2/19/20 54/100 1998 Ford Expedition

Taking another wide turn is the 1998 Ford Expedition, where it started life as a stock civilian truck in the First Shot release before being a yellow rescue vehicle in the 1999 1-100 release.  For 2000 it goes for an olive green military look with Military Police on the rear windows.  The mud graphics on the bottom come in two versions in either muddy or sandy designs.  As a replacement for the long-serving Bronco the Expedition challenged the Chevy Tahoe with four doors only and lots of room inside, while using a new line of V8 engines shared with the Ford F-series.  The details on the Expedition are nice from the roof rack to the ribbed taillight lenses, but the shape of the grille around the hood and front fenders seem a bit too rounded off.  Worse, the detailed base has a front-axle pumpkin that sits so low it makes the working suspension seem useless.  Inside the interior has seating for five with the detailed dashboard connected to the tall center console, while the cargo area is deep and wide though it would be nice to see a third row seat here.  The Expedition has continued on for years and so far has never strayed far away from the rescue segment from police to fire trucks and even with some slight improvements over the years the tall front axle pumpkin still gets in the way!

Specifications:

· Engine: 5.4L SOHC V8 280 hp.

· Transmission: 4-speed automatic

· 0-60 mph: 9.0 sec. est.

· Real vehicle price: #35,000 est. 2000

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars