DESIGN/PACKAGE

• Comfortably seats up to nine adults, with more overall head, leg and shoulder room than the competition
• Largest cargo volume, including 48.0 cubic feet of space behind the third row seat – enough for passengers’ luggage
• Rear tri-panel doors for ease of entry and exit
• Extra wide second-row side doors
• Independently reclining second-row seats with dual tip/slide feature
• Front and rear air conditioning with 360-degree adjustable registers
• Power rear quarter windows
• Running boards with optional illumination
• Low-profile roof rack
• Up to 10 cup holders and five power points

• Largest towing capacity in segment – up to 10,000 pounds
• Large payload capacity – up to 1 ton
• More horsepower and torque than the competition, with choice of three engines
• Optional four-wheel drive with electronic shift-on-the-fly capability

• Engineered for enhanced performance during accidents
• Ford's unique BlockerBeamÔ helps prevent a car from sliding underneath the front of the Excursion during a frontal collision. Ford is the first in the industry to provide this type of advanced protection in trucks.
• A standard trailer hitch helps prevent a car from sliding underneath the rear of Excursion during a rear collision
• Energy-absorbing vehicle structure provides "crumple zones" on the front of the vehicle, helping to protect the occupant compartment during a collision
• Steel side door beams further enhance passenger protection in side impacts
• Driver and passenger front air bags feature "second generation" inflation rates
• Child-seat tethers anchored in the second row of seats further improve the ability to securely anchor child safety seats
• New Ford Belt-Minder system will help remind most Excursion occupants to buckle up
• SecuriLock™ passive anti-theft system helps deter would-be thieves

• Will be certified to low-emission vehicle (LEV) standards – or better – on all engines, like all other Ford SUVs and Windstar minivans
• Will produce up to 43 percent less tailpipe emissions than permitted by law
• More fuel efficient – with more passenger and cargo-carrying capacity – than two average full-size sedans capable of transporting equivalent loads
• Available with two gasoline engines or a highly fuel-efficient diesel
• Nearly one-fifth of the vehicle is made from recycled materials, including various steel, aluminum, rubber and plastic parts
• More than 85 percent of the vehicle is recyclable by weight

Maximum interior space. Superior seating functionality and passenger comfort. A tough and powerful powertrain lineup with maximum towing capability. Safety and environmental leadership. These were the objectives set for the team that developed the all-new 2000-model Ford Excursion.

Their target was to create a new choice in the segment – formerly dominated by only one vehicle – to appeal to the growing number of buyers who need to carry cargo and several passengers while towing for both personal and commercial use.

Excursion delivers on that promise with a design and package that offers more passenger and cargo room than the competition. At the same time, Excursion sets new safety and environmental standards with features that are the first of their kind in the segment and even the truck market.

No-Compromise Capacity

Excursion offers comfortable seating for up to nine adults – eight when dual captain’s chairs are fitted in place of the standard 40-20-40 front-bench seat.

Compared with the competition, Excursion is 7.2 inches longer, 3.3 inches wider and between 4.3 and 5.8 inches taller. At less than 7 feet tall, including the low-profile roof rack, and less than 20 feet long, Excursion still fits into a standard-size garage.

Excursion offers an impressive 48.0 cubic feet of cargo space when all three rows of seats are in place. Without the last row bench – which is mounted on rollers for easy removal – Excursion’s cargo capacity increases to 100.7 cubic feet. Removing the third-row bench and folding down the second-row seat backs result in a flat cargo area large enough to accommodate a 4- by 8-foot sheet of plywood – with an impressive 146.4 cubic feet of available cargo space. That’s about eight times the trunk volume of a full-size passenger car.

Excursion offers ample payload capacity of up to 1,906 pounds – 1,750 pounds with the 4x4 drivetrain option.

Towing capacity ranges from 6,200 pounds (4x2 with base 5.4-liter TritonÔ V-8 engine) to 10,000 pounds (6.8-liter TritonÔ V-10 gasoline or 7.3-liter Power Strokeâ V-8 diesel).

Maximum Functionality and Flexibility

Customers in the full-size SUV segment expect a vehicle with maximum functionality and flexibility to serve a very broad range of needs.

Excursion features a unique rear tri-panel door system. A one-piece upper liftgate permits quick access to the cargo area, offers an unobstructed rear view from the driver’s seat and includes an intermittent single wiper and window defroster. Two lower cargo doors swing open approximately 180 degrees for maximum and unobstructed access to the cargo floor, with detents to hold them open at angles of approximately 105 degrees. The doors can be opened even when a trailer or boat is attached for towing.

In addition to the ease of loading cargo, the Excursion interior features plenty of space for passengers. The second-row doors are 5.5 inches longer than the competition’s – setting a new standard for passenger accessibility to second- and third-row seating.

All Excursion models are fitted with a low-profile, 200-pound-capacity roof rack. Its fore-aft rails fall below the crown of the roof so there is no increase in overall vehicle height. When the quick-release cross bars and supports are attached to the roof rack rails, they increase overall vehicle height by only 0.7 inch.

