Sacramento,
California -- Being bigger than the other guy used to be a big deal on the
elementary school playgrounds of my youth.
Backing off a prospective bully with bulk alone had its advantages, but
that slice of life really has not played much of a role in my life since then.
But recent
weeks testing the 2018 Ford Expedition Max Platinum 4X4 sport-utility vehicle and
its Lincoln cousin, the 2018 Lincoln Navigator 4X4 Black Label (pictured) brought it
all back. With these vehicles, size is
everything. They radiate intimidation,
power, strength, monster utility and bigness.
At 6-4, I
don't feel small around many motor vehicles.
But these DNA-sharing sport-utes made me feel like a mouse at the foot of Mount
Rainier. Ye gods, don't I need a special
license to drive these things?
Nope, no special
license needed, thanks to powerful V-6 engines, 10-speed automatic
transmissions and expertly tuned suspensions in both vehicles. At no time did either SUV struggle. They cruised smoothly and quietly, taking on
steep hill climbs in the Sierra Nevada without strain. Very impressive for vehicles measuring about
222 inches in length.
Of the two
sport-utility vehicles I tested within days of each other, the Expedition was more of a
workhorse. Powered seats folded easily
at the push of a button, enabling me to fill the vehicle with the contents of a
studio apartment. I literally had to
struggle to fill the thing up with cargo.
Even loaded up, the Expedition was silky and quietly powerful.
The tested
Navigator 4X4 Black Label was more of a luxurious rolling presidential suite. I
was awash in Venetian leather seating surfaces and rich, dark wood
paneling. Volunteer passengers swooned
over the opulent luxury they observed just stepping into the vehicle.
And yet, the
Navigator was no less of a cargo carrier and robust hill climber than the Expedition when the
former's 3.5-liter, twin-turbo V-6 rated at 450-horsepower was asked for maximum
performance.
Both the
Expedition and the Navigator received extensive upgrades and enhancements for the
2018 model year, and the improvements are obvious and dramatic. These are top-of-the-food-chain SUVs,
covering the wide range from serious haulers to luxury liners.
I'd say the
Expedition was more of a big-family/ranch vehicle of a daily driver, and the
Navigator more of a "top-that" vehicle to show off to the neighbors
who might have been bragging a little too loudly about their recent Cadillac
Escalade purchase.
Either way,
better bring cash: The bottom line on the tested Expedition was $83,585; the
sticker on the Navigator read $96,570.
No comments:
Post a Comment