I recently attended a launch event for the new Ford Expedition, and one of the first things that was said during the opening presentation was “we invented the big SUV.” My first thought was “…what about the Jeep Wagoneer?” I don’t doubt Ford’s claim, but I also know that car companies love making bold blanket statements that are technically correct for a nice soundbite, and Jeep has about as much right to that claim as Ford does. Muddying things is the fact that the Wagoneer and Expedition were never produced at the same time, until recently. We thought we ought to do a comparison between the 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor versus the 2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland Edition in this modern Battle of the Buses to see which of these big OG beasts is the real deal.
In The (Velvet) Red Corner: The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland
The Overland Edition is a new, limited edition of the 2025 Jeep Wagoneer. It is my hope that like the Jeep Wrangler 392 and the Hemi V8 engine in general, Jeep renegs on the whole “limited” thing and keeps building these, because it’s a very compelling package for just $7,995 on top of a Wagoneer Series II.
The Overland Edition adds blacked out trim, a black roof, black 20-inch wheels with machine-cut faces, 32-inch Falken Wildpeak A/T tires, three steel skid plates, Quadra-Lift air suspension, Quadra-Drive II 4×4 system with an electronic locking rear differential and 3.92 axle ratio, two extraction hooks in the front, and a removable one in the rear. Luxury niceties include Nappa leather seating, a three-pane panoramic moonroof, and an Alpine sound system. This truck rings in at $96,290.
In The (Wild) Green Corner: The 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor
The 2025 Ford Expedition is a heavily refreshed model for this year, taking over a thousand hours worth of consultations with existing and prospective Expedition clientele and applying it to this new leviathan. Along with a handsome new face and a new split rear tailgate that they’re maybe a tiny bit too proud of (more on that shortly), the interior has been completely gutted with a new, far more modern dashboard layout and interface that’s a sure sign of things to come for Ford trucks.
The Tremor is positioned just under the top-of-the-heap King Ranch trim, with most of the same luxury niceties and a bevy of heavy hardware. This includes black trim with orange Tremor highlights, 18-inch wheels with 33-inch General Grabber Terrain A/T tires, three steel skid plates, electronic locking rear differential with 3.73 axle ratio, revised bumpers with two extraction hooks in the front, and bespoke suspension tuning with extra clearance and travel. This truck carries a serious sticker of $109,110, before the luxe tax.
Exterior Styling
I always felt that the Jeep Wagoneer was almost incredibly good-looking, undone by the awkward U-shaped windows, highlighted by chrome bling on the loaded “Grand” Wagoneers we’ve tested. This “lesser” Wagoneer finally gets to be the handsome rig it always should have been, with the black trim and black roof toning down the curious silhouette and making it look right without trying too hard. The machined face of the 20-inch wheels adds a little zing of brightwork for contrast, and the deep Velvet Red metallic paint gives off a very upscale vibe. It also looks smaller than it is; I was shocked to see that the visually huge Ford is smaller in every dimension.
The Ford Expedition is instantly recognizable as a Ford truck, with a tough mug and signature “Electric Spice” orange highlights that identify it as a Tremor, with even the 18-inch wheels getting a single orange pocket for visual pop. Visually, it is significantly more aggressive than the gentile Jeep with its militaristic Wild Green gloss paint, aforementioned orange accents, and larger, knobbier rolling stock. Style is a matter of taste and Ford took a bold swing on this one, as every Expedition, regardless of trim or colour, has a black upper portion of its split tailgate. The jury is still out on whether or not this was a good idea, but the grumbling in the peanut gallery doesn’t sound good. Really, it comes down to how much you favour subtlety.
Advantage: Jeep
Interior appointments
This Wagoneer really undermines the Grand Wagoneer, which is supposed to be the more luxe-oriented, Escalade-fighting version of the Wagoneer. The powered and climate-controlled seats are trimmed in thick Nappa hide, as is the heated steering wheel. The dashboard and door panels are not leather, but covered in a durable, soft-touch material whose finish closely resembles the coarse grain leather of the seats for visual cohesion. Dark finished, brushed metallic trim ties everything together, and soft white ambient lighting keeps it together at night. Everything looks and feels excellent.
The Expedition is a nicely appointed truck, with black leather, orange accents, configurable ambient lighting, and dimpled metallic trim. There is more going on in terms of materials and finishes, but less going in terms of dashboard layout, as it’s a large negative space, with simple curvature, designed to look and feel airy, and emphasize the on-board technology. The Jeep is more traditional in its execution, while the Ford is significantly more modern-minimalist; whether or not this is a good thing is up to you. However, we all agreed the Jeep felt like a nicer, higher-quality product.
