At 18.4-feet long and well over three tons of mass, the 2015 Ford Expedition EL King Ranch is not a vehicle that says downsizing. In fact, as Ford’s largest SUV, the only aspect of the substantially updated Expedition that has shrunk is the powerplant, the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Everything else about this beast is as huge as the home state of the eponymous ranch it is named for.

The EL is the longer of two Expedition variants that have been available since the heavy-duty Excursion was discontinued in 2005 after a six-year run. While the current Expedition is related to the mid-2000s era F-150 pickup, it’s actually pretty substantially different and can really considered a distinct platform. Unlike Ford’s pickup trucks that continue to support solid rear axles on leaf springs, the Expedition utilizes a multi-link independent rear suspension which gives it an important advantage over the segment leading Chevrolet Suburban in third-row room, but I’ll come back to that later.

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