2000 Ford Excursion...Continued

You would expect the structure to be stout, and energy-absorbing structure provides crumple zones to protect the occupant compartment plus massive steel side door beams further enhance side impact protection. There are driver and passenger front airbags with second generation inflation rates plus child-seat tethers anchored in the second row of seats. The unique offering is Ford's BlockerBeam™ that helps prevent a car from sliding underneath the front and a standard trailer hitch to keep smaller cars from submarining under the rear.

Amazingly Excursion will be certified as a low-emission vehicle in all states with all engines. Ford tests indicate that it produces up to 43 percent fewer exhaust emissions than permitted by law.

Another big surprise came when scanning the overhead instrument cluster and selecting Îmiles to empty.' With the diesel engine the Excursion claimed to be able to cover over 750 miles -ö the distance across Texas at the widest point! A 44-gallon fuel tank, located aft of the rear axle, is standard. Made of six-layer co-extruded polyethylene, it is protected by a fuel tank skid plate.

In addition, Ford will has a test fleet of propane-powered Excursions that emit significantly fewer emissions than competitive vehicles and that meet stringent standards for California's super ultra-low emission vehicles. The fleet will be used to evaluate alternative fuel use.

The four-wheel-drive system features a part-time, two-speed transfer case with electronic shift-on-the-fly convenience. Power switching is virtually silent and with no shift delays, even in severely cold weather.

Compared with Suburban, Excursion is 7.2 inches longer, 3.3 inches wider and 5.8 inches taller. Ford claims Excursion still fits into a standard-size garage but be sure to take it home to size it up before writing the check.

Excursion copied GM's rear tri-panel door system with a one-piece upper liftgate for loading small items and two lower cargo doors that swing to the sides for unobstructed access, even when a trailer or boat is attached. The large window offers an unobstructed rear view and includes an intermittent single wiper and window defroster.

The second-row doors are completely new, not shared with the SuperCrew cab trucks and are longer to provide a new standard for passenger accessibility to second- and third-row seating. Each seat back in the second row also can be tipped forward and the entire seat slid forward for access to the third row from both sides of the vehicle.