Our 2025 Ford Expedition Might Be the Perfect Road Tripper

• Our new Ford Expedition is an excellent road tripper.
• BlueCruise hands-free driving tech finally works as it should — mostly.
• So-so fuel economy makes us wonder: Why no hybrid? 

From the get-go, it was immediately apparent how much better it was. Navigating traffic in Los Angeles is hard enough for humans, but BlueCruise managed to keep the big Expedition in its lane, respond expertly to changing traffic conditions, and even execute prompted lane changes on its own with relative ease. 

Out on the open highway, it was even better. I could simply set a speed — as long as it was below the 80-mph upper limit — cross my arms, and enjoy my daughter's excellent music tastes while the Ford drove itself. Of course, being the paranoid sort, I kept my eyes open and on the road the whole time in case the system failed in some way. I'll probably never fully let my guard down with self-driving systems, but kudos to Ford for finally getting it right because, for the most part, it was fine. 

Notice I said, "for the most part." There was one situation where BlueCruise stumbled, and that was at sunset. For about an hour before the sun went below the horizon, BlueCruise got confused. I don't know what it was, but the low angle of the sun, my sunglasses, maybe some unknown glare resulted in constant alerts to watch the road. And not just when I glanced away for a moment; even when I was paying the maximum attention I could, looking resolutely ahead, the system would chime a warning. In fairness to Ford, sunsets and sunrises baffle similar systems from other manufacturers, so remember a little extra vigilance is required at dusk and dawn.

The bigger surprise was that BlueCruise worked as advertised in another way: I was genuinely free of fatigue after the 11-hour stretch home. Taking over driving duties to take the strain off the driver is one of the promises of advanced driver aids, including self-driving modes like BlueCruise. But even with that in mind, I was surprised by how refreshed I felt when we got home.

Quiet comfort

Contributing to that refreshed feeling was the Expedition's quiet and comfortable interior. Normally, comparing a car seat to a La-Z-Boy is an insult, but here it's spot on: comfy, supportive and perfect for sitting hours at a time. The massage function was also appreciated, although the aggressive poking and prodding was almost too much of a good thing. 

Beyond that was the quiet. Sure, there was some wind and road noise, and Ford pipes in a nice-sounding but needlessly aggressive engine note every time you mash the gas pedal. But overall, as the miles rolled by, there was little to intrude on the Bang & Olufsen audio system's crisp and clear sound quality. 

I was also pleased that the Expedition's tech didn't get in the way of using the SUV. I've ranted recently about touchscreen-heavy interfaces from Subaru and Volvo, and although the Expedition is just as reliant on its big screens, Ford has clearly put more time and effort into how it all works. The upshot is that the quick and responsive screens in the Expedition posed no issues for me during the drive. Even the rubber buttons on the steering wheel, which change their function depending on what you're doing, were easy to figure out and use.

Why no hybrid?

The Expedition reinforces that Ford's EcoBoost family of turbocharged engines are more focused on power than economy. Our Platinum trim has the upgraded 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 engine, which means 440 horsepower. That's a lot of juice, and its 0-to-60-mph time of 5.9 seconds is nothing to sneeze at. 

The EPA says the Expedition should get around 22 mpg on the highway, and the 21.2 mpg I got on my trip from Los Angeles to my first fuel stop in San Francisco was pretty close. Otherwise, the Expedition was in the 16-17 mpg range, which was pretty disappointing. 

It got me thinking, though: Why no hybrid? We loved the drivetrain in the F-150 Hybrid that used to be in our fleet, and it feels like a missed opportunity here. Granted, the 20 mpg we averaged in that truck was less than the EPA's 24 mpg estimate, but it's still notably better than the Expedition's 15 mpg average so far. I even managed in the low 20 mpg range when I drove the F-150 Hybrid on the open highway; surely the Expedition, with its better aerodynamics, could do better. Hopefully, Ford's engineers and product planners are thinking along the same lines, and we'll see it at some point in the future.

I wanna do it again

The Expedition is quiet and comfortable, with a great audio system and tech that contributed to the driving experience instead of ruining it. Yeah, the fuel economy is a bummer,  but not wholly unexpected in 17.5 feet and 2.5 tons of big, burly 'Murican SUV. Basically, I've found my road tripper. Only thing left is to come up with the next destination.