Ford Expedition Vs. Chevrolet Tahoe: 3-Row SUVs, Compared

Family vehicles like the Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Tahoe offer maximum seating capacity and maximum towing capacity. Both are truck-based SUVs with a solid pickup-truck underpinning. Both offer three rows of seating and nearly the same capabilities as their pickup truck cousins. Want something big enough for your growing family that can also haul a boat during the summer holidays? These two are a great place to start.

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Both the 2025 Ford Expedition and 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe have been significantly updated for 2025 with a long list of standard features, appearance changes and impressive performance features. But which of these two family haulers is best for you? Which one is more effective? Which family hauler will give you the best towing power if you need to take a trailer with you? Which one has the most space for your chronically shuffling family members? Let’s take a closer look and see how these two stack up.

For all the features these two large three-row SUVs offer, they come with a hefty price tag. The new 2025 Tahoe starts at $60,495 (including $1,995 destination charge) for the base LS model with rear-wheel drive. The LS has Chevy’s powerful 5.3-liter V8 engine and a decent list of standard features, such as smartphone connectivity and a six-speaker stereo, but it’s not exactly plush. It has cloth upholstery, manually adjustable second- and third-row seats, and a manually adjustable steering column. Top models like the Tahoe High Country add a long list of luxury features, such as an upgraded 6.2-liter V8 engine, magnetic suspension with ride control and a 10-speaker Bose stereo, but you’ll pay for it. boss. The rear-wheel drive Tahoe High Country has a MSRP of $78,695 before any options.

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Things are pretty much the same with the Expedition. The base model, which Ford calls Expedition Active, starts at $63,695 (including $1,995 destination charge). It also has cloth upholstery, rear-wheel drive, a six-speaker stereo, and the base engine is Ford’s standard 3.5-liter turbocharged V6. At the top of the Expedition trim ladder is the King Ranch trim, which is a strong competitor to the Tahoe High Country, but its price increases significantly. MSRP is $85,650 (including destination), and for that price you get all sorts of optional equipment, such as premium leather upholstery, a 22-speaker B&O stereo and BlueCruise driver assistance systems with hands-free calling.

As mentioned, the Chevrolet Tahoe is available with several engines. The first is the 5.3-liter V8 engine, the mainstay in Chevy’s truck lineup. It produces 355 hp. and 383 lb-ft of torque and is standard on most Tahoe trims: LS, LT, RST, Z71 and Premier. If you need more power, a 6.2-liter V8 engine is also available. It produces 420 hp. and 460 lb-ft and is standard on the High Country trim. It is also available in RST, Z71 and Premier trim levels. Chevy also offers a Duramax diesel powertrain in the Tahoe, a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine that produces 305 hp. and 495 lb.-ft. All three engines are available with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and all three engines are paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

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The new 2025 Ford Expedition is a little simpler when it comes to available powertrains. Every Expedition trim comes with Ford EcoBoost V6. Some shippers may complain about the lack of an available V8, but the turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 produces 400 hp. and 480 lb-ft in Active, King Ranch and Platinum trim levels—more than Chevy’s base V8. A high-performance turbocharged version of Ford’s V6 increases power to 440 hp. and 510 lb.-ft. The high-output engine is standard on the off-road Tremor and luxury Platinum models. If you’re looking for variety, the Chevy wins in this category, but Ford’s turbocharged V6 is still plenty powerful.

Fuel economy estimates for the 2025 expedition are not yet available. Luckily, the 2025 Expedition isn’t too different from the 2024 model, at least as far as the engine is concerned. The 2024 Expedition also comes exclusively with a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 engine, and is EPA-estimated to deliver between 17 mpg combined (16 mpg city/19 mpg highway) and 19 mpg combined (17 city/23 highway). We expect the 2025 expedition to be similar.

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With the base 5.3-liter V8 engine and rear-wheel drive, the 2025 Tahoe is EPA-rated at 17 mpg combined (15 city/20 highway). Go for all-wheel drive and the highway fuel economy estimate drops 1 mpg. The 6.2-liter V8 with rear-wheel drive returns 17 mpg combined (15 mpg city/20 mpg highway), and with all-wheel drive returns 16 mpg combined (14 mpg city). /18 highway) – so the penalty for fuel economy is small. for the big V8. However, the Duramax diesel is likely to be much more efficient.

The Tahoe’s diesel engine has yet to receive an EPA rating for 2025, but the 2024 model gets a decent rating of 24 mpg combined (21 city/28 highway) with all-wheel drive and 22 mpg combined (20 mpg/26 hwy). ) with all-wheel drive. The diesel will become more powerful in 2025, so these numbers may change a bit when official EPA ratings come out, but for now it’s still the leader among these powertrains.

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With powerful engines and rugged underpinnings, Tahoe and Expedition are capable of… towing large trailers. With the optional diesel engine and associated equipment, the 2025 Tahoe can tow up to 8,400 pounds. This is more than enough for a typical car trailer or medium sized boat. The Tahoe has a maximum payload of 1,834 pounds. Tahoe offers all sorts of tech to make towing easier, like a tire health monitor for your trailer, a blind-spot steering assist system that takes your trailer into account, and a dedicated trailer app navigation feature that helps you plan a route based on the size of your trailer. .

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The Expedition’s maximum towing capacity is 7,000 pounds, but if you add a load-leveling bar and a weight-distribution hitch, that maximum load increases to 9,600 pounds. The maximum expedition payload is 1,756 pounds. Ford Pro Trailer Backup Assist gives novice towers an easier way to control a trailer when reversing. The knob on the dash can be used as an assist steering wheel, steering the trailer where you want it without the usual left-right and left-right math that occurs when you reverse a trailer unassisted.

The new Expedition is certainly spacious, whether you’re loading passengers or packing a lot of luggage. Behind the third row of seats, maximum cargo space is 22.9 cubic feet. Fold the second and third rows down and cargo space expands to 108.5 cubic feet. However, Tahoe displaces the Expedition. It offers 25.5 cubic feet of storage space behind the third row and 122.7 cubic feet of storage space with the second and third rows folded. Both SUVs offer plenty of cupholders, storage, and other small items like cell phones and water bottles. Few new cars today can beat the Tahoe and Expedition when it comes to interior storage. But if you really need more cargo capacity than the Tahoe or Expedition offer, you should consider their big brothers, the Suburban and Expedition MAX. They are some of largest SUVs you can buy, but both the Chevy and Ford offer essentially the same features as their smaller siblings, with a little extra space in the back for increased cargo capacity.

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As you’d expect from two modern SUVs like the Expedition and Tahoe, these vehicles are loaded with the latest technology. Both offer large infotainment displays, large digital driver displays and plenty of places to charge your devices. Ford offers a massive new 24-inch panoramic display in place of the standard instrument panel (and just above the center touchscreen), while Chevy offers a large 17.7-inch center infotainment touchscreen next to the 11-inch drive display.

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Both SUVs also come with hands-free driving assist systems that can significantly reduce road fatigue and take some of the stress out of long trips and daily commutes. For example, Chevy offers Super Cruise. On pre-mapped highways across the United States (Chevy says they’ve already mapped more than 400,000 miles), Super Cruise can be used for hands-free driving—changing lanes on command, centering within your lane, and maintaining speed. and distance using adaptive cruise control. Ford BlueCruise offers a similar feature set, and for 2025 they’ve expanded BlueCruise access to the entire Expedition lineup.