Ford Expedition sees growing popularity and demand from GCC families as summer holiday season nears

The Ford Expedition is increasingly becoming popular among families in the region as demand for Ford’s full-size SUV in the GCC has more than doubled in the first half of the year, especially as the summer holiday season nears. Sales in the GCC grew 130% while in Bahrain, year to date Ford Expedition sales grew by 170%. 

Ford Middle East’s director of Sales Hussein Murad said: “More and more customers with large families that prefer to drive on long holiday trips are choosing the Ford Expedition thanks to its capabilities, comfort features, storage space, and great value for money. Expedition is an outstanding do-it-all full-size SUV that is tough, functional and refined, and features many best-in-class features. We are pleased with the confidence that our customers continue to place in this great product.” 

The Ford Expedition further built on its value for money attributes after being named winner of the 2012 Kelley Blue Book Total Cost of Ownership Award in the full-size SUV category, beating the competition with the lowest projected ownership costs for the initial five-year ownership period. 

Bigger, bolder and better, the 2012 Ford Expedition sealed its reputation as the ultimate full-size SUV that offers the toughness, functionality and comfort to customers that need just that. The Ford Expedition features a best-in-class trailer tow rating of up to 9,200 pounds complemented by an array of clever control technologies to help customers tow confidently in just about any condition, on or off road. 

The standard 5.4-liter V8 delivers 310 NET horsepower and 365 lb.-ft. of torque, capability that works hand in hand with industry- and class-exclusive technology. 

“Ford Expedition is not just big in size, it’s also a huge package with great features,” said Ziyad Dallalah, Ford Middle East’s chief engineer. “While it answers conveniently to the owner’s need for space, durability and driving power, there are intrinsic features included in the Ford Expedition that further enhance the ownership experience.” 

Quality

Expedition features an independent multilink rear suspension, which allows each rear wheel to react independently to road impacts to provide a smooth, controlled ride. 

Noise elimination is one of the highlights of Expedition, according to Dallalah.  With the installed Quiet Steel® laminated dash panel and magnesium crossbeam, noise and vibration coming from the engine compartment are significantly reduced.  Other installations that help eliminate noise are the secondary door seals, dash pad and door panel insulation, extra-thick side-window glass, structural foam applied to the upper B-pillars, upper and lower D-pillars and floor pan, and, engine and transmission mounts that are designed to minimize vibration and noise.

Expedition also offers an available power liftgate. A push of the button on the key fob or inside the cabin conveniently opens or closes the liftgate, allowing easy loading and unloading. 

Safe

Trailer Sway Control is standard on every Expedition and works in conjunction with the class-exclusive AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control™) system to expand Expedition’s dynamic stability control capabilities. This adds an additional layer of confidence and control while towing a trailer. 

The AdvanceTrac control module incorporates additional software to monitor the vehicle’s performance while towing. Software measures the yaw motion of the vehicle to determine if the trailer is swaying and then responds to eliminate the sway condition by applying brake pressure to individual wheels, and if necessary, reducing engine power. 

The available Control Trac Four-Wheel-Drive (4WD) System helps provide more sure-footed traction by dividing engine torque from front to rear. 

Smart

Cargo stowage options for Expedition are enhanced by the clever solutions enabled by the second- and third-row seats. The second-row seats are a 40/20/40 split bench with standard CenterSlide feature that allows the center section to be moved forward almost 11 inches for easier access from the front-row seats. Third-row seats have an available PowerFold 60/40 split bench by which one or both seatbacks can be lowered flat to the floor with the touch of a button. 

Class-exclusive SYNC is available and provides hands-free access with simple voice commands. Every vehicle with SYNC offers hands-free calling via paired and connected Bluetooth-enabled phone and hands-free music via USB-connected digital media player. 

Expedition also comes with a memory feature for the power seat, mirrors and foot pedals which remembers the favorite settings of two different drivers.  

Another class-exclusive feature is MyKey which sets the limits of how others drive the Expedition. The key is programmable to encourage responsible driving. With MyKey, the owner can set the top speed limit and even set the radio volume. This feature also sets the Belt-Minder to chime, while muting the audio system, until the safety belt is buckled. 

Green

A six-speed automatic transmission is standard. With a wider gear ratio, Expedition’s six-speed transmission has smaller steps between gears than a typical four-speed automatic, giving the customer improved shift quality, faster acceleration and improved fuel economy.