The Ford Excursion has been dead for two decades, but a used-market cult following and a fresh product report suggest the Blue Oval's biggest SUV might be resurrected.
According to the latest Automotive News future product report, Ford has a new large SUV with an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrain slated for production at the brand-new Tennessee-based BlueOval Plant truck plant in 2029. That same report notes the model will be larger than the current Ford Expedition, which today wears the crown as the biggest SUV in Ford's lineup.
More to the point for nostalgic buyers, the report describes the vehicle as "like the former Excursion, although it's unclear whether Ford would revive that name." That is speculation, plainly labeled as such, and Ford hasn't committed to resurrecting the Excursion badge. But the door is open.
For those who missed the early 2000s, the Excursion ran from the 2000 to 2005 model years as a Super Duty-based behemoth. It seated up to nine, swallowed cargo by the pallet, and towed and hauled with the kind of numbers that made full-size SUVs look apologetic.
Its problem was timing. High gas prices and a rising environmental backlash killed it off early. That hasn't stopped it from thriving on the used market, where there's genuinely nothing else quite like it — a fact that lends some credibility to the idea Ford would revisit the concept, if not the name.
The interesting part here is the powertrain. An EREV pairs a gasoline generator with a large battery pack, letting owners run the thing as an EV for daily around-town driving and charge at home to save money. When it's time to tow or haul heavy loads over long distances, the gas engine steps in to extend range considerably and cut down on refueling stops.
That's a sensible pitch for a vehicle this size, and Ford isn't limiting the tech to one model. Per the Automotive News future product report, the automaker is eyeing EREV powertrains across several future large trucks and SUVs, including the soon-to-be revived Ford F-150 Lightning. The logic is straightforward: buyers who want EV convenience for the commute but refuse to surrender towing capability get both, without the range anxiety that comes with a pure battery-electric truck under load.
The new plant is set to build more than the mystery big SUV. According to Automotive News, Ford has referenced "all-new Built Ford Tough truck models" that are "affordable" and "gas-powered," though it hasn't confirmed exactly what those are. One candidate, reportedly, is the next-generation Ford Ranger, but that remains unconfirmed.
Nothing here is official. Ford hasn't announced an Excursion revival, hasn't confirmed the name, and hasn't detailed the vehicle beyond it being bigger than an Expedition and running an EREV powertrain. What exists, per the Automotive News future product report, is a 2029 production target and a description drawing a line back to a nameplate that people still hunt for used two decades after it died.
Given the Expedition's continued popularity and the Excursion's enduring cult status, a comeback is plausible. Whether Ford has the nerve to slap the old name on it is another question entirely.
[Images: Ford]
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