OK boys and girls. As many of you know, I bought and '07 Burb in Oct. 2006. Last month I traded it for an '08 Expy EL. So I will offer a bit of somewhat biased comparison (since I am a Ford guy anyway)

I thought the Chevy was the best riding and quietest road boat I have ever owned. The EL beats it hands down. Even my wife and teenage daughter can tell the difference.

The Chevy has more interior storage Than the EL offers but, the audio in the EL is significantly better than the Bose system in the Chevy.

The EL seats are superior and the push button fold flat rear seats are awesome. To remove the third row seats on the Chevy was easy. Putting them back in was awful. My wife couldn't / wouldn't do it. In addition, the kids tell me the third row seats are more comfortable. Especially in regards, to knees and legs.

The adjustable shelf is great but, is a double edged sword. While it is quite the useful item...in many ways. It also creates the problem of protecting the rear deck. As suggested, I am going to use Velcro'd clear vinyl but, I will still have to cut it into three sections. Plus, I cannot find a 4' width locally so I will have to order it.

The EL @ 1,000 life miles is getting a clear 1.9 MPG city and almost 3 MPG better Hwy than the Chevy. This is at 75 MPH for hwy.

The standard (or "normal" as the tech said) mushy breaks on the EL give the 'Burb the clear advantage in breaking. Standing start I would have to say is even whereas, hard acceleration while moving goes to the EL.

The 6 speed tranny is Great IMO and not yet available to the general Chevy population.

Handling seems to be about equal with all things considered.

I like the overall styling of the Chevy but, usually felt like I was driving a smaller SUV or car. The EL rides higher and a bit more manly. Plus, with the dark blue pearl...It looks bigger, badder, and kinda like a G-Man SUV .

So there you go. As slightly biased comparison between two Anti-green machines.

 

Before purchasing my EL 12 months ago, I too (like most others I'm sure) compared to the comprable Suburban. You've touched on many of the EL's advantages over the Suburban, but there were a couple advantages that I felt the Suburban has over the Expedition.

1. Suburban has a selectable Transmission Temperature display.
2. Suburban has a transmission Tow/Haul Switch to change the transmission shift points.
3. Suburban is available in a true 3/4 ton chassis, although the 6.0L engine and dated 4 speed transmisson don't really improve the power-weight ratio or towing characteristics. I think a 6 speed transmission is now available for 3/4 ton 2008 models.
4. Available extending tow mirrors for 3/4 ton
5. Suburban has electric cooling fans
6. Some Suburban models are E85 capable
7. 1/2 ton Suburbans have a ligher vehicle weight
8. Suburban has an active engine oil life monitor to optimize oil change intervals based on actaual driving conditions.

 

Most of these I wouldn't even consider advantages but cutesie options. The Expy has an oil life monitor and I don't think it works much differently than the Cheby. E85 is not an advantage, lower cost maybe but much lower MPG. The Expy will tow almost as much as some 3/4 ton trucks and if you need to tow that much than the expy is the wrong vehicle. If the transmission control system is advanced enough, as the expy is, the shift points will be taken care of by the computer as load requires, I think the button is more of a "makes someone feel good" that they can push something button. The only one I would consider an advantage is the electric cooling fans and thats about it.

My $.02 cents.

Mark

 

I still haven't seen the excuse for a company *not* to use efans on all vehicles yet...I need some edumacation in it i suppose.

 

Thanks for the report. While some Items were not relavent to my comaprison other points you make would be important to those looking for 3/4 ton.

1. Meant nothing to me since I no longer tow more than 3K - 4K pounds and nowhere near any terrain that might make the 'Burb or Expy struggle.
2. Again, not an issue for me. I will just dis-engage the overdrive if I need a bit more grunt.
3. I was comparing the 1/2 ton I had with the 1/2 ton I got.
4. OK. But again, this was related to 1/2 tons
5. Yes, yes, and yes. I had not even considered that.
6. Mine was E-85 and I had to drive 15 miles to access E-85 pumps.
7. Then shame on Chevy since my EL gets better MPG
8. I change at 5K miles intervals. So for me, anyway, it is not relevant. But, I can certainly see where that could be benefit to some. Except if the oil change folks didn't zero out the miles it would throw things off a bit.

 

Nothing that I mentioned were obviously deal breakers, since I purchased the EL anyway. Ford got my money because I felt it was a superior vehicle, I just wish I had some of the features available that were available on the Burb and could make the EL all that much better. Much of what I mentioned doesn't matter to the common buyer and again, most people don't frequent a fourm like we do to share and learn about the Expedition that we all have in common.

The 3/4 Ton is a different vehicle class off vehicle, and whether you need it or not, the 3/4 ton Suburban is the only 3/4 ton SUV available to those who need more heavy-duty capacity.

I do tow, and the towing features (transmission temps, tow-mode, mirrors, brake controller integration, axle capacities) are very important to me. I've weighed my EL & Trailer to make sure I'm safe and not overworking my EXPY. Features that are important to some, don't matter to others. I personally don't care or want the air leveling suspesnsion, auto-lift gate, auto-extending running boards, 20" bling wheels, navgation, etc..

 

One vehicle's advantage over another is why there are different manufacturers.

To your point, there were things on the 'Burb that I liked and wish the EL had. But, not anything significant.

If not for the HUGE deal I got. I would sill be driving the 'Burb. Ford wanted to sell the EL a whole lot more than I wanted to buy it.

 

can't go crossing rivers with e-fans, and expect to get home. no clue to be honest, it is an annoyance though... that one is the only reason i could think of when working on my ex-roomate's wrangler. why a fox body mustang or a pavement bound expedition would have mechanical fans, I have no clue.

 

Most efans are sealed that i know? I mean their in front of the grill, you sit behind a water misting semi in a drenching rain for 10 miles and the fans are going to be absolutely soaked. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't river cross unless the water density would burn out the motors. Then agian I'd think the density of water on a mechanical fan would bend blades and shaft or tear belt. I still am putting efans on my expy when I get the $$$ unless someone can point out a deficiency.

 

soaked from drips is one thing. completely submerged in water is totally different . I have yet to see the metal blades of a mechanical fan bent from water though, they're pretty sturdy.

 

I would almost prefer the electric fans fail, than watch the mechanical fan swim through the radiator... (yes I have seen it happen before)

 

We recently decided we wanted a large SUV. We have a friend who is the GM at a LM dealer, and he let us test drive a 2007 Suburban and several Expy's.

We liked the Suburban, but I thought the 4 speed transmission was very harsh compared to the Expy's 6 speed. When I punched it to pass on the highway, the downshift of the Suburban was very drastic.

We drove both the regular Expy as well as the EL. At first, I was leaning toward the Suburban because of the cylinder shut down capability of their engine. I thought it would get better mileage because of that, but after doing a little more research, it became clear to me that there are very few cases where that big vehicle would run on 4 cylinders.

The kicker, though, was the fold down 3rd seat. Why does GM refuse to put this in their SUV's???

The dealer gave us a good deal on a 2007 Eddie Bauer EL. Overall, I'd say the ride is better in the Expy. The 6-speed tranny is a big differentiator as well. GM has come a long way with their new SUV's, and there are some great aspects of the Suburban, but for us and our needs, the Expy was the better choice.

 

In my experience, the only time the engine dropped to 4 cyl was when coasting down hill.

 

And in that case, you're not using any gas anyway!