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I put the backstory in a spoiler in case people were only interested in the BlueCruise topic.
BlueCruise
The 2025 Expeditions are starting to show up on lots. One of the included features on all versions is the addition of BlueCruise 1.4, the first vehicle to get that version. Fortunately, I live within spitting distance of the interstate and the sales rep encouraged us to test it out, including letting us take it home overnight (puppy dog close). The wife and I test drove it and really liked how it worked. Rather than Tesla's drive anywhere self-driving, BlueCruise only works on controlled-access highways. If you have the Lariat and use the lane centering and auto-cruise, you are about 75% of the way there. That familiarity really helped. The next morning, we had only one question for the dealer: does it come in black?
So, yes, we now own a 2025 Ford Expedition Platinum with the Stealth Appearance package. Honestly, the only thing not black are those things Ford couldn't legally make black. Yesterday, we took it to Sam's Club to pick up a few bulky items. En route, I was able to use BlueCruise for most of the trip. I turned it off at the interchange, but only because I am still getting used to it and have always preferred to drive it manually. Otherwise, it worked really well. Maybe it is the size of the vehicle compared to the Maverick, but I felt it was a little loose in its lane centering compared to the Maverick but was a lot better than the Explorer.
It isn't a self-driving mode, per se. It really just bridges the gap between auto-cruise with lane centering and self-driving. You have to keep looking at the road or it will disengage and I still like to keep my hands ready to take over. However, compared to my experience test driving the Tesla, I did not have to think about how to drive. It feels a lot more natural.
If someone at Ford is lurking on here, I would say that it needs to be a little more aggressive in keeping it in the middle of the lane while also being a little less aggressive while changing lanes. I have always taken a "lazy drift" approach to changing lanes instead of actively turning the wheel to quickly get into the next lane. Maybe even offer that as an option within the BlueCruise settings. Even in heavy traffic, there are very few times I snap into the next lane.
That said, what this experience has told me is that Ford seriously needs to consider bringing BlueCruise down to its lower models, even if it is only on the upper trims. Given it works in the Mach-E, it definitely would fit physically in the Maverick. As an aside, the dash in the Expedition might be excessive for the Maverick, but the Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto) is very snappy and should definitely come down to all Ford models. Yes, you can even use Apple CarPlay.
In conclusion: BlueCruise is a killer feature and needs to be on as many Ford models as possible. Even if you don't want to pay for the subscription, the vehicle still has auto-cruise and lane centering. We instantly fell in love with BlueCruise and look forward to using it. Especially since a month ago when we took the Explorer to the beach and had to drive the most boring part of Alabama. I was telling my wife that was where I wished the car would just drive itself.
.
Oh, and don't worry. Bruce is still with us. It was Dory, the Explorer, we traded in and I will not be explaining the joke about its name. The Expedition is my wife's new car. She named it Betty because it is black and it had to be delivered from Birmingham.
I will not be explaining that joke either.
From the beginning, a couple weeks ago we made our annual summer camp trip with the Scouts. As I was packing my truck, I realized how small it really is. We were fortunate my wife was driving her Explorer as well for the seats as it gave us enough room to carry everything. In fact, of all the vehicles that traveled, only a Hyundai crossover was smaller than my Maverick.
While we were at camp, we spent a day doing field trips for various merit badges. None of mine required a field trip and neither did my kids. So, we took a family trip to the local railroad museum and rode the train. We looked around at some of the older models. There is something about a steam train that looks cool.
After that fun, I decided to impose a little cultural whiplash on my kids and test drove a Tesla CyberTruck. I took no pictures for this experience but I have some thoughts on how that went.
I test drove the Tesla with an open mind. I'm not anti-EV. I believe the ranges need to improve and I think some of the incoming battery tech has the potential to completely make range anxiety less of an issue. So, despite the fact that my entire family hates how it looked, I simply wanted to see what the fuss was about. What I learned is the CyberTruck was too much of a leap.
Don't get me wrong, I thought it otherwise drove great and the self-driving tech is top notch. However, I have 27 years of muscle memory on driving an ICE vehicle and the one pedal mode was too much, especially if we only had one EV. In talking with the advisor at the Tesla showroom, I inquired about turning it off and was told all I could do is adjust the sensitivity. So, I thanked them for their time and we left. After talking it over with the wife, the need for a larger vehicle remained but I was officially taking Tesla off the list for that effort.
My wife suggested I could test drive a Lightning, since I had always been interested in that. Plus the Lightning is a Ford, for good and for ill. In reviews, people say if you are familiar with Ford, then you are familiar with Lightning. It drives like a truck that just happens to run on electricity so you can turn off the one-pedal mode (in fact, it is even unavailable when towing or in off-road mode). So, I could make the move to an EV while keeping my muscle memory.