Advantage: Jeep
Bonus category: Steering wheel roundness
The Jeep Wagoneer has a nice, leather wrapped steering wheel, with easy-to-see physical buttons on its face, and rocker switches for volume and tuning on the back. It doesn’t achieve perfect marks in this category though, as the bottom of the steering wheel is flat and thickened at the bottom to accommodate a metallic trim strip. I see what they were trying to achieve, and it’s not too distracting, but it’s unnecessary.
The Ford uses the same cursed square-circle squircle that debuted as part of the Digital Experience on the Lincoln Nautilus. It is fairly minimalist, with only flat thumb pads and context sensitive controls that project onto the screen in front of you, highlighted by metallic trim. Despite being fairly small, it feels less unnatural to actually steer with than you might think, and you can still “palm it” for parking lot maneuvers, but it looks completely out of place and undermines the entire rest of the cabin design. You know the expression “don’t re-invent the wheel?” Ford literally tried to do that exact thing; do not do that thing. I don’t care if I sound like a curmudgeon, I know I’m right.
Commanding, domineering, indisputable, absolute trouncing advantage: Chevrolet/GMC
Storage and space
Jeep’s Wagoneer is a big truck with tons of space. The door pockets offer a lot of space, and the centre console has a deep, large storage area, a large covered cupholder with a standing nook for your phone, and a sizeable hidden compartment under the infotainment screen with a wireless charger. This model is fitted with second-row captain’s chairs, which easily fold out of the way at the touch of a button to allow easy access to a commodious third row. There’s 776 Litres of space behind the third row, and 2,000 L with the third row folded forward.
Despite being visually bulkier, the Ford Expedition is tad smaller, but smarter. The centre console has a thoughtfully arranged storage cubby with an angled wireless changing pad, there is a massive storage box (with a very usefully arranged tray) under the armrest, and the centre console can electronically slide out of the way to reveal yet another, large, lockable container underneath it all. This model has a split folding second-row bench that power-folds and lifts out of the way quickly, with a fairly generous third row, as well as a very useful split tailgate. While there is more nook & cranny storage, there is less outright cargo storage, with 612 L behind the third row and 1,722 L behind the second row. Despite having measurably less room, there’s still an abundance in every regard, and it’s a little more clever about using it.
Advantage: Ford
Tech and infotainment
The Jeep Wagoneer makes do with a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen with an oversized bezel – a shared frame with a bigger-screen’d Grand Wagoneer. Both displays are sharp and clear, with good contrast and refresh rates. The Jeep’s infotainment is powered by UConnect 5, which is flexible, powerful, highly configurable, and generally quite easy to use, with little lag or latency in its operation. It has a good mix of fixed shortcuts and fixed controls, has volume and tuning knobs, and is very easy to learn and live with. Both trucks have wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, but only the Ford has Google powered Maps and voice recognition – asking the TomTom powered to Jeep to navigate anywhere is a hopeless endeavour.
The Ford is a slam-dunk winner if you like lots of tech in your cars. It uses a 24-inch widescreen parked just under the windshield to serve as a gauge cluster, as well as an extension of the 13.2-inch central touchscreen, powered by the newest generation of Ford Sync 4 software, similar to what we’ve seen in the Mustang and Explorer. I was apprehensive about the massive widescreen, but it’s executed fairly well, and isn’t overbearing or too tech-centric. Some things are simpler than you’d hope, and some functions are less intuitive than you’d expect, but it’s livable once you’ve taken a beat to learn it, and it’s significantly snappier in operation than the Jeep. Its phone integration is also extremely impressive, able to project Waze maps onto the upper screen, While I prefer the simpler experience of the Jeep myself, the Ford wins this category pretty handily.
Advantage: Ford
Active safety and driver assists
Both the Expedition Tremor and Wagoneer Overland come with modern basics like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and forward collision alert across all trims. They all work fairly easily and effectively, and take a lot of labour out of dull commuting and sitting in traffic. Both vehicles have surround-view cameras and lane-change cameras, but the Ford’s are sharper and have a higher refresh rate. Both of these buses have the ability to park themselves.
The Ford is a clear winner by virtue of its ability to not just park itself, but entirely drive itself with Ford’s BlueCruise technology. Like the Jeep, it can follow, slow down, stop, and accelerate on its own, but the Ford can also follow lines in the road and even change lanes without you having to touch the cursed squircle at all. There is a cost to this: $650 per year or $3,295 for a one-time activation – but I appreciate that there is a one-and-done option.
Advantage: Ford
Powertrain and performance
All Wagoneers, lesser and grander, are fitted with Stellantis’s new Hurricane 3.0-Litre, twin-turbocharged straight-six engine. This Overland is fitted with the standard output variant of the Hurricane, producing 420 horsepower and 468 foot-pounds of torque. It is an impressively quiet, smooth, and impeccably refined mill, with a broad torque curve and linear throttle response that would be well suited to a luxury car. It’s mated to an impeccably calibrated TorqueFlite 8-speed transmission, which is a not-so-secret rebranding of the inimitable “ZF8” gearbox that powers BMWs and Range Rovers alike. It’s quick, quiet, and effortless, with a soft baritone grumble when pushed.
