Gas prices are high, small cars are in, bigger is not necessarily better…yada, yada, yada. None of that negates the fact that there is something empowering about driving a full-size SUV, especially one with a massive front end and a proudly-displayed, oversized domestic badge planted smack in the middle of the grille.

Such is the feeling one gets when behind the wheel of the 2007 Ford Expedition. Climb in and plop yourself down in the ample front seat, and the first thing you’ll notice is the truck’s vast interior – the seats are big, the dash is tall and deep, and the numerous plastic panels are expansive. However, crank the key, drop the six-speed automatic tranny into Drive, and you’ll appreciate how well 300 horses and 365 lb.-ft. of torque puts this 5,600-6,200-lb. into motion. The 5.4-liter V8 packs power aplenty for those times when you throw the hammer down, with the six-speed transmission providing smooth transitions. Throttle response is dialed in well – not too touchy and without delay – as are the brakes, which again, are effective and well-modulated, despite the mass they’re charged with slowing. Steering is short of sports car responsive; however, there’s decent road feel from a vehicle perceived by many to be nothing more than an enclosed pickup truck. Our drive along twisty roads outside Portland included stretch with a Ford engineer catching a ride in the back seat, telling us how he worked tirelessly to make sure the steering offered the perfect blend of responsiveness and ease-of-use. Simply put, he wanted the system to deliver a connection to the road without being so precise that the driver had to saw the wheel back and forth in a turn. We’d say he and his team succeeded.

That’s not to say all is well in the world of the 2007 Ford Expedition. While the steering is admirable for such a large vehicle, it masks the fact that this rig is not built for speed in any direction but straight ahead. On twisty roads, the steering gives you a sense of security, until you carry in a few too many MPHs, whereupon the body roll and slight scrub from the optional 20-inch Pirelli Scorpion tires whispers: “This is a full-size SUV, idiot. Slow down.” Keep your wits about you, and the Expedition will provide one of the better full-size SUV driving experiences currently available. The comfortable ride, suspension compliance over bumps, and quiet interior (thanks to the generous use of so-called quiet, or coated, steel) no doubt aid in the overall effort.

During our afternoon with a fleet of Expeditions, Ford allowed for a scheduled pit stop, one that allowed us to drive an EL model hooked up to a 5,000-lb. fully-enclosed trailer. Unfortunately, it was our only time to pilot the Expedition EL, so we can’t tell you if there’s any major difference between it and the regular Expedition in normal driving, though we suspect it handles much the same. However, since all Expeditions come with the same powertrain, we can comment on the lineup’s towing ability. As expected, you can feel the difference with 5,000 pounds being tugged down the road, as the driver is required to dig deeper into the throttle and the transmission takes more time to enjoy each gear before upshifting. We drove only a short distance, but that was time enough to appreciate the load-leveling rear suspension that keeps things level and steady, though slight winds had our trailer shifting a bit, which in turn got the Expedition EL’s tail bobbing a bit. Mileage with the trailer registered about 9 mpg, down from the 15 mpg average we calculated for the main drive.