First Drive: 2025 Ford Expedition

Ford’s biggest SUV has gotten a complete makeover, and there’s plenty worth checking out – from the new split tailgate to the first-ever Tremor off-road package. The 2025 Ford Expedition offers more muscle, more towing capabilities and there’s even a new tech package that includes an assortment of video games. Headlight.News headed down to Louisville, Kentucky to put the new SUV through its paces. Here’s our review.

This is a big year for full-size SUV buyers, with an assortment of new and updated options coming from both import and domestic brands. For its part, Ford Motor Co. is determined to capture even more of the market with a major makeover of the familiar Expedition line.

There’s plenty to like about the 2025 Ford Expedition, as I discovered during two days of driving down in Louisville, Kentucky. While exterior styling gets, on the whole, an evolutionary update, buyers are likely to appreciate the new split tailgate. Expedition’s cabin is all-new and highlights all the technology the fifth-generation SUV adds including Ford’s hands-free BlueCruise system. And for adventurous buyers, Ford introduces the new Tremor package, with its beefy 33-inch all-terrain tires and added underbody protection.

Here’s our review.

Exterior design

Ford continues to offer two versions of its full-size SUV, the Expedition and Expedition Max. The standard-length package stretches 209.9 inches, bumper-to-bumper, with a wheelbase of 122.5 inches. It stands 78.1 inches in height, with a width of 80 inches – 94.6 inches if you include mirrors. Expedition Max adds another 9 inches of wheelbase and 11.8 inches in length – at 131.5 and 221.7 inches, respectively.

Ford designers hewed closely to the outgoing SUV’s exterior design. The new model is a bit more upright and angular, giving it a more aggressive feel. There are new LED headlamps and the running lights now wrap around the grille.

The big news here is a new split tailgate. “Three-quarters of the gate raises like a traditional liftgate, while the lower quarter folds down like a truck’s tailgate,” Jill Dougherty, Ford Expedition exterior designer, explained.

The lower portion of the split gate has a capacity of 500 pounds and can serve as a bench for camping or tailgating. There’s also an optional shelf that can hold cargo, function as a seatback or serve as a table.

Interior design

The interior of the 2025 Ford Expedition is where Ford made the biggest changes. The instrument panel is completely new and topped off by a new, 24-inch panoramic digital gauge cluster. With it mounted just below the windshield drivers will look over, rather than through, the steering wheel, meaning they’ll take eyes off the road far less often. A second, 13.2-inch touchscreen tops the center console and operates the newly updated Ford Sync infotainment system.

Among the new features: the “Flex Powered Console,” which can, with the touch of a button, slide fore or aft up to 8 inches. It provides a secure storage area for stowing a purse or other valuables. It also integrates a console second-row passengers can use to operate audio and climate controls.

The big SUV offers a capacious interior with plenty of head, shoulder and legroom, even in the third row. That back bench is power split fold, making it easy to extend Expedition’s cargo space. With all seats up, you’ll get a hefty-enough 21.6 cubic feet of storage in the standard wheelbase model, 36.1 cf with Expedition Max. Fold down both second and third rows and that jumps to 108.5 cf and 123.1 cf, respectively.

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Powertrain

The 2025 Expedition is offered with two powertrain options:

• The base package features a 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 making 400 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque;
• An upgraded, high-output version of that engine pushed the numbers to 440 hp and 510 lb-ft. It’s standard on the new Tremor package and optional on the Expedition Platinum.

Both engines are paired with a 10-speed automatic, though gearing is slightly revised, depending upon whether you opt for the 4×2 or 4×4 configurations.

The 2025 Ford Expedition will be offered with a choice of 4×2 and 4×4 configurations – though Tremor will only be available as a 4×4.

Towing and trailering

Expedition can tow up to 7,000 pounds in standard configuration. And you can pull that load without having to add a cumbersome weight-distributing hitch. But for those who plan to haul even heavier loads, that hitch boosts tow capacity to 9,600 lbs.