All Expeditions are powered by Ford’s well-known EcoBoost 3.5L twin-turbocharged V6. The Tremor is fitted with a high-output version of the engine, producing 440 horsepower and 510 foot-pounds of torque. Unlike the Jeep Hurricane, which wouldn’t be out of place in a Mercedes, the Ford V6 is a brawny, heaving brute of an engine that does an honest-to-God masterful impersonation of a traditional V8, but with more grunt. Mated to Ford’s 10-speed automatic that is very well tuned to this application, it accelerates with a muffled roar and serious alacrity.
The Ford’s muscle advantage is only augmented by carrying around 400 fewer pounds, and is markedly quicker as result, dashing to 100km/h in 5 seconds, whereas the Jeep needs 5.4 ticks to do the same job. Splitting tenths in a bus is a little silly, and the “slower” Jeep is still more than quick enough for all but the most unreasonable people, and in some mundane, everyday cases, it can feel a little more responsive by virtue of its transmission’s telepathic kickdowns to make better use of its power right now.
Despite having more outright power and meatier character, the Ford also uses less fuel than the Jeep, with an average fuel use of 14.7L/100km in our time with it, while the Jeep needed 15.6L/100km to haul its added mass around. Both engines prefer premium gas, but can make do with the cheap stuff in a pinch. The Jeep does have a slightly larger fuel tank at 100 L versus the Ford’s 88 L, so you’ll be stopping at the pumps about as often either way – the Jeep will just sting a little more. Overall I preferred the whole experience of the Jeep’s powertrain, but the Ford’s raw numbers advantage cannot be ignored.
Advantage: Ford
Driving impressions
The Jeep Wagoneer, like the Ram 1500 it shares a platform with, is a nice truck, and feels like a nice truck. The chassis and suspension of the Wagoneer feel just as refined as its luxury-car powertrain, with its stiff structure and air suspension soaking up imperfections in the road as if they weren’t there. Steering is a touch on the slow side, but well weighted, precise, and deliberate – again, like a luxury car. Body control and handling are superb (for a bus), and it’s a satisfying thing to helm. Engine noise is barely there, and you wouldn’t guess you’re riding on all-terrain tires, as road and wind noise are so well insulated.
The Ford Expedition, like the F-150 on which it’s based, feels more like a truck-flavored-truck, for the most part, with the only oddity being that cursed squircle tiller. If you don’t think about it, it’s fine, and even pretty good. The steering is a little more eager the Jeep and feels perhaps a tad more agile, but not quite as slick about it, with a little more body motion from its conventional (lifted) springs and (stiffer) shocks. It is by no means uncomfortable or harsh, but there is a little more secondary vibration and truck shudders transmitted through its chassis, whereas these quibbles are straight-up absent in the Jeep. The Tremor’s tires transmit a little more noise through the floor, and the engine proudly makes more noise, but it’s not unpleasant – just not as pleasant as the lovely Wagoneer.
Advantage: Jeep
Truck capability
The Jeep Wagoneer Overland Edition comes standard with a heavy-duty trailer towing package with trailer brake control, and is rated to haul an impressive 10,000 pounds – which puts it at the top of its class. Similarly, payload capacity is rated 1,510 lbs, and as mentioned before, it does have a greater amount of interior volume for cargo carrying.
The Ford Expedition Tremor also comes with a heavy-duty towing package with trailer braking, but is slightly behind the Jeep on all numbered fronts, with a towing capacity of 9,600 lbs, and a payload of 1,360 lbs in its smaller (but still cavernous) cabin. Realistically, neither of those deficiencies are going to impede your adventure, and Ford’s clever Pro Trailer Assist system can take almost all of the difficulty out of backing up with a trailer.
The real difference maker here is the Expedition’s split tailgate, the lower portion of which can support 500 lbs. It greatly increases the flexibility of how you can use your truck and/or haul your cargo. How more manufacturers haven’t caught on to what Range Rover clued into decades ago is beyond me. This almost makes the cursed squircle, which is also beyond my comprehension, forgivable. Almost.
Advantage: Ford
Off-road
Both trucks have a plethora of off-road drive modes, a two-speed transfer case, all-terrain tires, extraction hooks, skid plates for the front axle, transfer case, and fuel tank. The Jeep’s air suspension allows for 3.6 inches of height adjustment in its suspension travel, with a max ground clearance of 10 inches. The Ford, with its slightly larger tires (33” vs 32” on the Jeep), narrowly edges out the Jeep with 10.6 inches of ground clearance. Off-road geometry is comparable, with the Ford having marginally better approach and departure angles (28 & 24 vs. 25 & 22, respectively), and Jeep having a slightly better breakover angle (24 vs. 22).
