Ford Excursion
The Ford Excursion is a heavy-duty full-size SUV marketed by Ford Motor Company from 2000 through 2005. At its introduction, the Excursion was the longest and heaviest SUV ever to enter mass production. The third Ford SUV was derived from the F-Series pickup trucks, and the model line used a heavier-duty chassis and frame than the Expedition; both vehicles competed against the Chevrolet Suburban.
Developed as a competitor for the 2500-series Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, the Ford Excursion was derived from the -ton F-250 Super Duty pickup truck. The model line was produced for a single generation; a shortened 2006 model year was offered exclusively for Mexico. Targeting the North American market, only a few were produced for export. The Excursion remains the second largest mass-produced SUV ; currently, only the GMC Hummer EV SUV is heavier.
The Excursion was assembled at its Kentucky Truck Plant alongside the Ford Super Duty line. The last example was produced on September 30, 2005. For 2007, Ford introduced the extended-length Ford Expedition EL/MAX, competing more closely against the 1500-series Suburban in capability.
Origin and concept
For the 1973 model year, General Motors redesigned its Suburban utility wagon as part of its Rounded-Line C/K trucks. A fourth passenger door was added, allowing the model line to compete directly against the similar-size International Harvester Travelall wagon for the first time. Following the 1975 discontinuation of the Travelall, the Suburban became the only wagon-style full-size SUV, competing primarily against the smaller Jeep Wagoneer.For 1978, Ford released the second generation of the Ford Bronco, repackaging it as a variant of the Ford F-Series. While growing significantly in size, the Bronco returned in its most popular body style: a three-door half-cab wagon with a removable hardtop. In contrast to General Motors, Ford did not develop a five-door SUV wagon. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Ford marketed five-door Bronco wagons on a special-order basis as license-built vehicles from second-party manufacturers. To assemble the design, the rear bodywork of the Bronco was mated to the bodywork of an F-Series crew-cab pickup truck. Examples used the 1-ton F-350 chassis as a basis, contrasting with the ½-ton or ¾-ton payload series offered by the Suburban.
For 1997, Ford replaced the Bronco with the all-new Ford Expedition five-door wagon, continuing to use the F-150 as a basis. Citing a decline in demand for three-door SUVs, Ford sized the three-row Expedition between the Chevrolet Tahoe and the larger Suburban. `
For 1999, Ford expanded the F-Series model range, with the F-250 and F-350 pickups becoming Ford Super Duty trucks; in addition to a distinct body design, the larger trucks offer a heavier-duty chassis and suspension along with larger engines. The newly introduced F-250 Super Duty served as the basis for the first Ford -ton SUV. Outside of the pickup truck range, the Ford Excursion became the largest Ford passenger vehicle, outranked only by the 12-15 passenger Ford E-350 Super Wagon.
Design overview
The Ford Excursion was introduced for the 2000 model year on September 30, 1999. In contrast to the Expedition, the Excursion had no direct predecessor in the Ford truck line.Chassis
The Ford Excursion shares many body and chassis assemblies with its F-250 pickup truck counterpart. The front suspension and most of the rear suspension were common components, but the Excursion was fitted with different leaf springs and front spring hanger brackets. The Excursion had a distinct frame which differed from the front sway bar mounts rearward, making the model taller and wider than its pickup truck counterpart.The rear axle for all Excursions was a Sterling 10.5 axle. The four-wheel-drive models had an NV273 transfer case and Dana 50 front axle. Rear axle ratios of 3.73:1 and 4.30:1 were offered.
During the development of the chassis, Ford learned that its initial design caused smaller vehicles to become severely overridden in a head-on collision. In the test, the tire of the Excursion drove up to the windshield of the Taurus. As a response, Ford modified the chassis to include an under-bumper "blocker beam"; a safety device the French transportation ministry initially tested in 1971. A trailer hitch was standard equipment to help reduce underriding in rear-end collisions by smaller vehicles.
Powertrain
During its entire production, the Excursion was offered with both gasoline and diesel engines. The standard gasoline engine was a 5.4 L Triton V8; a 6.8 L Triton V10 was offered as an option. At its launch, the optional diesel engine was the Navistar-produced 7.3 L Power Stroke V8; during 2003 production, a Navistar-produced 6.0 L diesel V8 was introduced, again using the Power Stroke name.All four engines were paired with an automatic transmission. The 4-speed 4R100 automatic was fitted to the 5.4 L, 6.8 L, and 7.3 L engines, with a 5-speed 5R110W automatic fitted to the 6.0 L engine.
