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FORD EXPEDITION
tested around Jebel Qantab, Yitti and Bandar Jissa
“Big, luxurious, fast and expensive, it does most things you will ever need�

Four-wheel drive vehicles seem to be following a Darwinian sort of evolution, starting from bare-bone workhorses to increasingly packaged models that iron out the off-road stretches you might try. Chances are you won’t feel anything in the latest Ford Expedition, a massive chunk of metal and leather riding its 5.4-litre V8 so smoothly everything from speed bumps to rocks underneath seem to fade into insignificance. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. RO17,500 (the top end we drove) ensures that something this big and heavy is as easy to drive as a little hatchback. But its electronics and suspension so carpet the ride they don’t give much feedback to the driver. This is far less important on the road than it is off �we’d love to get more feeling out of the dirt tracks when in 4WD, especially 4WD Low, so easily accessible with a knob on the dashboard. This is part complaint, part old wife’s tale. We’re so used to being banged about in older generation off-roaders that something seems lacking when they do get it right. And consumers want everything: a 4WD tough as nails and as comfortable as a saloon. This is partly the reason for the Expedition in the first place, enough of many things to cater to the wishes of soccer-moms, boat trailers, weekend off-roaders and corporate travellers. Given the brief, this Ford will possibly do more of each than you really need, and keep you above the traffic and ensconced in enough luxury to make up for it.

It’s automatic, of course, and although this has nothing to do with Ford some might prefer more manual settings when venturing far off the beaten track. Like most automatics, the Expedition has less engine-braking power downhill, even in the lowest of 4WD gears, which means that you will probably have to use your brakes too, not always ideal over great distances or slippery surfaces. Still, we’re willing to bet the Expedition is car enough for your needs. Generally, anything with more mechanical control will also offer you a ride that much less comfortable, and we were too happy with our Eddie Bauer trim to let anything more than a mumble escape as we drove over the tracks above Jissa. The drive is exceptionally smooth, and the car remains rock steady at high speeds. The view through the rear window could have been larger, but you can’t really find fault with much as far as driver ergonomics and interiors are concerned. Ford has been refining the Expedition for some time now, ever since 1997. The model has developed into the company’s flagship SUV, with about a million being sold all over the world since 2004.

Bottom line? It’s big, luxurious, fast and expensive, does most things you will ever need and keeps you so comfortable you won’t complain if it doesn’t.