- suv
- 12,995 overpriced
- Searcy, AR
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- autoshopper.com
2000 ford excursion review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. Sure it's big, but it's a great piece of hardware. introductioneveryone likes to joke about the new ford excursion. It is, indeed, the biggest sport-utility vehicle on a planet chock full of suvs. Its size has drawn sharp criticism from some quarters, charging it with lackluster fuel economy. But the excursion is no larger than the hundreds of thousands of ford super duty pickups that share its platform. And there are, indeed, some folks who can put a giant sport-utility vehicle to use. They tow heavy trailers, haul bunches of people and move acres of cargo. We're here to evaluate, not judge. Besides, we like the excursion. ford did an excellent job on this vehicle. It rides impressively well for a three-quarter ton truck. It is capable of carrying an enormous amount of cargo. Six people and their baggage can travel in supreme comfort; eight or nine people can be belted in when necessary. Best of all, the excursion provides an exceedingly stable platform for pulling trailers of up to 10,000 pounds. lineupford's new excursion comes in two levels of trim, xlt and limited. Xlt sports a nice cloth interior with comfortable seats that offer good support for long drives and a high level of standard equipment. The limited trim adds leather and a few more goodies that are optional on the xlt. three engines are available, a v8, a v10 and a diesel. The base xlt 4x2 retails for $34,135. We drove a $37,450 xlt 4x4 with the v10. The diesel adds about $4,000 to the bottom line. walkaroundbased on ford's new super duty f-series pickup trucks, the 2000 excursion is more than seven inches longer than the chevy suburban, the former suv heavyweight. Inside is a comfortable interior. The dash is attractive and well-designed and all of the controls are easy to find and operate. excursion's rear cargo doors are split three ways. The rear doors are half height, like dutch doors. It generates 310 horsepower and 425 foot-pounds of torque. Ford expects 70 percent of all excursions will be sold with the v10. A 5. 4-liter v8 is available as a no-cost option, but few will be built; it puts out 255 horsepower and 350 foot-pounds of torque. Optional $60 trailer mirrors feature little convex mirrors at the bottom that eliminate blind spots. Ford says the class iv receiver hitch, which comes standard, is designed to prevent smaller cars from going underneath the rear bumper, while a specially designed blockerbeam is designed to accomplish the same goal up front. interiorthe excursion comes with a nicely designed interior. Six adults can ride in comfort with 48 cubic feet of cargo space left behind them. Removing the third-row seat is easy: flip the seatback forward, yank a bar at the foot of the seat and pull the seat toward the rear of the vehicle; it glides along on rollers. The seat weighs 75 pounds, but in short order i pulled it out and threw it into the back of another suv on a cold montana morning. set up as a two-seater, the excursion can carry an outlandish amount of cargo. A sheet of plywood slides in easy and lays flat on the floor. Two people could sleep in comfort on the huge, flat cargo area. Believe it or not, we managed to fill an excursion. We were finishing up a three-day float down oregon's deschutes river. He quickly stuffed all of the supplies from base camp and enough fishing equipment for eight people inside. When he was done stuffing, only seating for two remained and the rear-view mirror was rendered useless. Granted, he could have packed more efficiently, but he was grateful for such a large storage container. After reorganizing the equipment and putting some of it into another vehicle, six of us piled into the excursion and made the long trip back to the portland area. Cruising along steadily with this load, the excursion demonstrated its virtues of size, stability and power. It's smooth and quiet. The v10 is a delightful engine. It produces 310 horsepower and can propel the excursion along the interstate at high rates of speed. The v10 generates a very impressive 425 foot-pounds of torque at 3250 rpm. But an excursion 4x4 weighs about 7,200-pounds, so its acceleration performance at high altitudes seems no better than an explorer or expedition. Still, it had no trouble passing other vehicles on two-lane roads near yellowstone. It seems unaffected by high altitude and i was amazed at its ability to accelerate past slower cars on two-lane roads. The diesel gets 16-18 mpg, but adds $4,000 to the bottom line. It takes a lot of long-distance driving to justify that. It's a big station wagon for the flatlands or an economical engine for fleets. while the 4x2 comes with ford's twin i-beam front suspension and coil springs, the 4x4 uses a solid front axle and leaf springs. Differences in ride and handling between the two are subtle. The 4x4 rides and handles superbly, tackling corners with confidence and offering good grip on dirt roads. I like overkill when towing long distances through bad weather and the excursion should pull a 6,000-pound trailer better than an expedition. Unlike most suvs, all excursions come with d load range light-truck tires, lt265/75r-16d. Supremely stable, it feels safe and secure on the open highway. Bucket Seats✔ Cloth Interior
12,995 Searcy, ARSearcy, AR at autoshopper.com