Hi All,

I just found your board this morning and it has a lot of great info. I am in the market for a new ride for my wife and kids and the Excursion is on the top of my list. I was looking for some information to find out how many miles (not gas but engine life) folks are getting out of an Excursion but what I realized this morning is that it has only been around since 2000 so I guess no one knows? I did find a thread on the V10 and it seemed that most said they had 100-120k and still running strong but they were trucks and not the Excursion. Is the V10 in the Excursion the same V10 used in other Ford products? I also was hoping to maybe just get some general advice from someone who has been there already when deciding which big SUV to move up to.

My situation is as follows. Currently my wife drives a Jeep Cherokee. We have 2 girls (3 and 1) and one more due in September (hoping for a boy but I'll take what I get . We do a fair amount of driving up and down the east coast in the summer and a few trips here and there over the winter months. I've been complaining about the size of the Jeep ever sense #2 was born and I had to wrestle a second car seat into the back. When we found out that that number #3 was in the way in late January I realized that buying a new car was going to have to be moved up on the to do list since there is no way I can fit 3 car seats in the back of the Jeep correctly. Not to mention between all the strollers and bags and everything else that goes along with children I don't think there is enough room in the rear to handle gear for another one. So in February we started looking at our options as far as what we were going to buy. The first thing we decided is that we need 3rd row seating and we are not mini-van people. My wife comes from a Toyota only family and I come from a "We drive what we can afford" family. After many hours sitting in front of the computer and visiting dealerships we have narrowed it down to 3 choices.

The Toyota Sequoia, Expedition and the Excursion. In our test drives my wife fell in love with the Sequoia. She thought is was easy to drive, was nice inside, had a sunroof and didn't feel as big as it was. But it is in her genes so what did I expect? The Expedition was sort of so so for both of us. We liked it and it had some really nice features and some very kid friendly options, didn't feel like it was too large but it did feel sort of sluggish like it didn't want to get out of it's own way. When we walked on to the lot and stood next to the Excursion some things my wife said were "It looks like a school bus" and "How on earth am I going to park it?" and "I don't even think I can see into the back of it without standing on the bumper". She is 5' 2" and I think that last statement was true of all of the cars we looked at. When we got in it she was glad to see that it had leather. One thing that we have learned with our 2 kids so far is cloth seats don't hold up so well. I let her drive it first. As we were making a left turn out of the lot onto a busy road I saw a big smile as she smashed the gas down. She said "Wow, this thing has a lot of pick up for such a large car". Driving it on the highway it rode smooth and didn't make us feel as timid around semi's We agreed to take it to a parking lot to see how hard it was to park. I can see that it would take some practice before either of us would feel good about parking any closer than 1/2 mile to the store for fear of hitting something. After the test drive I could see that she had warmed up to it a bit and of course I loved it. It's huge why wouldn't I?

My budget is right at $30k and not a penny more if I can help it. Given those amounts I have discovered I can purchase a 01-02 Sequoia SR5 with around 50-60K miles on it ($30K), an 03 Expedition XLT with 18-25k miles on it ($25k) or an 03 Excursion Limited V10 with 18-25k miles on it ($29-30K). I do not own nor do plan to buy anything I need to tow in the next 10 years. We do plan on getting a large dog in the next few years. We plan to keep what ever we buy for at least 8-10 years (225-275K miles on it) and there is always the chance we could grow our family to 6 + a dog between now and then.

The reason I have swayed toward the Excursion is I think it has the most bang for the buck but I really don't have any experience with Ford and I want to be sure it will last as long as I need it to. Given everything I've said do you all agree the Excursion is the way to go? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance.

 

First off... Welcome !

Next,
Run, don't walk, to get the Ex if you travel the least little bit !
the best travelling vehicle I have ever owned (and I had Motorhomes b4)...
set the cruise on whatever speed you want with the 6.0L and forget about it...
(I can only speak to the 7.3L I had on my 02 X 4x2 and the 6.0L on my 03 X 4x4)

Have 23k hard miles on mine around the DFW area and trips whenever I could !

