Ford Expedition Vs Chevy Tahoe Essay, Research Paper

Ford Expedition or Chevy Tahoe

Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) use to come only in one size, full size, and be mainly used by the rural communities or outdoors people, but now SUV s are in style (and everywhere) and almost everyone ranging from corporate CEO s to a low income working families wants a part of it. The automobile industry recognizes this and are cashing in on the trend by supplying consumers with a variety of sizes, colors, and options for the SUV s. With all these choices, it is harder to find the right off-road SUV at the right price; and not all SUV s can go off-road because of it size and capabilities. Off-road driving can be fun and challenging that requires skills and wits of the driver s knowledge of the vehicle and terrains, for some people it can be very therapeutic on stressful days. But, as fun and therapeutic it may be, off-road driving can do a 180-degree turn and become a horrendous experience. Having or not having the right vehicle and/or equipments can make a significant contribution to the outcome of the off-road experience. The Ford Expedition and the Chevy Tahoe full size SUV s are probably the best candidate for off-road performance, but which one is better? For serious off-road driving, the Chevy Tahoe is a better all-around SUV than the Ford Expedition.

Although there are several factors that must be taken into report, five factors stands out as key matters: interior, exterior, power, safety, and cost.

First of all, the interior of the two SUV s must be measured. The main issues of interior are the capacity of seating and cargo. The seating capacity of the Ford Expedition is impressive. It has seating for nine people. It has headroom of 39.8 inches (front and rear), front legroom of 40.9 inches, rear legroom of 38.7 inches and third row headroom of 35 inches. As impressive that might be, the Chevy Tahoe also has seating for nine people and has more front headroom and legroom by an inch, more rear headroom by half an inch and more third row headroom by 2.3 inch. While the Ford Expedition s maximum cargo capacity is a mere 20.5 cubic feet with the third row seats up and 60.9 cubic feet with the third row seats folded. The Chevy Tahoe has a maximum cargo capacity of 23.6 cubic feet with the third row seats up and 64.6 cubic feet with the third row seats folded down. Any extra cargo space helps very much when going off-road or on any outdoor adventures.

The next factor to be considered is the exterior. The exterior consists of size and ground clearance. On one hand, the Ford Expedition size is intimidating, because it so big and bulky. And because of it s size and bulk it is hard to drive, park, and get around. It has a length of 204.6 inches, a width of 78.6 inches, a height of 78.4, and a weight of 5345 pounds. On the other hand, the Chevy Tahoe is a smaller (not by much, but just enough) and amiable SUV that feels just right. It has a length of 198.1 inches, a width of 78.9, a height of 74.2 and a weight if 5050 pounds. For off-road purposes, the more ground clearance a vehicle has the better it is. Ground clearance is the measurement between the under carriage of the vehicle and the surface of the ground. Although the Ford Expedition is taller than the Chevy Tahoe, it has a lower ground clearance of 7.5 inches compared to the Chevy Tahoe s 8.5 inches ground clearance. An inch might not seem a lot, but when going off-road an inch can be the difference from damaging or not damaging the under carriage of the vehicle.

The next factor is power and it consists of three sub-factors: engine, maximum payload, and maximum towing capacity. The engine is the heart and soul of every vehicle s performance; without it, the vehicle just might as well be considered as an expensive scrap metal on wheels. The Ford Expedition offers two types of engines. The standard engine has 4.6 liters V-8 producing a meager 232 horsepower and the optional engine has 5.4 liters V-8 and produces just a simple 260 horsepower. The Chevy Tahoe also offers two types of engines. The first is a standard 4.8 liters V-8 engine delivering an impressive 275 horsepower that is 15 more horsepower than Ford Expedition s optional engine. The second engine is an optional 5.3 liters V-8 producing an extra ten horsepower over the standard engine at 285 horsepower. The maximum payload the Ford Expedition is 1635 pounds, but the Chevy Tahoe has a maximum payload of 1751 pounds. That s an extra 116 pounds of equipment that can be lugged around. The Ford Expedition maximum towing capacity is only 6,000 pounds. That s 700 pounds less than the maximum towing capacity of the Chevy Tahoe, which is 6,700 pounds. As fore mentioned, the engine is the heart and soul of all vehicles; and because the Chevy Tahoe has a better engine it has more power to tow and carry things around.

Safety is the next factor that will be considered. In the pass few years the government has been doing a lot to keep the drivers and passenger safe while inside of vehicles by passing laws for mandatory safety equipments in new vehicles. Such as a driver and front passenger side air bags, crimple zones in the engine compartment to reduce the impact of head-on collisions, reinforced steel bars inside door panels for side impact protection and rear child safety door locks. Safety is the main concern when going off-road or even on-road. Although the Ford Expedition meets the government guidelines for safety, the Chevy Tahoe provides side airbags for the driver and front passenger and has daytime running lights; and both are standard equipments in all the new Chevy Tahoe s.

And the final factor to be considered is cost. Cost has many issues, but only three will be discussed. When buying a new vehicle, some people tend to put re-sale value into the equation because it is an investment and wants to get a decent return. The re-sale value of a vehicle has many aspects that need to be considered before a fair market value is made. These aspects are mileage, condition, options, and demand. According to Kelly Blue Book, from 1997 to 2000 the average yearly depreciation of the Ford Expedition is $1,865, but the Chevy Tahoe is only $1,716. The calculations were based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles; that the vehicles are in good condition; no options; and the demands of residents in North Orange County. Another issue of cost is options. Options are where the dealers make a majority of their profits and if not carefully examined, will get you in your the check book. The Ford Expedition offers a lot of options. But for off-road purposes and to keep the features of both vehicle close as possible, the Ford Expedition will need the optional 5.4 liters V-8 engine ($591), off-road skid plate package ($89), the limited slip with 3.73 axle ($217), and side air bags ($336). That is an extra $1,233 in options. For the Chevy Tahoe, it will need the off-road skid plate package ($83) and AM/FM stereo with cassette player ($129). The total price of options for the Chevy Tahoe is only $212 compared to the $1,233 of the Ford Expedition. The Chevy Tahoe has a standard engine that is more powerful than the Ford Expedition s optional engine. It also has a limited slip with 3.73 axle and side air bags that are also standard equipment. And finally the last issue is price. The price is always an important concern when purchasing a new vehicle. The price of the Ford Expedition ranges from $29,990 to $40,545; while the price of the Chevy Tahoe ranges from $24,941 to $38,495. The prices of the vehicle will be based on these considerations: the manufacture s suggested retail price (MSRP), destination charge, and a base 4×4 model with the fore mentioned options. The total price of the Ford Expedition is $35,538. Which includes the MSRP of $33,575, destination charge of $730 and $1,233 worth of options. The price of the Chevy Tahoe includes the MSRP of $28,587, destination charge of $710, and $212 in options, which comes out for a grand total of $29,509; a vast difference of $6,029.

To recapitulate, the Ford Expedition is over price and is a dark horse for off-road performance, compared to the Chevy Tahoe; and it size is very intimidating might be a positive for some people. The Chevy Tahoe, on the hand, has the best value and is a well-built SUV that has all the credentials to be the king of off-road performance.

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