Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged SUV
2005 Ford Expedition King Ranch
0546 days
Ford’s multi-talented Expedition SUV is competent, powerful, and updated for 2005 with a host of evolutionary improvements. This full-size SUV is more efficient, more powerful and safer, if not particularly exciting to the eyes. That’s probably part of the reason that Ford has expanded the F-150′s King Ranch trim package to the Expedition for 2005. New engines and electronic throttle control probably don’t excite Joe Consumer, but saddle-style Castano leather and big, Texas-style badges are sure to grab his eye.
Roomy and quiet, the Expedition is able to please trailer-towers and soccer moms alike. The design is conservative, with a boxy face and molded body-sides, and there are so many Expeditions running around that one barely notices them at the curb any more. The square, upright design is favored by customizers because it’s one of the few vehicles that doesn’t look completely cartoonish rolling on 22″ or 24″ wheels. The Expedition is available in six trim levels. (more…)
2005 Dodge Durango Adventurer
0556 days
The name badge said “Adventurer,” so we took the new Durango adventuring. We drove to the northern Michigan wilderness on a rescue mission, and we prowled urban Detroit, and Dodge’s “tween-”sized SUV showed equal ability at both tasks.
Redesigned in 2004, the rough, tough, do-it-all Durango adds the Adventurer model for this year. Aimed at active customers who take their SUVs camping and traveling, the Durango Adventurer (the name once graced Dodge pickup trucks) features additional cargo carrying gear and off-road protection. Add heated cloth seats and a HEMI V8 engine to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for a nice adventure indeed. (more…)
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid
0563 days
This SUV can, arguably, get you closer to nature than any other. Want to go for a drive through the woods? Steer the Ford Escape Hybrid off of the beaten path, roll down the windows to let the air in, and wait for a few seconds for the engine to shut itself off. Once that happens, you can cruise slowly along on electric power, with only the crunch of the tires to disturb the serenity of nature.
Beating Toyota to the punch by just weeks, the Escape hybrid is the first hybrid SUV on the market. It’s a full hybrid, unlike GMC’s Sierra hybrid pickup that can’t run on full-electric power. The Escape hybrid operates on the same theory as Toyota’s successful Prius; a small gasoline engine is assisted by an electric motor, and the electric motor’s batteries are charged with the help of regenerative brakes. By reducing the load on the gasoline engine when it’s at its least efficient, the Escape hybrid is able to minimize fuel consumption. (more…)