5 Reasons the Ford Expedition is a PERFECT Roadtrip SUV (5 Reasons It's NOT)

Road Trippin'

The Ford Expedition is about to celebrate 30 years of existence in 2026, and the full-size SUV only continues to gain in terms of popularity as the years go by. In the U.S., our love for taking long road trips is one of the chief reasons behind that soaring popularity.

I'm no exception to that rule, and the fact that I embark on a 1,000-mile trip twice a year is exactly why I chose to purchase a 2024 Ford Expedition Timberline earlier this year. It has enough space for my family, our stuff, and my three dogs, but after recently covering a little over 1,000 miles in our fairly new SUV for the first time, I learned a lot about what it's good at... and what areas could use some improvement.

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PRO #1. Space

The fact that the Ford Expedition has so much interior space to offer is the chief reason why I bought one in the first place. Previously, we took our 1k-mile road trip in my wife's Ford Bronco, which wasn't exactly ideal for ourselves, our gear, and our three dogs. 

On this particular trip, our dogs were able to take up the entire rear cargo area - with the third row folded down - and we could still fit a ton of stuff in the second row without impacting rear visibility, with the seat pushed all the way back - which is fantastic, given the fact that I'm over six feet tall and appreciate not having my knees in the dash, as was the case in the Bronco.

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CON #1. Fuel Economy

Of course, power oftentimes comes at the expense of efficiency, and in a big SUV like the Expedition, that's certainly the case. In all fairness, my Timberline has a front leveling kit and 34-inch Nitto Ridge Grappler tires, so that doesn't help either, but we only averaged around 15 mpg on the trip. With a smallish 23-gallon tank (I wish I could get the 36-gallon present in my old F-150), that means stopping for gas more than I'd prefer on longer trips.

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PRO #2. Ride Quality

The Expedition exhibits great ride quality on long stretches of smooth highway, and the Timberline's upgraded shocks and beefier tires with lots of sidewall help out there, too. It was obviously a much smoother way to spend the better part of a day than the Bronco, which is a bit more focused on rock crawling than soaking up highway miles.

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CON #2. Ride Quality

While the Expedition rides great on smoother roads, things do get a bit choppier on surfaces that aren't in great shape - particularly at lower speeds. This is a pretty well-known characteristic of the last-generation Expedition, and Ford revamped the suspension in the new-for-2025 model based on customer feedback. It isn't terrible by any means, and is akin to the way a pickup acts on the same kinds of roads, but it's worth pointing out, regardless.

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PRO #3 Comfort

That extra legroom makes a huge difference when it comes to comfort when you're driving for over 15 hours in one day, and the Expedition is quite comfy in every other regard, too. Ours is equipped with the High package - Equipment Group 501A - so it has all the niceties, too, including things like heated and ventilated leather-covered front seats, which are great for shorter and longer trips.

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CON #3. Lumbar Support

One thing that I have a hard time dealing with is insufficient lumbar support in just about every vehicle on long trips, and that's also true of the Expedition. The seats are quite comfy, but after 15+ hours, my lower back wasn't feeling great, even with the lumbar cranked all the way up. It's hard to say if there's a way to fix this, but that's why I tend to carry around a special back pillow for these longer trips.

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PRO #4. Sound System

The High package also adds the rather good 12-speaker B&O sound system, which sounds great, particularly when paired with Apple Music, which offers quality sound on its own regard - though I'm admittedly no audiophile with a keen ear for such things.

Regardless, listening to music, podcasts, or audio books on a long trip obviously helps the hours tick by a bit faster, and in this case, the Expedition did a great job there.

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CON #4. Size

While I certainly don't mind driving larger vehicles - I've owned many F-150s over the years - it is worth pointing out that the Expedition's size can be a good thing and a bad thing. There are times when one might have to be careful when navigating gas stations or drive-thru lines in a vehicle of its size, and having a front-end lift makes it more difficult to see what's in front of you, too. Thankfully, the 360-degree camera makes maneuvering it around in these situations much easier.

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PRO #5. Power

While I'm admittedly pretty old school when it comes to engines (give me a naturally-aspirated V8 any day over a forced-induction four or six), the twin turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is a strong performer, regardless. The Timberline also gets the high-output version of that engine, meaning that it cranks out a Raptor-like 440 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque, which is more than enough to get the big SUV up to highway speeds - and pass other cars with no problem.

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CON #5. Pet Friendly Cleanup

In recent years, I've gotten to where I loathe vehicle carpeting more than I appreciate it, and for one good reason - it's really hard to get dog hair out of. I'm very much not a fan of carpeted cargo areas for this very reason, and most cargo mats don't provide much coverage, either.

There is a solution to this, I've found - getting a special cargo cover from the aftermarket, which makes vacuuming that hair out way easier, but they're not cheap, either - in fact, mine cost roughly $500, which is a lot of coin, but well worth the time and aggravation it saves - particularly with three dogs spending hours shedding back there.

Photos for Ford Truck Enthusiasts by Brett Foote