I'm currently having the dilemma of wanting to go to the EL but loving my Excursion.

I rented an EB EL a week or so ago and got hooked.

The ride comfort is amazing and while the cargo area is a bit down on space comparatively, it is more functional with the divider/shelf thing plus, as mentioned, the superior power-fold seats.

Speaking of seats that is the #1 reason why I want to switch. The front seats in the Excursion are okay, the second row shows less engineering & thought and the third row seems like an afterthought. Meanwhile the Expy was well thought out and is undoubtedly safer for the passengers with its three-row side air curtains. headrests in the third row and 3-point belts in ALL locations.

While I love the torque of my V10 and the overall "presence" of my Excursion, I think I'm gonna be an EL guy here in a few days... nebmike (another convert) sent me this PM when I asked him the same question of switching over.

I'm like you though, I figured the tranny combined with a 2k lighter truck would about even out the pulling power. If all else fails, I had such a good experience with regearing my X, that I wouldnt hesitate doing it on the EL. The EL is almost 3 seconds faster 0-60 than my X was, so I'm hoping thats a good sign.

I do miss some of the space I had in the X. I carry quite a bit of equipment behind the 3rd seat (tools, Hi-Lift, etc.) and I actually had a little space left over... no so in the EL. My stuff is pretty well crammed in. My only other real complaint is in the design of the "floor" with the seats folded. In the X, I had a nice flat surface wall-to-wall with the second seat folded, which worked really well for my dogs. I don't have that in the EL. I prefer to leave the 3rd seat up to help keep all my "stuff" in place should I crash. With the 3rd up and 2nd down there is no flat surface for the dogs, and with both down its flat, but there is about an 8" gap between the two (which would seem to have been an easy fix for Ford).

Provided its got enough power to pull my camper ok in the mountains, I think the thing I'll miss most is the off-road capability. I'm not real thrilled with the traction control feature in place of a limited slip, and the wheel travel is obviously way limited on the EL compared to solid axles and leaf springs on the X. I'm prolly gonna do a 2" lift just to add a bit of ground clearance.

My EL came with the skid plate package which, in my opinion, is nothing more than for looks. Two are very thin metal (quite flimsy to the touch) and the fuel tank "skid" is just plastic (no option for metal).

The EL has the X hands-down for creature comforts and maneuverability (way tighter turning radius). My only other real interior gripe is in not having the ability to manually control where the rear air comes out (floor or ceiling). Ride is fairly firm compared to a lot of new grocery-store SUV's (which is a plus in my book).

I'm averaging about 20mpg at 75mph (unless there's wind) and about 21.5 at 65mph... thats hand calculated but the lie-o-meter is pretty close too. In cross or head winds it'll drop to around 17-18ish. Running right at 16mph average around town. So thats quite the nice improvement over the X.

I guess my final comment would be about the tires. Mine came with the 18" upgrade and Pirelli Scorpion STR-A tires which are just a standard load tire. My concern was that they felt pretty mushy just with the truck unloaded -- I was a little worried about how they'd do towing. I calculated my weights and I came in a few hundred pounds below the tire limits, but I still opted for switching to a better set of all-terrain tires earlier this week. Its like night and day difference in handling, so I'm hoping the swap will be that much better for towing too.