From treacherous terrains to heat-soaked cities, every Ford vehicle undergoes thousands of hours of scrutiny by a team of hundreds of engineers, designers, and technicians stationed around the globe long before it makes it to the showroom floor.<\/p>\n
The new-generation Expedition is no exception. Almost a year to the day ahead of its Middle East market launch, in a sweltering corner of the desert near Dubai, a group of engineers is poring over the 2018 Expedition ahead of its first venture on UAE sand.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s mid-July 2017, and the temperature has already soared to close to 50 degrees Celsius. A breeze has kicked up, bringing with it clouds of swirling fine dust and sand \u2013 making the conditions extremely challenging for engineers. The new generation Expedition sits ready for the day ahead. External sensors are taped to its new aluminum bodywork. Tires have been deflated to offer better traction on sand. The team makes final checks \u2013 a collection of engineers from Dearborn, Michigan, and Ford\u2019s own Middle East in-market product development team based in Dubai.<\/p>\n
Expedition chief program engineer Todd Hoevener is present and explains, \u201cIn-market testing is to confirm the work we\u2019ve done, and fine-tune the product before it\u2019s introduced. Our standards within Ford account for extreme conditions, so we developed this vehicle for global use. But it is essential to test in the market, not only here but in other parts of the world, for final confirmation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though we simulate these temperatures in our labs and at our Arizona proving ground, this is a unique combination of both deep sand \u2013 which is very fine, versus the coarse sand we have in the States \u2013 as well as high temperatures. Besides, high winds with sand blowing really test the car\u2019s ability to handle sand ingestion,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Weather aside, the Middle East offers unique circumstances for Ford\u2019s engineering team to contend with. Vehicle use in this part of the world differs greatly from other areas; customers are more likely to take their SUVs offroad into the desert or onto a trail \u2013 and expectations on capability are set extremely high. While driving on the loose sand is fairly similar worldwide, desert driving in deep sand on a reasonably regular basis is something particular to this region \u2013 and customers expect SUVs to deliver where it counts.<\/p>\n
At more than 5.3 meters long and 2.1 meters wide, the new generation Expedition is easily the most spacious desert-going eight-seat vehicle on the market. With a 400hp* and best-in-class 650Nm* EcoBoost engine, class-exclusive 10-speed transmission, and advanced four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case, the Expedition is equipped to handle the Middle East\u2019s toughest conditions. With a tailored Terrain Management System (TMS), mastering any surface \u2013 whether on the loose sand or the tarmac \u2013 is as easy as turning a dial.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe off-road modes are designed to help drivers navigate conditions they may not be familiar with \u2013 like sand,\u201d However explained. \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst thing that can happen to you as a driver when you\u2019ve got your family and friends in the car? Getting stuck. Sand mode, if you\u2019re not as skilled, makes it enjoyable to drive \u2013 and you have that safety net of having the vehicle electronics there to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of that learning comes from Ford\u2019steam’s long hours put into developing the car \u2013 and in-market testing is essential in fully understanding situations customers will face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring development, we drive to get stuck so that we know the limits of the vehicle. We then calibrate our engine management and Terrain Management System settings so that the next time we \u2013 or, ultimately, the customer \u2013 gets into that situation, the vehicle doesn\u2019t get stuck again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Ford engineers, that means long days in the desert heat and more days of on-road testing where the 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost faces challenging mountain roads at the height of the UAE summer and city driving conditions in temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very proud moment to see the vehicle perform well in these types of situations and drive it to see how the people in this market will be using the product. I\u2019ve been on the program since it started a few years ago, so it\u2019s great to see it finally developed and in a market that clearly loves the Expedition,\u201d Hoevener concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From treacherous terrains to heat-soaked cities, every Ford vehicle undergoes thousands of hours of scrutiny by a team of hundreds of engineers, designers, and technicians stationed around the globe long before it makes it to the showroom floor. The new-generation Expedition is no exception. Almost a year to the day ahead of its Middle East […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"1","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_pr_autopilot_social_copy":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":26,"_extra_hide_author_box":"","_extra_featured_post":"","_partner_post_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automotive","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n