Ford’s family cruiser like a loaded sundae
This SUV is not for the penny-pincher — plush comfort, power and technology come at a price
What are some of the things that pop to mind when someone starts talking about Canadian summers?
No, no, I don’t mean road construction, although that is a perpetual endeavour, ranking up there with Canuck sureties like taxes and Don Cherry wearing an outrageous jacket on Hockey Night in Canada.
Ice cream and road trips are the summer staples on our mind. They’re on the mind of a good many folks in Prince Edward Island as well, thanks to the creative initiative of a local entrepreneur.
Awesomely called A Month of Sundaes, the event brings together a baker’s dozen dairy bars and restaurants for a June’s worth of tasty treats — all in the name of celebrating the island’s dairy industry and helping out some worthy causes along the way.
We brought along the newest iteration of Ford’s big people-hauler, the Expedition. Recently refurbished to the height of plushness, the 2019 model also incorporates an EcoBoost V6 and some clever interior features aimed at beating GM’s own large SUVs at their own game.
Before digging into that, let’s dig into some ice cream. We spoke to Brendan Henry, creator of A Month of Sundaes and founder of a multi-talented creative agency called Minotaur.
“There were a few different ‘food month’ events that had started up on P.E.I., but with such a beloved dairy industry on P.E.I. and a fairly high density of dairy bars, a sundae event seemed long overdue,” he explained. “People love ice cream, there’s no controversy, no debate — it’s just damn glorious.”
Well said. Pointing the nose of our Expedition due east, we first hit up Somerset Dairy Bar and their Duffy Explosion treat. Dripping with caramel, fudge and chunks of chocolate, it (and the dairy bar) is the creation of a Grade 12 entrepreneur who goes to school in the day and tends to his enterprise after hours and on the weekends. As a teenager,
your author was goofing off and doing smoky burnouts in the school parking lot, not creating jobs and goosing the economy like this young man is doing. Hats off to him.
Speaking of smoky burnouts, the 375-horsepower boosted V6 is capable of providing them, at least in twowheel-drive. This engine, and its 470 lb.-ft. of torque, may be familiar to F-150 buyers, having been available in that machine for some time now. Your author will gently suggest to the Blue Oval that it should make the high-output version of this mill, making 450 horses and 510 lb.-ft. of twist in the F-150 Raptor and Limited, available in the Expedition.
As it sits, the current engine emits a curious and strangely addicting turbo whistle when the operator calls down to the engine room for more power. It isn’t a V8 roar, but I found myself dipping into the boost more often than necessary just to hear the sound. Doing so seemed to have little negative effect on fuel economy, which shook out to 12.1 L/100 km on our 460-km ice cream adventure.
Some of the treats, such as the peanut-butter-and-pretzel-bedazzled Kitchen Party creation at the Kool Breeze ice cream barn, are part of a Sweet Success initiative, new to A Month of Sundaes this year. A group called The Learning Disabilities Association of P.E.I. provides support and practical assistance to Islanders living with a learning disability such as dyslexia or dysgraphia. Every sundae sold as part of the Sweet Success program donates money to this worthy cause.
It’s fortunate that Ford designers put a cupholder on just about every surface in the 2019 Expedition because, at this point, we were starting to get full up on ice cream. The new truck’s interior is a dandy place in which to spend time, equipped as it is with all manner of good quality materials and gee-whiz technology. Rear seat urchins will be sated with the DVD entertainment system, a $2,100 option that allows the use of a HDMI accessory like a mini Nintendo game console. Cargo space is best measured in acres.
One’s bank account best be measured in acres as well, since these rigs are generally cash cows for their respective manufacturers. While base Expeditions start at $58,049 of the finest Canadian dollars, our tester in Limited trim set an opening bid of $73,449 before ladling on $12,356 worth of options such as power folding captain’s chairs; and the aforementioned DVD player. Add in an expensive driver assistance package that brings aroundview cameras and this beast tallies up to an eye-watering $87,595.
Thing is, though, GM’s Dreadnought-class SUVs sell for around the same cheddar and, at least until the new ones come out next year, the Ford does a much better job as a people-mover in several different areas. Take the centre-row captain’s chairs, for example. In the GM, they swing up while allowing access to the third row, revealing bare metal and a hunk of unfinished carpet, both of which are very unbecoming in a rig this expensive. It also falls back into place with an alarming chunk!, something I wouldn’t want little feet anywhere near. Ford does it better by incorporating a smooth sliding system that hides the locking mechanisms, providing a clean look and little chance of squished toes. It’s a smart design.
Elsewhere in the expansive cabin, stretch-’em-out-legroom is on tap, as are a myriad of infotainment options spearheaded by the Sync3 system. Minions in the back can watch a DVD while parents keep abreast of grim news coming from CBC Radio One on satellite, for example. Materials and fit are largely appropriate for this price class. That unique Silver Spruce exterior paint is new for 2019, by the way.
Also new for 2019? The growth of A Month of Sundaes, which more than doubled their participants compared to their inaugural event last year. “It’s been fantastic, and we’re excited to see the event grow,” said Mr. Henry. “The only hard part is trying to get out and try every sundae, because there’s only so much excitement the human body can take!”
The man has a point. As we down our third sundae of the day, your author suddenly becomes extra-grateful for the girth afforded by Expedition’s set of wide front chairs. In this segment of large SUVs, we could have hardly picked a more appropriate rig for this adventure.
P.E.I’s dairy bars are open all summer, so you can still pay them a visit even though A Month of Sundaes wrapped June 30.