The Blue Oval is eager to capture sales from Chevrolet. It’s clear that significant time, effort, and investment were put into the 2025 Ford Expedition to help it steal some sales away from the Chevy Tahoe.
The redesigned 2025 Expedition arrives with more family-friendly features and packaging, along with some interesting design choices. But after a week with the latest people mover from Dearborn, it’s not clear to me if it can actually dethrone the Tahoe yet—but it’s getting closer.
Most of what you can see with the 2025 Expedition is new, but many of the parts you can’t see are similar or carryover. This isn’t an entirely new Expedition.
The front end looks a bit more butch and truck-like than the outgoing Expedition, which had more of a crossover SUV face to it. The egg-crate grille that bleeds into the headlights does a lot of the heavy design lifting here. The glass above the rear quarter panel now features a flourish on the trim that kicks up, and it makes the greenhouse appear a smidge less boring and brick-like. The designers made some interesting life choices and somehow Ford allowed every single 2025 Expedition to have a black tailgate regardless of which color paint is chosen. Bad call. But giving every Expedition a new split-tailgate like the Rivian R1S was beyond clutch in terms of functionality thanks to a reconfigurable shelf that doubles as a backrest or table for tailgating. Hard to imagine these two choices (the black tailgate and split tailgate) were made and approved by the same person.
Inside the new dashboard is a dramatic departure from the outgoing Expedition. A simplified dashboard now features a 24-inch panoramic display at the base of the windshield. The screen is controlled via unmarked touch-sensitive D-pads on the two-spoke steering wheel. It’s all augmented by a 13.2-inch touchscreen that houses nearly every control, including the headlights and climate system. There’s a volume knob, though.
The second-row seats still tilt and slide forward for easy access to the third row. A feat the Chevy Tahoe still can’t do with its flip-fold-tumble second row. This means in the Expedition, kids can tilt and slide the second-row seat with a car seat mounted in it, while you can’t say the same about the Tahoe. Somehow, in the redesign, the rear doors lost their cup holder. How do you lose two cup holders in a redesign for a 17.5-foot-long, three-row family SUV? Again with the choices. And at $83,965 as tested, why are there no second-row sun shades in the doors? The Tahoe lacks these, too, but that’s not a good excuse.
The bits you can’t see aren’t dramatically changed, that includes the powertrain. Every Expedition is still powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6. Most models have 400 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque, although the high-output version on the Tremor and available on the Platinum Ultimate and Stealth (the latter as tested) trims delivers 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. Every Expedition has a 10-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard, but most will be optioned with four-wheel drive. No hybrid or turbodiesel models exist. The lack of the F-150’s hybrid powertrain is a significant oversight here.
Off the line, that high-output turbo-six is best described as strong. It doesn’t have the American sound of the Tahoe’s V8, but it has more power and is quicker. Ford’s given it a deeper, gritty sound and none of that higher-pitched V6 wail. While the throttle is more progressive than the Tahoe’s, the brakes are grabby and come on too strongly too early. This makes it more difficult to be smooth in stop-and-go traffic.
Despite being equipped with adaptive dampers, the Platinum Stealth Expedition I tested rode softer and exhibited significantly more up-and-down motions than a comparable Tahoe. The Chevy has a more controlled ride with fewer motions, especially when going over highway overpasses.
The two-spoke squircle steering wheel is awkward at best, and reasonably awkward during turns and in parking lot hand-over-hand situations—and you’ll have those at Costco. But I understand why the wheel is a squircle as it makes it easier to see the panoramic display at the base of the windshield. That display feels far away, but it helps raise the driver’s eyes and gaze closer to the road and feels safer. That’s all before addressing the unmarked touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, which display on the screen what’s being engaged. Muscle memory does kick in eventually, but you have to look away from the road too much to use these. The silver trim surrounds on the vents near the edges of the dashboard reflect in the sun and are distracting on bright days.
Ford’s Level 2 hands-free driver-assist system, dubbed Blue Cruise, still feels two steps behind GM’s Super Cruise with a bit of ping-ponging action while cruising down the road.
The 2025 Ford Expedition costs $68,285, including an obnoxious $2,595 destination charge. The well-equipped mid-trim Platinum Stealth model tested cost $83,965, which is expensive, yet somehow not the most costly Expedition. That honor goes to the King Ranch model at $86,595 before options. The base Tahoe is thousands less, but the fancy models line up pretty neatly in terms of pricing.
The Tahoe drives better, has more user-friendly controls thanks to buttons, knobs, and toggles, and a better hands-free driver-assist system. It also has a diesel engine option.
The 2025 Ford Expedition is far more family-friendly than the Tahoe in terms of packaging and features, but it still doesn’t drive as well and isn’t as easy to operate as the Chevy. Which one is for you will depend on your priorities. I’d rather drive the Chevy but be a passenger or tailgate out of the Ford.
What’s your game plan?
The 2025 Ford Expedition might be king of packaging and features, but it doesn’t set the bar dynamically.
Ford provided The Drive with a 7-day loan of this vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.
As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
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