Ford’s Boldest SUV Yet? The 2025 Expedition Reboots American Muscle, Minus the V8
By Nik Miles
What’s all the fuss about the 2025 Ford Expedition?
Let’s begin with this: It’s not just another facelift. It’s the kind of automotive move that could make Detroit puff its chest—and maybe even make Texas smile with approval. Ford has dropped its latest full-size SUV into dealerships like a bourbon-soaked mic drop: the 2025 Expedition, built in Louisville but engineered for everywhere.
What’s new—and why should you care?
Plenty. This isn’t the kind of refresh that adds an inch of chrome and a rebranded cupholder. The 2025 Expedition gets a full-on design rethink, a tech-infused interior, and a new tailgate that opens like a Swiss Army knife. (Top swings up like a hatch, bottom folds down like a pickup—perfect for tailgating, tool-sorting, or sitting smugly at your kid’s soccer match.)
But more than its parts, it’s what this SUV represents that matters: a rolling tribute to American manufacturing at a time when most headlines scream EV, China, or “we’re out of chips.” The Expedition is defiantly, proudly built in Kentucky by one of the largest hourly workforces in the industry. In a sea of Teslas and offshore crossovers, it’s waving a Made-in-America flag big enough to cover a cornfield.
So, what powers this beast? Still a V8, right?
Ah, not so fast. Ford, with characteristic bravado and a splash of rebellion, has not gone back to eight cylinders. Instead, you get a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 EcoBoost that churns out 400 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque—unless you opt for the high-output version, which pushes it to 440 horses and 510 lb-ft. And yes, the latter is now standard on the new off-road Tremor trim. You may miss the V8 rumble, but you won’t miss the fuel bills—or the acceleration.
Is this just a refresh or a true evolution?
Think evolution wearing a pressed shirt and steel-toed boots. Production began in January at the Kentucky Truck Plant, where nearly 8,800 people clock in every day. Over 360 suppliers across 30 states contributed parts, including 49 from Kentucky alone. This isn’t a one-factory operation—it’s a full-scale industrial symphony. In a political climate that debates whether American industry is dying, Ford’s answer is to ship SUVs straight from Louisville to your driveway.
Where does it stand in the SUV pecking order?
Historically? Pretty tall. Since its launch in 1996, Ford has sold 2.9 million Expeditions. And unlike many competitors, 80% of Ford vehicles sold in the U.S. are assembled right here—not in Mexico, not in Germany, not in a nameless shipping container off the Pacific Coast. Ford also exports more vehicles from the U.S. than any other automaker.
Translation? If you’re looking for a big, bold SUV that wasn’t built halfway around the world, this is your candidate.
Interior upgrades? Or still a plastic playground?
Ford’s interior team has finally joined the 21st century, it seems. The new Expedition gets a gorgeous 24-inch panoramic instrument display, flanked by a 13.2-inch center touchscreen running Ford’s slick Digital Experience software. It’s part spaceship, part man cave. The materials feel upmarket, and the design is cleaner than a Michelin-starred kitchen.
And for those who’ve sworn never to drive anything without a bench that fits three Golden Retrievers and a Costco haul? You’re covered.
Any new trims? Special editions?
Indeed. The Tremor replaces the Timberline, aiming squarely at off-road enthusiasts and dads who wear Patagonia even to parent-teacher conferences. There’s still a Platinum for the folks who want a bit of Lincoln luxury without the Lincoln badge, and a King Ranch for anyone whose aesthetic falls somewhere between Yellowstone and yachting.
How does this impact American workers?
Massively. Ford operates 24 plants in 6 U.S. states, employing 57,000 hourly workers—more than any other automaker in the country. Nearly 3,000 U.S. dealerships support 170,000 more jobs, and vehicles like the Expedition help keep those lights on. The Kentucky Truck Plant alone is a small city, and this new SUV is a reminder that cars don’t just roll off assembly lines—they roll out of communities.
Bottom line: Is the 2025 Expedition worth buying?
If you want a full-size SUV that can tow, haul, off-road, and still pull up to the valet with presence, it’s in the top tier. It may not whisper luxury the way a BMW X7 does, but it shouts confidence. It’s not electric—but it’s electrifying in its own right. And in a world of overpromised crossovers, it delivers what it says on the tin.
Final verdict?
No, it’s not radical. It doesn’t drive itself, fly, or talk back. But what it does—comfortably, confidently, and with Kentucky pride—is everything most families need from a real SUV. And that, in 2025, might just be revolutionary.
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