Hello to all,
I am sold on the 01' excursion and have found what I believe to be a "good deal". $37,520 for the Limited w/ the v-10. The problem is the wife thinking it is to big. She would like me to look at a suburban as well. Is there any information that compares the two so that I can prove the superiority of the excursion.

Thank You

 

MINUSES
Understand clearly that the Excursion is a TRUCK. You will know it is a truck when you go over rough pavement or potholes. It is NOT a heavy luxury ride. My 2 cents worth is that towing should be one of your requirements for buying this vehicle. Not a vehicle of choice for one person urban commuting. The only drawback I have found regarding its size is that it tends to attract parking lot dings. At first I was really mad about this and tried parking away from the crowd, but the truth is that it really is hard to manuever a shopping cart between an Ex and any other mid to large vehicle.

PLUSES
As far as driving and parking it, it really is not a problem at all. The 2wd that I have has a good turning radius for the size of the vehicle. I'm pretty much a sneakers & cutoff shorts kind of guy, and have never really considered prestige as a factor in any buying decision. It's a stretch for me to own one, but I have to say that the Excursion commands a level of prestige or envy or whatever it is that is far above its actual price. Up there with the Caddies, Lincolns, Lexus & the others in the $50k-$60k & up world of autoinsanity.

I've tried to mention a few things that I haven't seen before. Presumably you have found and read all the "pro" online reviews.
P.S. The 2000 models got some mighty hefty year-end discounts....Shop Wisely!

 

John,
Thanks for the insight. In fact THE reason I need a vehicle like this is that I have just bought a 23' boat and need a tow vehicle. I am wondering if there is a fuel mileage difference between 2 and 4 wheel drive?

Thanks again.

 

I'm not a car salesperson, so pardon me if I bring up those unspeakables, but lets face it, you'll drop $5k on anything in this price range just to bring it home to your driveway. Fuel expense becomes trivial compared to that. Well not quite trivial, but.... I live in So Fl, no snow, no ice, and I'm not taking a $35K vehicle in the mud, so 4wd is useless to me. Of course the 4wd is going to use a bit more gas, there is extra weight, extra moving parts, etc. if you live where 4wd has meaning, then don't let the small fuel cost difference enter into your decision. The Ex does burn some gas, and it is a bit of an irritant to have to swipe the credit card a second time when the pump stops at $50 (g), but the large fuel tank makes fuel stops more infrequent than most vehicles.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Ex is a superior choice for towing compared to the Sub. The weight of the Ex is in axles, drivetrain, etc. A body is a body. The Sub is down to almost the same weight as an Astrovan (which happens to be a great vehicle) but that has to say something about where they took off weight. My experience with the Vortec engine in a 1994 Chevy Astrovan (which is all positive) is that the higher compression of the Vortec engines and higher rpm/less cubic inches meant that I needed to use hi-test gas when trailering....Indeed the Chevy owners manual recommends it. The V10 recommends against hi-test. While I can't say this is everyones experience, factor in that cost and any possible mpg differences disappear.

 

I have a 2000 Excursion (and I think I'm the only person in the world w/ a 5.4L) :-), but, even though I have trailer/towing, I don't have anything to tow and I essentially use my truck for driving back and forth to work. This is my fourth Ford SUV since 1993 and I absolutely love it.

The only two things that I wish I had (compared to my other trucks) are a moonroof and foglamps.

Kathi

 

Kathi, I guess I should define what I mean by not recommended for urban commuting. I drive 11 miles to work. It takes 50 minutes. (welcome to paradise) There are only a few spots where speeds get over 40mph. I have driven trucks all my life, but the Excursion is a bit of overkill for this kind of commuting, although I do enjoy it for the other times. I much prefer my V8 Astrovan as I routinely pass the only other 2 Excursions on this trip. They are easy to spot. They are pretty much relegated to the middle lane, while a smaller vehicle can zip around much easier.

 

John and Kathi,
Thanks again for the insight. It looks as though I will stay with the 4x4 for my needs. I do some hunting here in Maryland and W. Virginia and it will come in handy. Not to mention the slippery boat ramps. Baltimore is having an auto show Jan. 17th so I think the final negotiation with the wife will be complete and I can get my excursion ordered. I will keep you posted.
Greg

 

We purchased a 2000 Excursion 4x4 XLT V10. While shopping for this vehicle, we looked at the Suburban and Yukon XLT.

