There’s been much ado about Ford’s original big SUV. This has been a big year for big SUVs, with nearly every entry in the segment being new or newly-updated, and Expedition is no different. With a new-for-the-segment split tailgate, handsome new style and a completely reworked interior interface, the Expedition is a shot across the bow at every other big bus. We’ve covered the Expedition extensively this year, and this time ’round we’re looking at a loaded 2025 Ford Expedition King Ranch.
Honky-Tonk
The Ford Expedition is instantly recognizable as a Ford truck, with a handsome facade and copper accents that identify it as a honky-tonk King Ranch. 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. I’ve been around these enough that I don’t mind it anymore, but I do mind the Glacier Grey paint on this tester; it’s more blue than grey, which is fine, but it clashes against the bronze. It would be a very handsome truck in any other shade.
Swanky Ranch cabin
The Expedition King Ranch is a nicely appointed truck, all coming the same way, loaded to the gills, with a warm two-tone Mesa colorway and Del Rio leather seats. While the materials and theme say throwback, the dashboard layout is anything but. It’s a marked departure from the outgoing model, with a completely overhauled dashboard and center console design. It’s no longer a squared F-150 derivative, but instead very minimalist with an emphasis on airiness and simple curvature.
It is, in a word, large. There is no shortage of space in any seat, and even the third row is very usable. More than just being big, it’s smart about its space, as 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 second-row captain’s chairs that power-folds and lifts out of the way quickly, with a fairly generous third row, as well as a very useful split tailgate – the lower portion of which can support 500 pounds. There’s 612 litres of storage behind the third row, which expands to 1,722 litres with the power-folding third row out of the way. If you need more than that, there is an Expedition MAX that adds 300mm to the wheelbase for $3,500.
Gotta have more screen
This is my third Expedition in a year. I still haven’t warmed up to the squircle tiller. It’s necessary to facilitate the 24-inch widescreen parked just under the windshield that serves as a gauge cluster, as well as an extension of the 13.2-inch central touchscreen. The display is sharp and slick in operation, but the use of space could be more effective, as it feels underutilized. There’s a lot of screen, but not much in the way of information.
It’s all powered by the newest generation of Ford Sync 4 software, similar to what we’ve seen in the Mustang and Explorer. 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. Its phone integration is also extremely impressive, able to project Waze maps onto the upper screen. I find it preferable to the full-width system Lincoln is implementing, but it’s still an update or two away from being as good as it could be.
It’ll be interesting to see if and how Ford inevitably translates this new design paradigm to the F-150. I can almost guarantee this is poised as a public test bed for their most important vehicle.
Beyond the big screen, the Expedition is brimming with tech. Not only is it able to park itself, but entirely drive itself with Ford’s BlueCruise technology. It can follow, slow down, stop, and accelerate on its own, but it 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.
Motor and more
All Expeditions are powered by Ford’s well-known EcoBoost 3.5L twin-turbocharged V6. The Higher trims like this are fitted with a high-output version of the engine, producing 440 horsepower and 510 foot-pounds of torque. 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.
For how massive and mighty it is, it’s less inefficient than you’d expect. Over the course of the Christmas break, I averaged 15.8L/100km with it, and that’s with gratuitous use of the remote start and lots of city driving working against it. You cannot buy an Expedition in this country without the heavy duty towing package, and as such, even this leisure oriented King Ranch is ready to work with a class-leading 9,600 pound towing capacity.
Helm and handling
The entire front section of the frame has been redesigned to enhance ride comfort. It also helps hide the fact that the Expedition is, in fact, a big serious truck under its handsome-and-also-updated-for-2025 skin. Ford relocated the mounting points for the front sway bars, tweaked the body mount points, and the body mounts themselves are softer to better isolate shudders from the truck frame underneath.
It generally rides well and is a noticeable improvement over the last King Ranch we tested, even our tester’s massive 22-inch rolling stock. It is still a truck and feels like a truck, with a mild amount of secondary vibrations and body-on-frame shudders, but overall it’s quite comfortable and well mannered. Steering is light and fairly quick, and if you avoid looking at it, you get used to handling the square tiller fairly quickly.
Value
A base 2025 Ford Expedition clocks in at $82,120, but this decked out King Ranch clocks in at $112,235, before freight, delivery, dealer fees, and a mild luxe-tax hit. It’s a lot of money, but you get a lot of very nice and exceptionally capable truck in return. For whatever it’s worth, it also undercuts the last GMC Yukon we tested by a substantial margin, and is roughly even with the new Nissan Armada.
Wrap it up
The 2025 Ford Expedition King Ranch is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a decked out Ford truck. It’s a big, proper SUV built to work and play, with no real compromises. It can do absolutely everything, and do it all well, while looking good and being easy to live with. What else can you possibly want in a truck?
