This weekend not only was it the BC long weekend and Pride BC, but my birthday as well. And as per tradition, I try to escape the city and find some restful peace to celebrate. I always joke that I cannot compete with Pride or a parade. And as one of the busiest weekends of summer, many people will be engaged in their own thing, so this is how I have celebrated over the years.
Therefore this year I was excited to plan a one day camping trip on Saturday, August 3rd (the date of my actual birthday). This desire to go camping stems from my childhood, where my parents planned for us to go camping for the very first time for my 14th birthday. They had bought all new gear and packed it into our family vehicle. All ready to take off early August 3rd, only for my father to opt out for work instead. He ended up flying to Hong Kong for work on that day, leaving myself disappointed and our family at home. And to this day we have never gone camping as a family.
Well history repeated itself this weekend as we had the ideal outdoor vehicle in the 2024 Ford Expedition King Ranch, but no where to go. I had planned this and book the loan well in advance. The goal was to not pitch our tent, but instead fold down the back two rows of seats in place of a bed.
The second row of seats were separated, so there was a gap between the two when laid down, but we had a foam topper and an air mattress that could have easily remedied this. Not to mention, the entire set up would have been a breeze with a push of an electric button located in the trunk. A toggle up or down to lower or raise.
All this planning and packing proved moot as my partner and I decided to stay in for the weekend instead. We still want to go camping once this season, but figured any where we travelled to and parked at would be heavily packed for the long weekend. And that does takes away from the secluded nature of camping. We also do not like paying for the use of designated camp spots. Not to mentioned the stifling heat and the fact that we both had a busy week before, last weekend, and another busy week/weekend to come, so we opted for rest.
So here we were with this great adventure vehicle and no where to take it. Truthfully, it is a beautiful SUV, but a beast to drive in city traffic. Larger than life, the interior cabin feels as spacious as it looks from the exterior. So large that the engineers were considerate enough to install a stepping ledge. One that gracefully extended to allow driver and passengers to step up and in. The door handle was also sturdy and steadfast, secured on the door frame, should you need to grip and guide yourself in, as extra support.
The 2024 Ford Expedition is a vehicle built to seat 7 in comfort. It spares no expense on the individual with customizable seats, climate control, and utility convinces like USB ports, cup holders, and storage binning.
There are plenty of tucked away pockets and cabinets. On top of the deep glove compartment, a push of a button releases a flip up door and a shallow upper glove drawer. The centre console is as deep as the arm rest is spacious. Created with removable plastic bins that allow for more organized storage. The cup holders and coin compartment/wireless phone charging bins are also easily hidden away with push and release secret door coverings.
Seated up front I appreciated the wide armrest that separated the driver and passenger, with enough room to use it as a table and eat off of it. It had the Expedition King Ranch logo handsomely stitched on in two tones of brown. The same logo made an appearance on the head rests and around the vehicle’s frame in metal.
Given the energy of this I was also expecting a lot more features for what appeared to be a top of the line vehicle. There was drive modes that could have helped us during camping with off roading and gravel options, as well as a eco mode. But other than that and towing, not much more customizable selection. The giant touch screen infotainment screen felt like a large tablet and was distracting as such. There was so much white space to focus on while driving, that I found it taking my attention away from the road.
What little time we spent in the Expedition was enjoyable. There was plenty of sprawling room on wide seats that felt like a throne. Seats so plush that I was perplexed by why I couldn’t find the massaging button (there was none). There was at least a cooling function, which helped to beat the temperature, along side a powerful AC. Sadly to keep the SUV furthered shaded, we didn’t take advantage of the moon roof that ran down the expanse of the vehicle. It also would have offered a wonderful night time view or the sky and stars during our would-have-been overnight stay.
In short we had a fully relaxed weekend, but I wish we featured the 2024 Ford Expedition King Ranch more in our plans, and more as how it was intended to be used and utilized.