However, I started looking at the available models and decided that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I might as well get a Super Duty. My dealership had plenty and I found a couple I liked. Since it was Sunday, my wife and I were walking around the closed lot and would have had to come back another day to test drive anything. As we were walking about, we found our next vehicle...or at least the same model.
While we were at camp, we spent a day doing field trips for various merit badges. None of mine required a field trip and neither did my kids. So, we took a family trip to the local railroad museum and rode the train. We looked around at some of the older models. There is something about a steam train that looks cool.
After that fun, I decided to impose a little cultural whiplash on my kids and test drove a Tesla CyberTruck. I took no pictures for this experience but I have some thoughts on how that went.
I test drove the Tesla with an open mind. I'm not anti-EV. I believe the ranges need to improve and I think some of the incoming battery tech has the potential to completely make range anxiety less of an issue. So, despite the fact that my entire family hates how it looked, I simply wanted to see what the fuss was about. What I learned is the CyberTruck was too much of a leap.
Don't get me wrong, I thought it otherwise drove great and the self-driving tech is top notch. However, I have 27 years of muscle memory on driving an ICE vehicle and the one pedal mode was too much, especially if we only had one EV. In talking with the advisor at the Tesla showroom, I inquired about turning it off and was told all I could do is adjust the sensitivity. So, I thanked them for their time and we left. After talking it over with the wife, the need for a larger vehicle remained but I was officially taking Tesla off the list for that effort.
My wife suggested I could test drive a Lightning, since I had always been interested in that. Plus the Lightning is a Ford, for good and for ill. In reviews, people say if you are familiar with Ford, then you are familiar with Lightning. It drives like a truck that just happens to run on electricity so you can turn off the one-pedal mode (in fact, it is even unavailable when towing or in off-road mode). So, I could make the move to an EV while keeping my muscle memory.
However, I started looking at the available models and decided that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I might as well get a Super Duty. My dealership had plenty and I found a couple I liked. Since it was Sunday, my wife and I were walking around the closed lot and would have had to come back another day to test drive anything. As we were walking about, we found our next vehicle...or at least the same model.
BlueCruise
The 2025 Expeditions are starting to show up on lots. One of the included features on all versions is the addition of BlueCruise 1.4, the first vehicle to get that version. Fortunately, I live within spitting distance of the interstate and the sales rep encouraged us to test it out, including letting us take it home overnight (puppy dog close). The wife and I test drove it and really liked how it worked. Rather than Tesla's drive anywhere self-driving, BlueCruise only works on controlled-access highways. If you have the Lariat and use the lane centering and auto-cruise, you are about 75% of the way there. That familiarity really helped. The next morning, we had only one question for the dealer: does it come in black?
So, yes, we now own a 2025 Ford Expedition Platinum with the Stealth Appearance package. Honestly, the only thing not black are those things Ford couldn't legally make black. Yesterday, we took it to Sam's Club to pick up a few bulky items. En route, I was able to use BlueCruise for most of the trip. I turned it off at the interchange, but only because I am still getting used to it and have always preferred to drive it manually. Otherwise, it worked really well. Maybe it is the size of the vehicle compared to the Maverick, but I felt it was a little loose in its lane centering compared to the Maverick but was a lot better than the Explorer.
It isn't a self-driving mode, per se. It really just bridges the gap between auto-cruise with lane centering and self-driving. You have to keep looking at the road or it will disengage and I still like to keep my hands ready to take over. However, compared to my experience test driving the Tesla, I did not have to think about how to drive. It feels a lot more natural.
If someone at Ford is lurking on here, I would say that it needs to be a little more aggressive in keeping it in the middle of the lane while also being a little less aggressive while changing lanes. I have always taken a "lazy drift" approach to changing lanes instead of actively turning the wheel to quickly get into the next lane. Maybe even offer that as an option within the BlueCruise settings. Even in heavy traffic, there are very few times I snap into the next lane.
That said, what this experience has told me is that Ford seriously needs to consider bringing BlueCruise down to its lower models, even if it is only on the upper trims. Given it works in the Mach-E, it definitely would fit physically in the Maverick. As an aside, the dash in the Expedition might be excessive for the Maverick, but the Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto) is very snappy and should definitely come down to all Ford models. Yes, you can even use Apple CarPlay.
In conclusion: BlueCruise is a killer feature and needs to be on as many Ford models as possible. Even if you don't want to pay for the subscription, the vehicle still has auto-cruise and lane centering. We instantly fell in love with BlueCruise and look forward to using it. Especially since a month ago when we took the Explorer to the beach and had to drive the most boring part of Alabama. I was telling my wife that was where I wished the car would just drive itself.
.
Oh, and don't worry. Bruce is still with us. It was Dory, the Explorer, we traded in and I will not be explaining the joke about its name. The Expedition is my wife's new car. She named it Betty because it is black and it had to be delivered from Birmingham.
I will not be explaining that joke either.
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