Inside the Ford Expedition Tremor's off-road arsenal

Ford has announced the 2025 Expedition has a Tremor trim, but what does that really mean?

EllenDeGeneres

Dec 21, 2024 - 12:53

4319

Inside the Ford Expedition Tremor's off-road arsenal

The 2025 Ford Expedition is coming with a Tremor trim, which essentially means that the company’s full-sized SUV will be more capable than ever on a wider variety of terrains.

In terms of the powertrain, the Tremor will be fitted with the high-output 3.5-liter twin EcoBoost V6 capable of churning out up to 440 horsepower and 510 lb-ft. of torque. While that grunt is handy for a lot of things, you need more than just power in a capable off-roader. Does the Expedition have that? Let’s take a look at what we know so far.

View the 10 images of this gallery on the original article

The Tremor brings a locking rear diff to the Expedition

One of the main oversights with many of Ford’s SUVs is the lack of a locking differential. The offroad-focused Bronco can sport both front and rear locking diffs, but the almost essential feature has been missing from many Explorers and Expeditions for years. This ultimately makes it difficult to recommend the SUVs for anything more than light off-roading.

This is thankfully not the case with the 2025 Expedition Tremor, which gets an electronic locking rear differential as standard, making it a lot easier to keep getting the power down on loose or uneven surfaces.

The 2025 Expedition Tremor is packed with plenty of Ford’s offroad tech

Not every off-roading feature is mechanical. Ford has put a lot of effort into its off-roading tech over the years, and enabling the right option can make things like hill descents or speed control a lot easier.

Three notable and recent features in Ford's lineup include Hill Descent Control, Trail Control with Trail 1-Pedal Drive, and Trail Turn Assist.

Hill Descent Control is a likely addition

While Hill Descent Control has not been explicitly confirmed, it’s difficult to imagine Ford omitting this feature given its inclusion of other flagship characteristics.

The mode will maintain a set speed when descending, so you don’t have to drop the vehicle into first gear or carefully manage the brakes. Just set the speed to one of the 0.5 mph increments, and focus on your line as the vehicle handles the rest.

Some car-like features pop up on the Tremor trim

Trail Control is essentially an off-road version of cruise control, and one-pedal drive acts exactly like it does in a road vehicle. Push the accelerator to move, and lift off to have the vehicle slow rapidly.

Trail Turn Assist takes some getting used to, but when mastered, it can help you navigate tight turns without complex maneuvering. It essentially locks a rear wheel and makes the vehicle pivot around it, so a hairpin becomes a straight turn instead of what is essentially a three-pointer.

You’ll likely get a few drive modes to help you out

If the 2025 Expedition Tremor has similar drive modes to the F-150 Tremor and Bronco, it will likely come with up to eight. These could include Normal, ECO, Sport, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Deep Snow/Sand, Mud/Rut, and Rock Crawl. Four of those, it could be argued, are off-road focused and change how the vehicle manages throttle response, power distribution, and a few other factors.

These modes won’t replace off-roading skills, and you will always have a better time after learning to do things properly. However, they can make the vehicle easier to handle in a pinch or give you a boost in certain circumstances.

Don’t forget the parking sensors

This isn’t a new feature or one exclusive to the Expedition Tremor, nor is it specifically designed for off-roading. Nevertheless, it is available in the vehicle and can significantly simplify navigating the large SUV through tight spaces or around boulders without a spotter.

Parking sensors let you know how close a part of the vehicle is to another object. This could be another vehicle, a wall, a bollard, or the side of a mountain. They come standard on the Explorer in general and are a handy way to stay aware of your proximity to hazards when navigating a tricky bit of terrain

The wheel options could be better

The Expedition Tremor comes equipped with standard 18-inch wheels, which might seem puzzling since larger wheels are usually favored for off-roading. However, you can upgrade to 24-inch wheels by choosing the “Driver Pack," and it would have been great to see this choice available for the Tremor as well.

With that being said, there’s a chance you can mix and match, though you’ll likely have to swap out the all-season tires that come standard on the 24-inch rims for a set of all-terrains.

The Ford Expedition Tremor could use one of the F-150’s better features

One of the more interesting and unique aspects of other Fords with a Tremor trim, most notably the F-150, is the option of a “modular front bumper.” Forged tow hooks, integrated fog lamps, and a winch are already present on the durable bumper, and more accessories can be added, allowing you to customize it to your needs.

This would likely be a great addition to the Expedition. There’s potential for more useful accessories to be added in the future, and, like with the 2024 F-150 Tremor’s modular front bumper, accessories could also be removed. As things stand, the Tremor comes with auxiliary grille lights which do tick some of the boxes, but things could be better.

Final thoughts

Ford has done the right thing here. The Expedition is its premier full-sized SUV, and like many of its peers, it hasn’t been particularly great at anything beyond light off-roading for too long. But the addition of a Tremor package has lifted the large vehicle from a “glorified minivan” to something that can likely hold its own on a lot of trails.

The chances are, if you’re a serious off-roader, a Bronco is still a far better option. But it will be interesting to see how the Expedition compares to the likes of the Maverick and F-150’s respective Tremor trims when they all hit the trail. Off-roading and overlanding seem to be growing in popularity throughout the United States, so this may be both a smart and well-executed move from Ford.

The announcement of the Tremor trim is still relatively decent, and more details are likely to emerge soon, so there’s every chance the next Expedition could turn out even better than it currently seems.