2003 Ford Expedition: A second-impression

It took me a while, but as moss does on the north side of trees, the 2003 Expedition has grown on me. I owned a 2000 Expy, and was one of the first to denounce the new styling as, “not as attractive”. In many ways, it isn’t as attractive; but in some ways- the 2003 is much more attractive. I still don’t like the smooth front & rear ends, with no bumpers- but, I figure as long as I don’t hit anyone, or no one hits me- it’ll be OK. I don’t like that Ford still doesn’t give you front passenger seats with power controls; what can you do right- especially at year-end closeout prices.

As you may or may not know, I really like Ford trucks. I haven’t always been a Ford fan, I used to be “Pro-GM”, especially when I indirectly worked for them; but every since the new F-150 debuted in 1996 as a 1997, Ford has had my vote as the best pickup on the planet. Although I think the Nissan Titan will challenge the F-150, I think in the end (After having sat in a loaded Lariat & FX4) that the F-150 will retain that title- in my opinion anyway. But, this topic is about the Expedition.

I did a review for you guys in 2002 after driving a 2003 Expedition XLT on a 1,500 mile round trip to New Orleans & back last Thanksgiving. I was very impressed with the Expedition on that trip; the only disappointing aspect was the ever-present cake of black brake dust that always accumulated on the front wheels. The 4.6L was very adequate, and moved the 6-of us, and all our stuff in an authoritative manner; hustling along at 80 MPH with about as much drama as you’d encounter sitting in front if the TV on Sunday in your La-Z-Boy.

After much debate, I bought a 2003 Expedition Eddie Bauer two weeks ago to the day.

In my first 677 miles, I must admit- this truck is far better than the 34,744 mile-old 2000 XLT Sport it replaced. Not that it’s much better in terms of expected reliability equipment, power, etc., but when it comes to steering feel, ride, handling, braking- your assometer would be in disbelief if it could see that the vehicle you were piloting was actually a full-sized SUV. For a big girl, she really can move.

This time, I went for the 5.4L to see what the hubbub is about. My new 5.4L has a smooth engine, and accelerates briskly- but from reviewing the stats on my assometer, it doesn’t “seem” any faster than the 2003 XLT 4.6L I drove, or the 4.6L 2000 XLT sport that I traded. Admittedly, the cabin is much more isolated than the 2000 so maybe it’s moving faster, but I really can’t tell- I doubt that you would be able too either. Well, the 5.4L may help resale value when I get ready to trade it.

Before the ink dried on my contract, I had the family piled 7-deep heading down to Fair Park in Dallas to the Texas State fair. The new Expedition rides very well- of course, you knew that already. It took a while, but I figured out how to set the memory seating, the info center, the reverse sensing system, reverse mirrors, etc. (As I said, this thing is nice) but man- after getting all these little gadgets, I must say I’m impressed.

So, to those of you that are torn between getting one with a 4.6L or a 5.4L I’ll say this. Buy one with the 5.4L if you’ll feel better knowing you got the strongest engine available for the Expedition. If that doesn’t matter to you, get the 4.6L- you’ll never know the difference from the seat of your pants. As far as the vehicle itself, as much as I loved my 2000- it feels very loose compared to this 2003. I know what you’re thinking, ‘it feels tight today because it’s new’, but that’s what I thought when my wife got the SuperCrew in 2001. After driving the SuperCrew, she didn’t WANT to drive my ’00 Expedition because she said it felt too loose. I told her “The new truck only feels tight now because it’s new- it’ll loosen up.” I thought it would eventually loosen up- yet, to this day it’s still tighter than my 2000 Expedition was, when it comes to ride, bump-handling, and steering feel. Whatever Ford was doing from 1997 – 2000 may have been good, but whatever they started doing in 2001 – 2003 is far better when it comes to steering. The 2003 Expedition holds the road better and feels a lot less “soupy” than my 2000. Swap-outs: The first thing to go will be those “girly-man” 265/65/17’s, far too skinny for my taste, so I’ve got to put on some 305/50/20’s or 285/55/20’s at a minimum.

Now, for everyone that owns a 2000 or older, please don’t misunderstand- I still think the 2000 is a very nice truck; we still have the 2000, my mother-in-law purchased it and I drove it today. I’m not being biased, I’m just telling it like it is. But I’d be lying if I said it was as refined as the 2003, it is not. Ford improved a lot with the new Expedition, it still has room for improvement; but my oh-my, can you imagine (If ford holds true to form) what the 2008 Expedition will be like.

 

I assume your talking about F150 trucks when you say XLT. If so, there might be a weight difference.

 

When I said XLT, I meant Expedition.

Prior to 2004, they came as XLT's or Eddie Bauers.

I hear now that they'll be offered as:

XLS, XLT, XLT Sport & Eddie Bauer, the 2000 you see pictured below is an XLT Sport. IT was trimmed off like the Eddie Bauer, w/leather, (Optional), rear A/C etc. but with DSG trim rather than Arizona Beige.

 

Bighersh.....I think I was in the same boat as you. I really liked my 2000, and wasn't too crazy about the 2003. Looked too much like the Explorer....not enough to differentiate the two. However, with some back problems I started having, I really liked the thought of the fold flat rear seats. Great invention!!! One comment, and I'm not sure what package it was/is, but I do have front passenger power seats?? I think it might be with the Climate controlled seats?

 

I wanted one w/heated & cooled perforated leather seats, but of the three 2003's they had on the lot, only one had that option, and that was a green one. I thought I liked the green, but as they say- once you go black, you can't go back- so I got a black one.

