FORD EXPEDITION TRAMPLES SPORT-UTILITY RIVALS : TEST DRIVE.

Byline: Scott Heimer Philadelphia Daily News 

Ford may be the long-reigning king of the truck world, but in the full-size sport-utility market it hasn't been squat.

That's because its two-door Bronco has been lunch for General Motors' four-door Suburban and Tahoe/Yukon. The Bronco wasn't merely long in the tooth - it had been running on dentures for a decade or more.

But all that may very well be changing - radically. Ford has finally unleashed its Suburban/Tahoe fighter, the Expedition, and it sure seems to be something GM should be worried about:

With four doors, available seating for a hockey team and its coach, towing capacity superior to Tahoe/Yukon, top-shelf engine and four-wheel-drive system, quiet and as car-like on the road as any pickup-based monster like this could be, the Expedition is aptly named.

It's based on the F-150 truck, the No. 1 U.S. seller for almost two decades, and is aimed at drivers who want more room and hauling or towing capacity than is available from Ford's very successful Explorer or the GM Blazer/Jimmy twins. No coincidence the Expedition resembles an Explorer on steroids.

Longer than the Tahoe but shorter than the Suburban, the Expedition is wider and taller than both and, with its available third-row bench seat it can equal or better both of the others in people-carrying capacity.

Height has its advantages, like good ground clearance and more greenhouse room. But it also has its drawbacks, like higher center of gravity (not good for body lean and roll) and, in Expedition's case, a very high step up to get inside.

For women in skirts or shorter people, the optional running board wouldn't be just advisable. It'd be mandatory.

Generally, though, Ford has listened well. For several years, it asked many SUV owners and wanna-bes what they would go for in a big sport-utility vehicle. Most of the answers were obvious, like four doors and Explorerish looks and big-time seating capacity. But a couple were interesting, like a liftgate that wouldn't preclude using a trailer hitch and overall size that isn't too big for what Ford calls ``the average-size garage.''

Average, however, is not exactly Ford's advertising pitch for the Expedition. Seen those TV spots? Like the one that shows an expensively clad ski couple atop the snow-covered mountain in their Expedition, or the one that shows a macho guy driving his Expedition over Martian-style terrain?

Average-to-better, however, is the Expedition's pricing. A basement-level 2WD Expedition opens at $27,270, though who in this area would want a rear-drive-only version is beyond me. A more realistic version is today's tester, based at about $30,000 and trimmed out to about $35,000.

Expedition's heart is appropriately a modern V-8 engine, with one overhead camshaft for each bank of cylinders - unlike the GM competition, which is holding costs down by using the post-World War II technology of push rods, rockers, overhead valves and big-bore, short-stroke cylinder design. (Hmmmm, come to think of it, even the ultimate snowmobile of this class, the Range Rover, uses the ancient technics. Maybe new owner BMW will change that.)

Base version of the so-called Triton engine is the same 215-horsepower, 4.6-liter that's an option in the F-150. It gets the job done, but if you want to go wheel-to-wheel with a 5.7-liter Tahoe/Yukon, you'd best opt for the 5.4-liter version. It can hit 60 mph in about 10 seconds and, with the right driver, show its heels to the GM twins.

Even if you don't want to get it on with the Tahoe/Yukon, it's a good idea to keep in mind the Expedition's 13,500-gross vehicle-weight rating and 8,000-pound towing capacity when you pick your engine.

The tester's fuel mileage reflected the big price you pay for all this bus-like shipping potential: Real-world observed mileage was just a tick over 10 mpg.

The tester came in five-rider format, meaning two buckets up front and a single bench in back. The up side of that layout is a huge cargo area in back.

The Expedition will give the Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban a serious run for the buyer's 30 grand. Only one real question remains:

What took Ford so long?

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Photo: The Ford Expedition has a top-shelf engine and a four-wheel-drive system.