Both trucks have a clever speed control system for traversing down and up terrain, and both trucks have an electronic locking rear differential. The Wagoneer has a little more hardware in its arsenal with the addition of a locking front pumpkin for that extra bit of traction in extreme conditions. The Expedition has more tech up its sleeve, in the form of Ford’s Trail 1-Pedal-Driving system, as well as Trail Turn Assist, which drags the inside rear wheel and can help this bus maneuver in tight situations (only on loose surfaces – this won’t help you park). The Ford also has additional off-road lights embedded in the grille, kept behind removable rubber covers. They are not meant for road use, as they cast a wide, bright net of light, hence the covers, which you’ll probably throw away on day one.
Jeep’s legacy with off-roading is legendary, and I would love to see how the Wagoneer Overland handles itself on a trail, despite not being “Trail Rated” due its sheer bulk. Conversely, I have seen the Expedition Tremor in action, and it is practically unstoppable – and its tools make it easy to be driven as such.
Advantage: Ford
Money
A base 2025 Jeep Wagoneer starts at $85,100. Our Overland Edition adds $7,995 to a slightly nicer Wagoneer Series II ($87,500), and the only option on top of that is the Velvet Red metallic paint at $795. The total sticker comes up to $96,290, before destination, delivery, dealer and environmental fees, and any taxes (as we always do with pricing). It is roughly forty-five thousand dollars less dear than the last Grand Wagoneer we drove, and we struggle to see why, as this thing is pretty grand at everything it does. It really falls into a sweet spot, undercutting the Chevy Tahoe Z71, GMC Yukon AT4X, Nissan Armada PRO-4X, Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro, and notably the Ford Expedition Tremor, without at all feeling like a cheaper product.
A base 2025 Ford Expedition clocks in at $82,120, but a Tremor is only one short step down from a loaded King Ranch, and jumps up to $104,470. Our tester’s addition of BlueCruise ($3,295), Ford Connectivity Package ($995), tilt-and-slide rear bench seat ($800), underbody protection (yes, the skid plates are not standard, but a cheap option at $540), brings the tally to $109,110. Almost thirteen grand more than the Jeep, before a $2,361 luxury tax ding. The Ford is an impressive truck with a lot of tech and thoughtful touches, but it doesn’t exactly feel nicer, nor is it measurably more capable, let alone enough to justify a whole extra year’s worth of payments. But, your mileage may vary. The Ford is better on gas, it is considerably more modern if you like that sort of thing, and that split tailgate is pretty clutch.
Advantage: Jeep
Bonus Category: Baseless speculation
I straight-up prefer the Jeep. A lot. I think in every way that can’t be measured on paper, it’s slightly better at everything. The powertrain is nicer. The cabin looks and feels nicer. It rides better than a lot of far more expensive trucks. The tech is easier to use. It’s bigger, and more handsome. Even the door closing sounds better. I don’t typically use press vehicles to commute, preferring to use my own cars to get myself to and from the office, but I drove this Jeep home almost every day. I really like it.
But… it’s a Chrysler, as the internet is so fond of saying. While internet commentators do tend to exaggerate and make things sound worse than they actually are, the Wagoneer has unfortunately been a real problem child for Jeep, and resale values reflect that, unfortunately. I can only hope that with this new engine (which has been solid so far) and next year’s facelift that those problems have been taken care of, because it’s a lovely truck, and a screaming value on top of that.
Despite the Wagoneer being a perceived problem child, the Ford Expedition is the one that gave me a real issue: its engine stopped at a light, as it should, but then said “service park system” or something to that effect, and wouldn’t start again until I “rebooted” the truck. It didn’t do it again, but it’s unnerving, and Ford doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for build quality, either. Nor does General Motors and their spontaneously combusting V8s. Even Toyota has had their struggles, but at least they don’t band-aid their problem and call it a day – that is, if they aren’t stolen first.
You know, the Nissan Armada was pretty nice, and those VR engines have been stout, historically.
Advantage: Nissan
Wrap it up
For me, between the 2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland Edition and the 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor, it’s a no-brainer. I’d have the Jeep. I’d have the Jeep even if the Ford didn’t have that cursed squircle, and I’d have it even it wasn’t thirteen thousand dollars less dear. I like them both, and I don’t think there’s a wrong answer; it’s really a case of different strokes for different folks – and there’s a lot of folks who will prefer the Expedition Tremor’s bolder style, brawnier powertrain and tech-forward interior. But I’m not one of them, and I’m the author of this Battle of the Buses. Hopefully Jeep builds more of these things beyond this limited edition, because it’s a home run.
