By Jeff Glucker
“Could you get a vehicle to fit the groom and all his groomsmen, and drive them to the church?” That question came from my Mother-in-Law ahead of her son’s upcoming wedding. I reached out to the local fleet management company and asked if they had anything up to the task. “Would a 2025 Ford Expedition King Ranch fit the bill?” Yes, in fact, it fit the bill rather nicely.
It’s been some time since I’ve been behind the wheel of Ford’s full-size offering. To say the Expedition has come a long way would be an understatement. On the outside, the styling is cleaned up and modern. Ford’s light treatment in the nose sets off a great tone for the rest of the vehicle. The shoulder line runs straight back, providing a strong stance, while the rear lighting does a nice job of echoing what happens up front.
This specific model is the King Ranch. So it’s set apart from the rest of the lineup by way of the badging and copper trim elements. The 22″ wheels are trim-specific, too.
Open the door, and if you’re a fan of leather, you have entered your own personal Valhalla. Many cows died to bring you this Del Rio interior. It’s actually probably not real leather, but it looks the part and plays the part of cowboy cosplay rather nicely. There’s more copper found in the cabin to pair with all of that leather, as well as more King Ranch logos.
It’s a rather nice place to spend time behind the wheel. The drawback in the cabin has nothing to do with comfort, thankfully. Rather, it’s about some of the tech-focused decisions. If you want to adjust the steering wheel, pedals, lights, etc., you must use the buttons on the squared-off steering wheel. It’s a curious choice, at best. The screens themselves are fine, and you quickly become accustomed to the wide, low driver’s information display. But hiding some otherwise simple operational tasks behind non-intuitively placed buttons won’t win rave reviews from potential Expedition customers.
What they will appreciate, however, is the power on tap. Ford fits the Expedition with a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 EcoBoost engine. It’s easy to lament the lack of a V8 here, but I’m happy to report that this King Ranch cranks out 400 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. There’s an upgraded version of the engine that’s offered as an optional choice on the Platinum model and comes standard on the off-road-focused Tremor. The High Output version, as it’s dubbed, delivers 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. All versions work in concert with the ten-speed automatic.
The power delivery is excellent, and there’s a surprisingly powerful tone from the engine. I’m not quite sure if it’s faux noise filtered through speakers or if the V6 has a beefy exhaust rumble to back up its more than adequate punch. And the tow rating is up at 9,600 pounds, for 4×4 standard output models.
This Expedition doesn’t drive smaller than it is, and that’s something I appreciate. It feels like a big truck, because it is. I think buyers of vehicles in this class want that sort of thing. And though I do think some will wish for a V8 engine, and I get it, they will be more than surprised to feel what the EcoBoost can dole out.
Back to the wedding request, though, as that’s why I initially asked to borrow this big rig. It handled the task in the middle of a Nor’Easter rolling through New England, and it proved to be a perfect pairing for the event.
It certainly isn’t inexpensive, of course. While the base Active model can be had starting at $65,000, the King Ranch is king of the hill. It wears a starting price tag north of $86,000. A Platinum starts at $76k+, and the Tremor is north of $83k to start.
If you’re fancier than all that, though, you can walk over to the Lincoln dealership and take a new Navigator for a spin. All versions of that truck are now over $100k… It makes the King Ranch look like a bargain, by comparison.
Kamil Kaluski