Mine has power drivers seat, and the middle seat that slides forward 11 inches, along with power-fold rear seats- but no moonroof, no climate seats, etc...

It's a base Eddie Bauer I guess. I got some trimmings, but not all. The guy told me passenger power seats was a no-go.

 

I would agree with the review of the 03, having come from a '99EB (95k miles). The biggest things I've noticed are the quiet ride and the less aggressive tranny. The tranny could be taken as good or bad, I guess I've gotten a little older and am OK with not getting slammed through the gears. Very silky smooth.
There are a few things that bug me, but they are minor. Like why my 99 had a CD and tape player and in the 03 you can't get both. I'm sure it relates to the in dash 6 disc as opposed to the console mounted 6 disc, but hell my wife's Pathfinder is smaller and has the in dash with tape.
There is no ashtray for those straw and gum wrappers.
You can't lock the doors with the key in the ignition and engine running, which overall I guess is good, but when I run in places for a coffee or something I usually leave it running with the doors locked and use the keypad to open it.
I have dual power seats on the 03 because of the climate controlled seats, but on the 99 you couldn't get a power passenger seat even on the EB. You could get a power passenger seat on an XLT Explorer though. Odd content games.

It was in the shop for 6 of the first 15 days I owned it, and it still needs to go back to root out the familiar "steering wheel shimmy at 65+ mph. For whatever reason I'm alright with that. I would ordinarily be really pissed off.

 

IMO, if you tow, you want the 5.4L

I have a 2003 EXPY too, 2700 miles on it now. The thing I can't get over is the handling. It handles great, sure doesn't handle like a 5500 pound vehicle. The ride is very good too, the power is average. The seats are very comfortable (we have an XLT, cloth). My one slight disappointment is there seems to be quite a bit of "orange peel" in the paint.

The fold flat rear seat was a BIG seller for me. My wife liked the idea of the slide forward baby seat, we will get to test it come February!!

So far, I am very happy with it. I miss my F-150 soley on the "I wish I had a TRUCK" factor, but the EXPY has been great. Brake dust has been there, but is not terrible.

By the way, when we bought ours, I read about all the problems the early 2003's had. We only looked at those with a "C" at the end of the VIN, and couldn't find any of those problems.

 

MossBoss....what do you tow with yours? I have a tent trailer, and took it out last weekend. It seemed to sway a lot more than when I towed with my 2000. I was just wondering if you noticed any difference between the 2? Could it be suspension or tires? Or just in my head? Not a huge difference....just wondering if anyone else noticed a difference. Overall, though, it tows fine, and rides great.

 

I traded an '02 F-150 SuperCab in on my '03 Expy and don't regret it. I wish I could have kept the truck too, but one big payment is all I need. Anyway, the '03 rides and handles far better than the F-150 did. I just did an 1,100 mile stint in it this past weekend and it was great. I had a 6'4" grandfather clock and an oak cabinet in the back with the back 2 rows of seats folded flat! When I wasn't hauling stuff, I hauled people site seeing. This thing is much more comfortable for long stretches then most any car would be. I got a best of 17.8 mpg on the interstate, which rivals what I got out of the F-150. I guess that isn't bad for a vehicle this size.

 

I tow a 19 1/2 ft Ranger Bass Boat. As for the swaying, the boat is on a tandem axle trailer , and it stays in line like a kid in Catholic school.

One thing I did notice was on my F-150, when I had a hitch without enough drop (which put the trailer in more of a "nose up" angle and less tongue weight than a hitch with more drop) the boat walked around alot more. On my Expy, it tracks true, and the truck tows it with ease.

 

Bighersh,

Your review was written well and was right on the mark IMO. I, for the most part, agree with everything you observed and I feel similar except I traded from an F150 4x4 Super Crew King Ranch so my changes were a little different.

I think the '03 Expy is a fantastic vehicle and it rides, handles and performs better than my '01 Super Crew by a fairly noticable amount. The features and creature comforts of the EB Expy far exceed that of the Lariat trucks from '97 to '03. I think the new '04 F150 has finally stepped up to the plate and dished out a fair number of the creature comforts almost always found on the high end Expeditions. However, I think the trucks still have a way to go. If they'd use IRS on the trucks that'd help make the ride of a truck in line with the super ride on the Expy.

I kind of down played the IRS at first but after owning and driving mine for almost a month now, it's the IRS that really makes the biggest difference in ride, comfort and turning stability. The IRS is IMHO the single most notable difference between the trucks of today and the older Expeditions too. Of course the other most notable feature is the headroom on the third row seats in the '03 and later Expeditions and there again that is a result of the fantastic design on the IRS.

Don't get me wrong, prior to owning the '03 EB Expy, the King Ranch F150 Super Crew was the finest vehicle I had owned to date but now Ford has improved yet again. I do wish Ford would offer the premium leather found in the King Ranch on the Expediton, they'd have the "Creme de le Creme" of SUVs within the reach of Expy owners and the designers could probably take a break for a few years as folks would be overwelmed with joy and satisfaction. The leather in the EB Expy is cheap in my opinion and the KR leather would dress it up wonderfully. The Navigator is outside of my budget but a $1200 increase for KR leather I could swing.

That's my $0.02

Later,

~DM~

 

Was able to grab an '03 Expedition XLT on X plan plus $6000 in rebates.. for about $27K..Was one of the last leftovers in the area. 5.4L, towing, limited slip. Review is right on. Nice fit and finish. Only minor complaint is a little bump steer when I cross railroad tracks or something that hits both front wheels straight on. Regular road potholes etc.. are ok. Ride is fairly good but not quite as nice as some GM products. Engine power is fair, but nice and quiet.