I have decided that I will be leaving the F150 fold in favor of a full size SUV.

My father has a 04 Expedition that I have driven quite a bit. The seats are comfy, but Something about the ride doesn't do it for me. Of course, he put 50K miles on it in less than 2 years, so the shocks are probably about screwed.

I REALLY REALLY love the exteror styling of the Yukon over the Expedition. But the GM's are so much more expensive, especially considering I can get an X Plan pin at any time I want one

My F150 has been completely reliable and have no complaints about it. 33K miles and only one trip to the dealer. I've beaten and abused the hell out of the drivetrain and the suspension and it refuses to fail. I almost hate to get rid of it... if I had the resources, I'd keep it as a second vehicle but I need the cargo space and people space.

I'm looking for feedback regarding the debate between the Expedition and the Yukon (or Tahoe, since its almost identical).

 

I think the GMs are very expensive considering how old the platform is. Its highway robbery. They should be coming in thousands cheaper than Ford ON THE STICKER (not including any incentives)


If you can wait, I think the new GMT platform comes out next year (all new SUV and PU platform)

 

A friend of mine has an 03 Tahoe, we have an 03 Expedition. I looked at Tahoes/Yukons before we got the Expidetion. First, the expedition rides better than the GMs. Second, the third seat won't fold flat (you have to remove the rear seats for room to haul stuff). Third, I don't like the interior of the GMs as well as I did the expedition.

Now, the only complaint I have with my wife's Expedition is annoying little rattles coming from the doors. Other than that I love it. We got an 03 XLT, with Leather, Factory DVD, 5.4, Tow Package and AdvanceTrac with 34,000 on it for $21,900. I preferred the exterior look of the Eddie Bauer, but I didn't want to spend the extra cash.

That's my .02 worth. Hope it helps.

 

The IRS on the Expedition makes it handle and ride a lot better than the Yukon. Plus I don't think the Yukon's interior quality is anywhere near the Expys.

The GM V8s do run pretty hard, but I don't think this tips the balance - you can always make your Expy faster but you're stuck with the Yukon's interior and worse ride/handling.

 

My brother-in-law bought a tahoe about 4 months ago and after riding in the 05' expy last weekend his immediate response was the expy seemed a lot more peppy. He also commented how much better the ride was. The new independent suspension is great. He also mentioned how he wishes the tahoe had fold down seats. He said it is a real pain in the #@@ to pull the back seat out.

edit--- This was before the xcalibrator was installed.

 

So far I love our new Expy. The Tahoe was our second choice. I like the interior of the Expy a lot better than the GM's. Exterior styling is a toss up. They both look great, but different. The Expy is really smooth and looks great lowered with large wheels. The GM's look more rugged and look great lifted with large all terrian tires.

 

For starters, the Yukon is a GM...okay, I'll be good

From what I've heard, they're having fire sales on the Yukon/Tahoe. The list might be high, but they're selling for a lot less, maybe less than the Expedition.

The other side of the coin, IMHO, is you're buying a legacy edition with either of them. The design is a bit dated. I'd consider them more comparable to the old model Expy. The outside has aged well, but not that well. The interior looks to me to be a good generation behind the times. The Denali dash looks the same as a basic Chevy work truck.

OTOH, I'm not a big fan of the Expy interior. Ford could have done themselves a huge favor by putting the same design team from the F-150 to work on the dash. I had an '04 F-150 and now drive a Navigator, and both of them are worlds better interior designs.

My brother bought a Yukon last year. He came to visit last summer and liked the F-150 a lot more than his Denali. He hasn't seen the Navigator yet

 

I had a 99 Expedition recently that I decided was time for
replacement. I've also liked the styling of the Yukon/Tahoe
like you noted.

However, after driving both the Tahoe and Yukon I quickly
came to the conclusion that they are utter junk. The interior
(ford is no BMW, but compared to these two it might as
well be) looks like it was stolen out of a 1987 Camaro.

The handling was horrible as well, talk about an old, clunky
truck feel.

I ended up with a 05 Expedition. The new expy is light years
better than the current Chevy/GM twins. I'm still amazed at
how well the new expy handles and feels on the road. Hard
to beat independant suspension. The new 3v 5.4L is nice too,
300hp/365ft-lbs and it pulls a lot quick than either of the
GM twins (and my old 99 as well).

However, go drive them for yourself, I think it'll be a no
brainer for you as well. Ford is light years better than
GM right now in the full size SUV dept.

-d

 

I just went through the same desicion process. After swithing from an F250LD to a Chevy 2500HD in 2003, due to the dreaded spark plug problem, as well as some Magnacharger issues I had not considered a Ford.

The wife and I looked hard at the Yukon, Tahoe and Armada. I was not impressed with the GM products as compared to the Nissan Armada. Then I remembered the 300h.p. engine in the Expy. After we drove one it was all over.

The handling, ride, power and build quality blows GM away. I still like the way the GM looks. The Armada was actually the choice but the rebates from Ford made it an easy decision.

So...I'm back!

 

When we looked at Tahoe and Escalades I noticed that the instrument panel was the same as both the Chevy and Cadilac which is also the same instrument panel in my 98 Chevy Astro Cargo Van. You can get a new cargo van for 18K with the same interior look as a 60K Cadillac.

 

The Expedition has the independent rear suspension while the GM has a solid rear axle. That is old school however if you ever want to lift your SUV, the GM of course would be the one you would have to go with.

 

There is a lift kit for the '03 and up Expys now. I think I read it on a thread here. If not it was one of the other Ford boards.

 

Rize Industries has just introduced a new lift kit for the IRS Fords. It appears to be very well made. There is an article on it in the new issue of Truckin' Magazine.

 

I had a 2000 Expedition which I chose over the Tahoe Yukon because it was just plain bigger and I had relatives and friends who couldn't kill the motor or trannie. I beat the living stuffing out of that 2000 and never once had to take it back to the dealer. It traded at Blue book with 98,500 miles on it. Needless to say after driving the newer 05 Expedition and looking at the numbers for the 5.4 3V motor, there was no way I was spending $10K more for a GM. This new 05 is much better than the 2000 and that truck was bullet proof.

 

Amen brother!