Given the length of time u plan to keep it though... be sure and keep the maintenance current (and have receipts) and consider the extedned warranty for piece of mind (I consider my $2K for the warranty was well spent even though I've not used it !)

 

Welcome!

I purchased mine because the Excursion and the Suburban were the only SUV's we could find that had luggage room behind the third seat. Also, my wife has a big safety issue with minivans and SUV's that have the third seat perched against the rear window. I plan to do a lot of traveling and some towing and the Excursion seemed to be a lot more ruggedly built than the Suburban (As has been said before, "If you want a car, get a Suburban but if you want a truck, get an Excursion). My impression was that I could maintain it carefully and get a lot of trouble free miles in return. So far we love it. I used to be a Ford tech (a long time ago), now I work for a European car Co. that's owned by "The General."

 

I think you are definitely on the right track. The X is the King of SUV's for good reason. Size, engines, good looks and comfort! I own a 2000 4x4 V10. The Triton V10 is a one of Ford's best engines. The best gas burner made. There is no part of the V10 that is disappointing. (some say the mpg is but everything else about it overshadows that). With proper maintenance there is no reason not to get 200,000+ miles.

Your big decision is to pay more for an oil burner (referring to the fuel not motor oil) loud and stinky engine that gets a couple more mpg or the clean, quiet V10 gasser. Both engines have power to spare for what you are planning to do with your X. Maintenance is higher on the PSD and you definitely want a 7.3 litre if you go with Diesel. I say that because you are looking at used. The 6.0 Diesel has too many problems to get ironed out. You will be taking a risk in buying a 6.0. The 7.3 litres are great engines but you must be very careful on getting one that has been properly maintained. For me, that spells get a V10, but I am biased

My family love my X. My 6' teenager even sleeps on the third seat, try that in a suburban.

Good luck in your endeavors.

 

evaluate how much towing you are going to do with it. If you plan on pulling 7500 lbs or better. go diesel, you will like the low end puling torque for manuvering in tight spots and the fuel mileage does not drop off as much as the V10. ask around, I have heard of V10 going down to 7mpg or less depending on roads and you driving style. My buddys 7.3 goes as low as 14mpg pulling 11000 over hilly roads. the truck even has 34" tires on it.
found this on this site full thread here:
http://www.fordtrucks.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=225427

Yesterday, 07:10 PM
Mr-Mach1
New User Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Queens, New York City
Posts: 5 Signature


Hey guy's, I just got from a round trip from New York City to Elkhart In. I put about 1400 miles on my 02 V-10 XLT. On the way out I averaged 14mpg in the pouring rain (8 hours worth) empty. For the return I got about 10mpg (on flat land) towing an empty 24 foot Haulmark enclosed car trailer until I hit Pa. The mountains (although little ones) killed the milage @ 6-7.5mpg on the average. That's probably because I had to drop it out of overdrive once I hit the hills. I had plenty of power though. I have a Gibson cat back exhaust , K&N filter and I programed the computer with a Superchips programmer. I used the performance tow setting which required 91 octane. For the last 100 miles I reprogramed it to 87 octane and saw no difference. I run 70psi in my new Michelins. I still have Gibson headers to install and I plan to fab up my own cold ram air kit.
When I drove it home 700 milesfrom Buffalo NY it seemed to get much better gas milage. Maybe I was driving down hill ;-D. Anyway @ 27,000 miles I've still got a lot of driving to do.
Oh Yeah, I stopped llurking too ! I hope I have something positive to add . You guys are great.

 

Do yourself a favor and buy the excursion!! My wife is no taller than your and she loves this road monster! In particular she likes how the slower moving traffic moves out of her way on the highways. It DID take some getting used to in the parking lots...but do a lot of mods and park on the outer edges of the lots anyways to show it off!!!

