Demand for 20-year-old SUVs and trucks has gone through the roof, partly due to the chip shortage, but also the reliability of older engines. And right at the top of the market is this 2001 Ford Excursion, which not only has a 7.3-liter Power Stroke engine but is also without equal among brand-new vehicles because of its size.
The Ford Excursion came out in 2000 as a full-sized SUV. Nothing special, right? Actually, at 19 feet long, this is as big as one of those old Cadillac barges. At the time of its launch, the Excursion was not only Ford’s biggest SUV, but also the most massive 4×4 available anywhere.
It was offered with a turbodiesel V8, along with a regular V8 and V10. A good Excursion is worth about $33,000 in 2022. Three are available right now on Bring A Trailer, which is like a gathering place for these things, but only one jumps out, a 2001 Limited model with the Power Stroke and only 29k miles. Already, bidding is up to $40,000, but it’s probably going much higher.
The Excursion is a symbol of the gas-guzzling, pointlessly-large American SUV. For many years, General Motors dominated the market with its Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe. Ford’s answered with the Expedition, which is still in production, but they also developed this other truck-based monster. The Excursion was developed on the Super Duty chassis, which meant it had more room for people and could also tow some extreme loads.
These two capabilities are part of the reason collectors are buying them. But a mint-condition example like this one is probably being bid on by actual fans of the Excursion. Nothing else looks quite like this, a high-end Limited trim level with those small wheels from the early 2000s and a two-tone paint job.
The Excursion had a bad reputation for being fuel-thirsty and demand wasn’t that high, so Ford canceled it after 2005. They only made about 20,000 units in the last model year, and because there was a surplus on dealer lots, most of them were pushed down to the Mexican market, where they offered it into 2006.
Even though it wasn’t popular, Ford is said to have made a profit of about $15,000 on each Excursion it sold. It’s ironic that the largest-ever SUV of the 2000s is now popular, even though gas prices are higher than they’ve ever been. At least the diesel is going to be a bit better in that regard.
The Power Stroke 7.3-liter turbocharged V8 was rated at 250 horsepower and 525 pound-feet of torque, sent to all four wheels via a 4-speed Ford 4R100 automatic. This is the powertrain everybody wants, good for towing and more reliable than the later diesel. Most examples have super-high miles, but not this one. Personally, I’d still be happy with the V10, just like the Car Wizard got in his similar Ram pickup of similar vintage and size.
Being a Limited, this example comes with all the bells, including a powered driver’s seat, illuminated running boards, 16-inch wheels, 10 cupholders, leather, and… a CD player.
Regardless, you can pull anything with an Excursion, a boat, a horse, an RV, or another SUV. And because towing was its best feature, Ford designed the tailgate to split into three pieces, two side-hinged doors and a smaller hatch that wouldn’t smack into whatever you’re pulling.