To make it easier to handle a trailer, the 2025 Expedition features Ford’s Pro Trailer Hitch Assist which simplifies the process of hitching up your trailer. There’s also Pro Trailer Backup Assist. That system makes it easier to back up a trailer simply by using a small knob on the IP.

New Tremor trim

There’s been a huge surge in the number of American motorists heading off-road in recent years – a trend only accelerated during the years of COVID lockdowns. Ford has responded to that trim with a variety of off-road-oriented packages. And, for the first time, Expedition gets a Tremor option.

It replaces the old Timberline package and offers a significant upgrade in off-road capabilities. Calling it the “pinnacle” of “adventure ready” packages, Expedition’s Chief Engineer Adrian Aguirre said Tremor “delivers off-road capability and hardware shared with F-150 Tremor combined with Expedition’s big family and cargo-carrying versatility.”

That starts out with a big boost to ride height – here a full 10.6 inches. Tremor gets a front skid plate and added underbody protection for the front axle, transfer case and fuel tank. It features off-road auxiliary lights embedded in the front grille. And Ford retuned both the suspension and power steering. The package is completed with 33-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires.

Driving Impressions

Big rigs like Expedition usually make compromises when it comes to ride and handling. I found myself quite surprised, then, by what Ford engineers have been able to accomplish with the 2025 makeover.

On-road, Expedition proved far more nimble than I anticipated, able to sweep through turns like you’d expect from a much smaller SUV. It’s no sports car, but it’s surprisingly sure-footed, and the ride is much more accommodating than most of the current crop of competitors, able to suck up all but the harshest potholes and bumps. Having recently driven the also new-for-2025 Lincoln Navigator, I found the more mainstream Expedition nearly as comfortable to drive.

I had the chance to check out both the standard and high-output engine packages, as well. The “base” offering should be more than beefy enough for most buyers. It readily responded to the slightest movement of my right foot and had more than enough power to execute quick launches and high-speed passes. For those looking for even more grunt, though, the high-output version of the EcoBoost engine takes things to the next level. I would expect this to be the powertrain of choice for those planning to two heavy loads.

The new Tremor package, meanwhile, proved a big upgrade compared to the old Expedition Timberline. It easily maneuvered through a challenging off-road course, handily fording a rain-swollen stream and easily negotiating tight corners using the new Turn Control system that locks up the inner front wheel to make the sort of maneuvers you wouldn’t expect from an SUV of this size. The One-Pedal mode, meanwhile, makes it easy, even for novices, to deal with steep hills.

Technology

The new touchscreen operates the latest Sync infotainment system which is now powered by Google. That translates into a continuously upgraded mapping system and a personal voice assistant. Google Play can be used to play games or stream YouTube videos – when the vehicle is in Park, of course. The system also integrates Amazon Alexa, as well as wireless versions of both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

There’s also an onboard WiFi hotspot which can connect to 10 separate smartphones, tablets and other portable devices.

With the fifth-generation makeover, Expedition becomes the latest model in the Ford line-up to get the automaker’s BlueCruise system which can operate on more than 100,000 miles of limited-access U.S. and Canadian roadways. The SUV features version 1.4, an update that improves lane centering and allows motorists to pass slower vehicles – where safe – simply by tapping the turn signal.

Pricing and availability

According to the EPA, the standard-length 2025 Ford Expedition with the standard output EcoBoost engine yields 19 mpg combined, 16 city and 24 highway with two-wheel-drive. The 4WD package drops to 18 combined, 15 city and 22 highway.

The 2025 Ford Expedition carries a fairly steep price hike compared to the outgoing model which started at $57,839. The new truck starts at $63,995, and the top-end Expedition King Ranch now comes in at $85,650. Do be aware that prices could be increased in the coming months due to the Trump administration’s auto tariffs. Expedition is assembled at the Ford Louisville Truck Plant but relies on som imported parts.

Ford began taking orders for the 2025 Expedition last October. The first of the new models are now rolling into U.S. showrooms.