I prefer the diesel for its' economy but you have to make your own choice there. I had the PSD in my work van too but at the last trade went gas just so I wouldn't have to listen to the diesel run all day. I don't mind it when I'm in it...but sitting at idle was too much for me and too hard on the diesel without the idle computer.

I have a friend with a 2000 X that is thinking about going back to the suburban for the ride. His X has over 100K miles and he hasn't even done an upgrade to the shocks yet!

Whatever you decide...let it be the excursion so we can all welcome you into the "family"!

 

Buy it. I had a 5.8L gas V8 in an F350 and it had 192K on it when I sold it 14 months ago. I still see it coming in to work sometimes. That motor only had the valve covers off one time, and that was to replace the leaking gaskets.

I bought a used 2001 V10 X with 53K miles, now has 72K, and not a moment of engine trouble. Treat it well with regular oil changes (every 3K to 4K miles), and don't drive it hard until she's warmed up to proper operating temperatures, and she'll last a long time. In other words, treat her like a lady, and she'll take good care of you in return.

 

buy a ex, you will love it!!!!!!!!!!

have 02 ex v10 and it has done everthing i ask of it, no probelms as of yet. shop around i bought mine used w/ 15000 miles for under 30 grand(lease return from a corp.) i pull snowmobiles w/ mine and tows like a dream. i have put over 24000 miles on it in 16 months.


imo/ v10 vs 6.0 or 7.3 deisal, your choose, buy what you want

for wife 02 ex v10

for me 02 f250 c/c 5.4 on order 04 f250 c/c 6.0l 4/12 suggested build date?

i could not decide on one so i will try both now( gasser or deisal)

good luck

 

Thanks for all the input. Seems like everyone loves their EX and that helps. Assuming I go with the V10 does anyone know what differences I'm going to find going from say model year 01 to 03 if any? I guess what I'm trying to get at is if I can find a low mile 01 is there any reason to hold out until I find an 02 or 03?

Thanks again.

 

My wife wasn't particularly enthused about my buying 'that schoolbus' either. However, after she rode in it for a 45 mile trip, she said ' I can see how this is a great vehicle for road trips' -- so I'm happy, she's happy and I can actually park it in my garage. Life is good! Good luck on your decision.

 

The X is great travel vehicle with (as you already know) plenty of room and power to do whatever you want. I've loved my X ever since I bought it new back in 2001. The 7.3L PSD hasn't given me any problems whatsoever. The only real problem I had was the glow plug relay going bad on the the morning after I bought it. But at almost 80k on the clock, I haven't had a single problem with it. If you're going to get an X, I highly suggest getting an '02 or the '03 you test drove. 2002 and 2003 were some of the best years for the X inside and out. There were way more amenities inside. For example, better looking (and more comfortable) leather seats, radio controls on the wheel, second row captain's chairs and automatic A/C. Mechanically, all of the engines were tweaked and the few minor bugs that were in the gas engines were corrected. If you can make a killing on that '03 you're looking at, I'd say go for it and don't look back! Don't let the dealer make you pay more than what you want to. You can probably pick up that 03 for about $28,500-30K if you can talk them down a bit and if theres about 25K to 30K miles or more. Whatever you end up getting, make sure that it was properly maintained and not abused. From there on out, you're good to go! Best of luck to ya

 

Just wanted to drop a quick note that we finally made our purchase about 2 weeks ago. After more trips to more dealers than I can count, what felt like 100's of test drives and pouring over the online classified we settled and purchased an 03 Expedition EB with 13k on it. My wife loves it and I like it equally as well except for the huge difference in the amount of room behind the 3rd row.

I think gas jumping up to $2 and the idea of getting 10mpg was in the end a little to much to swallow with the Excursion. Thanks again for all the advice.

Rob

 

Huh?

Double Huh?

 

Sorry for any confusion. What I meant was I like everything about the Expy except the lack of room behind the 3rd row but in the end it was an issue of trading of space for better gas mileage.

 

Is your EB X a PSD?