| Engine | Configuration | Fuel | Production | Power output | Torque output | Transmission |
| Ford Triton V8 | SOHC 2V V8 | Gasoline | 2000–2005 | 4-speed automatic Ford 4R100 | ||
| Ford Triton V10 | SOHC 2V V10 | Gasoline | 2000–2005 | 4-speed automatic Ford 4R100 | ||
| Ford/Navistar Power Stroke V8 | OHV V8 turbo | Diesel | 2000–2003.5 | 4-speed automatic Ford 4R100 | ||
| Ford/Navistar Power Stroke V8 | OHV 4V V8 turbo | Diesel | 2003.5–2005 | 5-speed automatic Ford 5R110W TorqShift |
Though using the -ton chassis of the F-250, the two-wheel-drive Excursion was rated with a GVWR of when equipped with gasoline engines and when equipped with diesel engines. As its GVWR was above, the Excursion was exempt from EPA fuel economy ratings; reviewers cited fuel economy in the range of 12-15 mpg with the V10 gasoline engine. While its GVWR exempted it from emissions standards applied to light-duty vehicles, Ford designed the powertrains of the Excursion to meet low-emissions vehicle status.
Body design
While the smaller Ford Expedition shared design elements with the popular Ford F-150, the Excursion adopted a high degree of commonality from its F-250 counterpart. Except for its egg-crate grille, the Excursion shares its front bodywork forward of the B-pillars with its pickup truck counterpart. From the B-pillar rearward, the Excursion is designed with model-distinct bodywork. Along with rear passenger doors specific to the model line, the rear wagon body is styled similarly to the 1980-1996 Bronco. In place of a conventional liftgate, Ford designed the rear cargo door with a three-way layout, pairing a framed upper window with two lower "Dutch doors"; the Excursion sourced its taillamps directly from the E-Series van. For 2005, the egg-crate grille was replaced by the grille used by Super Duty pickup trucks.Sharing its dashboard entirely from the F-250, the interior was offered in either 8 or 9-passenger seating. As with the Bronco, Ford mounted the spare tire vertically in the cargo area. For 2002, the instrument panel underwent minor revisions ; seating materials underwent revisions.
Coinciding with its design commonality with the Ford Super Duty crew cab, the Excursion was a mass-produced SUV with four full-length passenger doors. Along with the Chevrolet Suburban and the International Travelall, the only mass-produced model lines with the design feature are the Ford Expedition Max/Lincoln Navigator L and the Jeep Wagoneer L.
Trim
The Excursion adopted the trim nomenclature of the Ford light trucks marketed in North America. The base trim was XL, XLT, and Limited. Following its use across many Ford light trucks, an Eddie Bauer trim package was introduced for the Excursion for 2003.XLT: Included three rows of seating, leather-wrapped steering wheel with speed control, a security system, keyless entry, chrome steel rims or optional alloy rims, trailer towing package, an AM/FM radio with cassette and single-disc CD player with six premium speakers, and air conditioning.
Limited: Included same features as XLT, but adds a power driver's seat, rear audio controls, illuminated running boards, alloy rims, front-speed sensitive windshield wipers, five power points, ten cupholders, leather seats, and an optional rear entertainment system with DVD player.
Reception
Being launched on September 30, 1999, the 2000 Ford Excursion was described by Popular Science as the "biggest sport utility on the planet." This would be the most successful model year for the Excursion, with nearly 69,000 examples sold. After essentially meeting sales projections at its launch, demand dropped in part because of the energy crisis of the 2000s. Annual production capacity was 70,000, but sales from 2001 barely reach half that number and the model become the lowest-selling SUV marketed by Ford or Lincoln-Mercury.The large size of the Excursion led to it being dubbed the Ford Valdez by the Sierra Club in 1999. In 2007, Time selected it as one of the "Fifty Worst Cars of All Time."
Variants
F-250 Tropivan
From 1998 to 2012, an aftermarket SUV conversion of the Ford F-250 was sold in Brazil. Similar in design and layout to the Excursion, the F-250 Tropivan differed primarily by its assembly as a second-party conversion. In contrast to the Excursion, two different wheelbases of the Tropivan were produced.As with all Super Duty trucks in Brazil, the Tropivan had a different engine selection throughout its production run, including a 4.2 L Essex gasoline V6 and two types of diesels: a 3.9 L Cummins B-series and the 4.2 L MWM Sprint 6.07TCA straight-6.
Aftermarket
During and since its production, the Excursion has become a basis for several types of aftermarket vehicles. As a result of its body commonality with the Super Duty model range, the bodywork of the Excursion led to aftermarket conversions of Ford medium-duty truck chassis to SUVs; to accommodate the longer wheelbase, the body was typically modified with an extra set of doors.At the other end of the size scale, the Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV was created by mating the rear bodywork of the Excursion with the bodywork of the first-generation Ford Raptor.
Because the Excursion shares significant design commonality with the 1999 through 2016 Ford F-250, the SUV has been customized by replacing the 2000-2005 front bodywork with the bodywork of 2008–2016 Super Duty pickup trucks.
The Excursion also has served as a basis for stretch limousines. Though Ford imposed a 120-inch length limit on body extensions, some Excursions have undergone longer extensions. One such stretched 2001 Excursion was involved in the 2018 Schoharie limousine crash, which killed 20.