2002 Ford Excursion: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Power-adjustable brake and throttle pedals highlight changes to the 2002 version of the largest SUV sold in America. Excursion is 7.4 inches longer than Chevrolet Suburban, 6 inches taller, and 2000 lb heavier. It seats up to nine and offers rear-wheel drive or 4WD that must be disengaged on dry pavement but includes low-range gearing. A V8 is the base engine. A V10 and a turbodiesel V8 are also available. Antilock 4-wheel disc brakes are standard. Side airbags aren't offered. An available rear-obstacle-warning system sounds an alert of objects when backing up. The optional rear video-entertainment system has wireless headphones and a DVD player, which replaced a VCR at midyear. A 6-disc in-dash CD player is also optional. The power adjustable pedals move fore and aft a few inches via a dashboard control. They're optional on XLT and XLT Premium models, standard on Limited and Limited Ultimate models; on Ultimate, they come with a seat-and-pedal memory feature. Excursion can tow up to 11,000 lb.

COMPETITION

Though this segment has cooled somewhat with the rise in fuel prices, it's still one of the hottest. Our Best Buys are the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Recommended are the Ford Expedition and GMC Yukon. For a few more bucks you can get the Toyota Land Cruiser. Its high price is the only thing holding back this refined and drivable SUV. We love the size, comfort, and power of these big SUVs but wish they got a few more miles per gallon.