Convenience and Comfort

Excursion’s standard convenience features include wide running boards with standard illumination on the Limited series, a door-mounted keyless entry pad, reclining second-row seats and extensive noise control features for a quieter interior compartment.

The second-row seats split 60-40 and recline individually. Each seat back in the second row also can be tipped forward and the entire seat slid forward – a first-in-segment feature that enhances access to the third row from both sides of the vehicle. The second-row seats also include a fold-down center armrest containing two cup holders.

Reducing the amount of noise entering the cabin was a priority for the Excursion development team. Steps taken to ensure a quieter environment for the passenger include:

• Molded sound absorbers and insulators in the dash, cowl, hood, front fenders, doors and rear quarter panels.
• Mastic deadener pads in front footwells, transmission tunnel, second- and third-row footwells and cargo floor.
• Molded sound barrier treatment in B-pillars.
• Closed cell foam rubber plugs to seal D-pillars.

In addition, the Excursion 7.3-liter diesel has a first-in-light-trucks interior and exterior sound package, making it 8 to 10 decibels quieter – or roughly half as loud – to the driver and passersby than other diesels in production today.

The standard front and rear air-conditioning systems feature headliner registers that rotate 360 degrees. Privacy glass and separate reading lights also are provided for all three rows of seating.

Power rear quarter windows – controlled from the front overhead console – are optional for the XLT and standard for the Limited series. Hinged from the forward edge, the windows feature inside-mounted hardware with no attachment buttons visible from outside the vehicle.

Safety Emphasis Inside and Out

Safety consistently ranks among customers as one of their top three considerations when buying a vehicle.

Excursion's engineering team has created a winning product for safety-conscious customers, providing them with a heavy-duty SUV designed for top performance during crash tests and real-world accidents.

Plus, unlike other vehicles in its class, Excursion includes safety features to benefit other vehicle occupants, as well.

A unique new BlockerBeamÔ system and enhanced rear underride protection are designed to reduce the likelihood of lower-riding cars sliding beneath Excursion during front and rear collisions. This reduces the amount of intrusion into the passenger compartment, further reducing the car occupants' risk of injury.

Excursion also features abundant "crumple zones" and a body design that helps absorb energy and keep the passenger compartment intact during crashes. Steel side door beams offer customers enhanced protection during side impacts. Child seat tether anchors in the second row of seats further enhance the ability of parents to securely anchor child safety seats.

Designed with the Environment in Mind

Excursion offers customers the total package – utility, roominess, comfort and several distinct features that make this heavy-duty SUV friendly to the environment.

Excursion will be certified as a low-emission vehicle – or better – in all states and on all engines.

With 5.4- and 6.8-liter gasoline engines and a 7.3-liter Power Strokeâ diesel engine, Excursion produces up to 43 percent fewer smog-forming exhaust emissions than permitted by law.

This powerful people and cargo mover can accommodate nine people and their luggage, making it more fuel efficient than using two full-size sedans to move equivalent loads.

Excursion also shines in its level of recyclability. About 85 percent of each Excursion can be recycled after the SUV's useful life.

Plus, nearly 20 percent of Excursion's content comes from recycled consumer materials, such as steel, aluminum, rubber and plastics.

• Excursion is Ford’s new entry into an existing market
• The heavy-duty utility market has nearly doubled during the last eight years – and continues to grow
• Excursion is designed as the ultimate heavy-duty utility vehicle – both for personal and commercial use – and was developed with customers in mind
• Built on the Ford Super Duty F-Series platform, Excursion was developed using efficiencies that benefit both customers and shareholders

The heavy-duty utility segment is a fast-growing one. Starting out as a small niche market, the segment has almost doubled during the past eight years. Sales have increased from approximately 80,000 vehicles in 1990 to more than 150,000 in 1998.

Customers are demanding more from their vehicles, which has fueled much of the growth in the heavy-duty utility vehicle market. Both personal-use customers and businesses increasingly need a vehicle that can tow, haul and pack in a lot of passengers and gear.

Ford market research shows the heavy-duty utility segment customer is twice as likely to haul five to seven passengers as a full-size SUV owner and almost four times more likely than a compact utility owner to do so.

During the week, customer uses for Excursion are expected to range from taking the team to baseball practice to hauling a horse trailer or boat. On weekends, more than 80 percent of all heavy-duty utility owners use their vehicle to take vacations and long trips, and enjoy outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, winter sports and water sports.

Excursion equally is designed to appeal to commercial buyers. Businesses that need the ability to carry people and haul equipment include ski resorts, survey and construction crews, small inns, and parks and recreation services – to name a few.

The foundation for Excursion is the "Built Ford Tough" heritage. Using the Super Duty F-Series platform as a starting point, Excursion is built to handle heavy loads and perform the toughest jobs, such as towing boats or trailers, while carrying nine passengers and their gear.

Excursion also is another example of Ford’s dual truck platform strategy, which is designed to make effective and efficient use of common platforms to provide better value to customers and shareholders.

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