

Inside, each truck provided lots of bells and whistles like leather upholstery, cruise control, premium sound systems, power windows and locks, and overhead consoles with a compass and outside temperature readout. Aesthetically, the subdued Ford is more pleasing, though some two-tone dash panels of the tan interior in our test truck were so similar in hue that we wondered what the point was (they were supposed to be different colors, right Ford?). While we are tiring of Ford oval-themed interiors, we cannot dispute the quality of the nicely textured vinyl, rubber and plastic the company uses to assemble them. The Expedition's car-like dash comes straight from the F-150 pickup, and places all controls and displays within easy reach and sight. Control operation is silky and smooth, and our Eddie Bauer was equipped with a nice sounding JBL sound system and center console 6-disc CD changer. Unique to the Expedition are rear seat audio controls. In contrast, the slab-sided instrument panel in the Tahoe produces a visual nightmare, with myriad knobs, buttons and dials presented in a ghoulish light gray over a charcoal back panel. The controls are simple and easy to use though, except for some smallish secondary radio controls and the low-mounted power window switches. Maddeningly, GM continues to bunch as many functions on the turn-signal stalk as is possible. The Tahoe's sound system wasn't up to audiophile pleasing performance, but the revered in-dash CD player failed to skip a beat on our off-road trail. Not true, the Expedition. Also appreciated in the Tahoe is a large center console with a flip-up notepad holder and writing surface. Unique to the Tahoe is a cargo bay power door lock switch, a simple yet greatly appreciated feature.

Exterior design is a subjective matter, but this editor finds the crisp, clean, uncluttered Tahoe to be the finer looking vehicle. Yes, the Chevy's basic styling cues date to the mid 80s, but the look has held up well, and the GM sheetmetal is better proportioned. The Expedition has a jutting snout, grinning front bumper, and large overhangs on a relatively short wheelbase. The passenger cabin is wrapped in very nice, Explorer-derived styling, but our Eddie Bauer's garish two-tone overfender paint job didn't appeal much. We prefer the monotone paint of the Expedition XLT.

Safety-conscious buyers will find much to like about either truck. Both the Tahoe and Expedition offer standard anti-lock brakes, dual airbags, and child-proof rear door locks, but the Ford is the only one to meet 1999 side-impact standards. Remote keyless entry is standard on the Expedition. Optional illuminated running boards are almost required to enter and exit the Ford comfortably, and nighttime illumination is sure to help eliminate scraped shins. Combined with the Control Trac four-wheel drive system and heavier curb weight, we think Ford has done a better job of ensuring occupant safety.

Hard-pressed to determine a winner of this shoot-out, we thought about declaring a draw. The Tahoe is a powerful, fun-to-drive, perfectly sized package that can traverse paved roads with ease. The Expedition is a tight, modern, spacious off-road terror that doesn't put a foot wrong when pavement ends and mud begins. The Tahoe is the more user-friendly urban tool, but the Expedition is the safer vehicle when an accident occurs. So how to select the better truck? We had to take into consideration real world usage by the consumer. Almost nobody will drive their Tahoe or Expedition over the hill and through the woods to Grandmother's house, preferring instead to travel one of Ike's concrete thruways. The Tahoe delivers better urban and highway comfort thanks to its lower step-in height, more powerful engine, smoother ride characteristics, and that on-center dead spot in the steering. It is the better daily-use, pavement-dwelling truck. The Expedition is the obvious choice for folks who really do get away from it all. It out-tows trailers loaded with trail bikes or snowmobiles, out-hauls luggage or people, and eagerly tears up two-track trail like a cat with its head shoved deep into a Bumble Bee can. Unfortunately, most Expeditions won't see much more serious duty than a shopping excursion the day after Thanksgiving. For this task, and others like it, the Tahoe is the better truck.