2026 Ford Expedition Tremor
2026 Ford Expedition Tremor
Price as tested: $86,895
Engine: 3.5 Liter Twin Turbo V6
Horsepower/Torque: 440 HP : 510 ft/lbs
0-60: 5.9 Seconds
Fuel Economy: 14 MPG as observed
Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
If there is one thing American Auto Manufacturers can do that no one else in the world are capable of is this….Full Size Body on Frame SUVs. Yes there are many competitors from the likes of Toyota and Nissan but the Sequoia and the Armada always have a lingering ‘but’ in their breakdowns. They’re great ‘but’ either a combination of interior space gripes, ride quality issues or overall they just do not match what the likes of what Ford and General Motors bring to the table.
Now directly comparing Ford and General Motors, they go about things a bit differently in the realm of Full Size SUVs. While I love me a V8 and the GM alternatives are the only ones available with a V8, their disaster of the L87 going all explodey on consumers can give one a pause on a full throated recommendation. Which is fine because the EcoBoost found in the Ford Expedition spanks the L87 in every conceivable way.
To put this "smacking down" into perspective, here is how the Tremor's heart stacks up against the top-tier 6.2L V8 found in the Tahoe:
Expedition Tremor (3.5L EcoBoost HO)
Power: 440 HP
Torque: 510 lb-ft
0-60 MPH: 5.9 Seconds
Max Towing: 9,600 lbs
Fuel Economy: 16 City / 19 Hwy
Chevy Tahoe (6.2L L87 V8)
Power: 420 HP
Torque: 460 lb-ft
0-60 MPH: 6.3 Seconds
Max Towing: 8,200 lbs
Fuel Economy: 14 City / 18 Hwy
It’s such a thorough smacking down that it’s easy to see why Ford doesn’t offer a V8 option at all. Because…why would you? Heck, finally, it actually SOUNDS GOOD to boot! Full of an induction howl and turbo whistle that makes the inner tuner in me giggle in delight. Which leads to into laughter of delight as you lay into throttle and experience the full 510 ft/lb of torque. Riding that tsunami to 60 in a very quick if not disconcertingly quick for its size dash of 5.9 seconds. Thankfully to stop all 5,600 pounds of mass is the best feeling brakes I have ever experienced in a full size SUV. The dual-piston calipers clamping down on a 13.8-inch front rotor, brings the Expedition down from 60 to 0 in only 118 feet!
Now, don’t get me wrong, the Expedition doesn’t feel like a X5M on HGH. Driving the 2026 Ford Expedition is not adrenaline filled, pupil dilated experience. The way it delivers its performance is linear, predictable and composed. You don’t laugh manically when accelerating, you glance down and go ‘oh fracking sh*t’ as you’re easily in ‘lose my license territory’. It’s that smooth delivery of that power and that smooth delivery of braking performance is what makes the 2026 Ford Expedition truly special.
But what really sets it apart is this Tremor Package. Setting Ford apart from most auto manufacturers is a real life down to earth ‘off road’ package, so instead of slapping on a set of AT tires and some vinyl, the Tremor package on the 2026 Ford Expedition adds:
Re-tuned off-road suspension with 10.6 inches of ground clearance
Underbody shielding (skid plates) from the Raptor
Electronic Limited-Slip Differential (eLSD)
Rock Crawl Mode and Trail Turn Assist
Heavy-duty running boards and front recovery hooks
Which, as you can see, is quite a lot. If anything, is best to think of the Tremor package on any Ford truck as the Raptor package minus the power. You get most of the off-road goodies but without the Raptor power or Raptor price tag. On the Expedition, the Tremor truly transforms the vehicle. The 2-inch lift paired with the beefy 18-inch wheels and 33-inch General Grabber tires, give the Expedition an imposing presence on the road. The orange accents just add to the visual flair and overall, the Expedition Tremor looms over most vehicles on the road.
One of the best parts is the LED lighting on the Tremor. Most higher trim Expeditions have the following LED DRLs:
As you can see, it looks like a Cheshire cat smiling at you. Which you can’t unsee.
The Expedition Tremor does not, you get standard LED DRLs along with LED ‘off road’ lights embedded in the grille that illuminate a neutron star worth of lumens out into the darkness. It’s a thing of beauty I tell you.
The real beauty though is how easy it is to drive.
The Expedition Tremor looks like it should be unwieldy to drive and a pain to navigate but it’s the complete opposite. Ford engineers made the Expedition Tremor just as easy to drive as the ‘base’ models. With accurate, beautifully weighed steering, fantastic turning circle and decent sightlines all across. Added altogether the Expedition Tremor is just as easy to drive and navigate a crowded parking lot as an Escape!
Driving on the road, you would assume the knobby tires and the off road suspension would give the Expedition Tremor a wallowy ride but you would be wrong. The Expedition Tremor feels buttoned down and solid. It soaks up nearly everything on the road with an audible thud versus anything physical sensation. Everything from potholes to a rhino can be careened over without a care in the world. The only real issue is knobby tire roar on the highway. Which is the only real sound you hear because literally everything else is silent on the highway. There is barely any wind noise, no road noise…just the hum of the A/T Tires. It’s so quiet in fact if you decide to swap out the A/T tires for a set of HT tires instead, the Expedition would be nearly silent!
The Tremor-ness doesn’t end on the inside either. The interior is upgraded with ActiveX synthetic seating material with Tremor-specific stitching and adorned with supremely comfortable seats in all rows along with sumptuous feeling surfaces. You also get an added bonus of a literal safe hiding under the power sliding center console! You know, to hide…stuff. Probably the most important feature of the 2026 Ford Expedition is this:
And speaking of brilliance in the cabin—Yes, that is an INTEGRATED PHONE/TABLET HOLDER! If you don’t understand the excitement this brings, you clearly do not have young children. I’m telling you, this is one of the single most important automotive inventions of the past 15 years. No more scary Velcro straps wrapped behind your headrest while the tablet slowly slides down or falls completely off onto some hapless child’s face. NO MORE. BRAVO, FORD.
My only real issue with the 2026 Ford Expedition is the UI. It’s a pain. The temperature controls for the HVAC and the seats are only adjusted via the touchscreen, which is unacceptable. While I grew to love the D-shaped steering wheel, the fact that knowing which controls you are actually adjusting requires you to look at the display…baffles any and all logic. And for the love of all that is Holy…Ford. Give me a Tach. I know I’m in the minority here (lol) but seriously, how hard is it to program a freakin tachometer. There is 24 inches of real estate to populate a tach but the massive display mostly remains empty. Sure you can alternate the secondary display but you can’t fill the entire display with data. Which defeats the purpose of such a huge screen. If you’re not going to fill that huge amount of real estate with data…what is the point of it?
Hey, at the very least, I would get this Expedition over the 2026 Lincoln Navigator in a heartbeat because at least in the Expedition you can manually move your vent controls with your hand without using the idiotic UI to do so.
If there is one thing American Auto Manufacturers can do that no one else in the world is capable of, it's this: the unapologetic, over-engineered mastery of the Full-Size Body-on-Frame SUV. While the rest of the world obsesses over downsizing and unibody crossovers, Detroit continues to refine the heavy-duty art form of moving an entire zip code in absolute comfort across a mountain range. The 2026 Expedition Tremor is the culmination of that American ethos—it's bigger than it needs to be, faster than it has any right to be, and more capable than 99% of its owners will ever require. It is a rolling monument to the idea that "too much" is actually just about right, and as long as Ford keeps building rigs that can pull a house while whispering down the interstate, the "buts" of the international competition will continue to fall on deaf ears.
Yousef Alvi
