As most Blue Oval fans are well aware by now, the Ford Excursion was a short-lived exercise in how to create the largest SUV possible, one that ultimately couldn’t survive amid rising gas prices during a time when people briefly ditched big trucks and utility vehicles in favor of smaller, more economical rides. However, the Ford Excursion remains as popular as ever today, with nice examples selling for big bucks as people gravitate toward the kind of vehicle that just doesn’t exist today – one capable of hauling extra-large families and heavy loads at the same time. Thus, now is a great time to take a look back at this 2000 Ford Excursion Retro Review from MotorWeek, which is fresh off posting similar clips pertaining to the 1995 Ford Explorer and 1988 Lincoln Continental.
As host John Davis points out, the Ford Excursion came along in a time when SUVs were beginning to become the vehicle of choice in the U.S., which is also a time when those types of vehicles just kept getting bigger and bigger. The Excursion won that battle when it debuted, as it measured in at around 18 feet in length, dwarfing just about everything else on the road at the time. Despite this and its roughly 7,000-pound curb weight, our reviewers note that the giant SUV is rather “light on its feet.”
That long wheelbase also made for a cushy ride – upset only by its solid front axle, but thanks to its revised steering, it was also quite capable of navigating tighter parking lots as well. As one might imagine, those benefits didn’t translate to even reasonably good fuel economy, as the Excursion was a thirsty beast no matter which powerplant one opted for – in the case of this tester, it averaged between 9-12 miles-per-gallon, in fact.
Regardless, people didn’t mind that sort of thing – at least until gas prices soared to new record highs years later – as the sheer size of the Ford Excursion meant that it as capable of hauling a tremendous amount of cargo and lots of people of all sizes while also pulling a house. That’s precisely why people still gravitate toward it today, in spite of its obvious downsides.
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Comments
I have a2000 excusion with over 300000 miles on it still going strong
Love the room and ride, one time the family was heading to Florida, on Interstate 95 the traffic was running about 75 mph when all the car ahead
Lock brake, I had to take the grass to avoid a big wreck from front and rear.Thank God and the Excusion no one were hurt
I own a 2004 Ford excursion Eddie Bauer 4×4 edition with about 320700 miles on it,with a v10,She is still running like brand new.
I wish Ford still made them. It would be my preferred TV for my Airstream.