One of the ways that I convince my wife to go with the Excursions was the price comparison. The Excursion comes with most options that we required and needed to be added on to the others, making them more expensive.

This was not even factoring in that that the Excursion is a 3/4 ton chassis and the others are on a 1/2 ton chassis (standard) or it cost more money.

One other factors was the rear doors when compared, the excursion win hands down with the tri- doors. On the others, if you get the "barn" doors, your can not see anything out the rear view mirror and with the other huge lift gate, my wife had trouble opening it.

This is definitely a TRUCK and is a big vehicle.

Loving your Excursion, and wishing you good luck in your search for your new truck, hoping you make the right choice, and get an Excursion. (LOL)

Latter
Q

 

John,

My commute is 25 miles and is 50 minutes. I primarily bought it for safety, as I drive into Chicago every day.

You are certainly right about not seeing many Excursions on the road. They are few and far between around here. I didn't even see many when I went to Northern Wisconsin this summer. I am surprised by that, because they are not much more expensive than Expeditions. Maybe it's the garage factor.

I am getting between 12 and 12.8 mpg w/ my 5.4L. What are you averaging w/ the V10?

Kathi

 

Kathi, I only have 2500 miles on the Excursion. It has become our weekend vehicle of choice, and makes it easier to keep our daily drivers (2 astrovans) maintained. My Mileage computer seems to be pretty close with measured from fill-up to fill-up mpg calculations and yields 11 mpg. I've never reset the mpg display so presumably this is a long term average including the very early dealership mileage, which showed 8 mpg. It is slowly climbing...it has bounced up to 11.1 lately. I have not taken any superlong highway trips to get a fillup to fillup highway calculation. I didn't buy it for the fuel economy anyway. We have a travel trailer. For your intended purpose, the 5.4l makes sense.

 

I just got my 2001 Limited Excursion a few days before Christmas. We LOVE IT!!!!. Got the V10 Toreador Red with Parchment interior. Only seen 2 others on the road here on Long Island in a few months. One was at a Mall parked miles from the stores . I talked to the owners and they said It was ordered for Boomer Essaisson but his wife made him return it to dealer because it was too big . Not for us--3 big kids and also tow a 24' trailer. Anyone know if the computer thing has reset on it for gas mileage??? Ours has only 400 miles on it-- Highest so far is 9.7. Biggest problem is me not wanting to drive it and get it dirty in the winter weather--Wife thinks I'm NUTS. Just ordered the mud flaps and also wonder why they don't include a locking gas cap. Last Thought... Why should my truck --when ordered from factory arrive with 49 miles on it?? But we def. LOVE IT!!! JUST BUY IT!!!

 

I have a 2000 with the 4.3 rear end and the V-10. Bill, I get around 10-10.5 all around, have gotten as good as 11.3 on the road going less than 65. Just came back from Colorado and averaged 10.6 going around 80mph. Just push both buttons at same time and the mpg calculator will reset....we also tow a boat and 0r a travel trailer and with the four kids (12 to 21) and their friends...it comes in handy...would be a lot more expensive taking two vehicles for all the gear and people...rb

 

Just a thought, I read a road test with the Big Ex against a Suburban. If I remember right, the Sub had a few more minor load plus points, but not many. The Ex is a very sharp looking truck, but I have to really wonder if any vehicle is worth the big $$$$ these are going for. In 1994, I ordered and bought a 2wd Sub, only because Ford didn't have a 4 dr similar type at that time that would haul 8' building materials and other things, as well as fit in the garage... If you plan to keep it for many years to get your $$$$$ worth, I'd say go for it!

 

Thanks for the info rich. I reset the computer and it went up to 9.9 from 9.7---only have about 500 miles on the 2001 so far. Just fits in my garage by about an inch and a half clearance. Some nfo for anyone buying the Ford molded Mud Flaps.Just put them on front and back --you will find that on the front flaps the clip is the wrong size to fit around the contour of the trim on the wheelwell on the limited Excursion. I bent the clip in half and slipped it over hole to grab the screw. You would think they would at least try installing these things once to be sure it works . Also dont u think they could have put an inside fuel door lock/release on these--maybe at least a locking cap for $40,000???
Interested in hearing highway milage for V10/3.73 rear end Excursions-- Thanks
Billb in New York--Long Island