2020 Ford Expedition Platinum: What You Get When You Go Big

Among mainstream cars, high-end trim levels with fancy names are nothing new. GMC’s Denali is probably the most well-known these days, what with some 20 years’ marketing behind it, but others range from Elite (Honda) and High Country (Chevrolet) to Signature (Mazda) and Platinum (Ford, Nissan and Toyota). Why so many settled on Platinum is a head-scratcher, but automakers have long played trim-level copycat: Consider the ever-reliable Limited and Touring, both decades-old indicators of top features and pricing. And so it goes for Platinum, none more so than in a certain Ford we tested recently: the 2020 Expedition Max Platinum.

Related: 2020 Ford Expedition, Expedition Max: What’s Changed

We had a four-wheel-drive example, with a window sticker landing at $84,065 (all prices include destination). That sort of pricing spills into territory for the Expedition’s upscale corporate sibling, the Lincoln Navigator. (Lincoln is Ford’s luxury division.) Indeed, our Expedition Max ran $26,535 more than the Expedition’s base trim available to retail customers, a $57,530 4×2 Max XLT, though you can get an Expedition Platinum for as little as $75,630 in regular-length (no “Max”) guise with rear-wheel drive. That’s $21,125 more than a rear-drive Expedition XLT — a premium of roughly 40%, which is in line with other cars’ Platinum grades.

Despite the premium, Ford expects the Platinum to account for an astounding 1 in 5 retail sales for the Expedition. Given it’s the highest of four trim levels available to non-commercial customers (XLT, Limited, King Ranch and Platinum), that’s relatively popular. What does the Platinum get you? It builds on the even more popular Expedition Limited with Ford’s 302A Package — already a $71,005 SUV, at minimum — with a few extras we’ll detail below.

Exterior Cues

Like the Expedition King Ranch that slots just below it, the Platinum gets a unique grille insert with a tighter weave instead of the larger openings on the XLT and Limited. Unique to the Platinum are body-colored sections for the lower front bumper and power-deployable running boards; both are mostly gray on lesser trims. Like the Limited trim’s 302A Package, the Platinum also has LEDs for the headlights and foglights, adaptive shock absorbers, 22-inch wheels and a panoramic moonroof.

More From Cars.com:

• Off-Road Package for 2020 Ford Expedition Limited Boasts Best of Both Worlds
• 2018 Ford Expedition: First Drive
• What’s the Best Full-Size SUV for 2018?
• 2018 Ford Expedition Bests Rivals in Crash Tests
• How We Went From a Safari to an Expedition: Our Car-Shopping Journey
• 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe: More Quantity, More Quality

Interior: Real Wood, More Leather

The Platinum’s cabin gets genuine wood accents on the center console, though the finish is polished, not textured as some examples go. Other Platinum-specific changes range from upgraded floormats and higher-grade leather in the first and second rows to steering-wheel trim by Austrian leather supplier Wollsdorf, though a spokesperson for the company said it supplies other leather in the Expedition, as well. In any case, the wheel and seats look and feel fine; they’re rich enough, but nothing that stands out for an $80,000 SUV.

Exclusive to the Platinum, upper portions of the doors and dashboard are also wrapped in leather, Ford says. By our observations, that’s the most perceptible upgrade in terms of materials. Stitched accents on dashboards, doors and consoles have been in vogue for years now, and execution varies considerably. The vast majority employ either mold-in stitching or, at most, a vinyl wrap. Genuine cowhide still looks and feels notably richer, and the Expedition is no exception. The upper doors in the second row appear to downgrade to a vinyl wrap — disappointing but unsurprising, as automakers often cut costs after the first row — but, asked to confirm that, a Ford spokesperson did not immediately clarify.

Massaging Seats

Also exclusive to the Platinum are Ford’s Multicontour with Active Motion seats. Essentially a program that applies varying lumbar pressure across the seatback and bottom cushion, the feature is intended to reduce back and leg fatigue over long drives. The Expedition’s execution worked fine in our usage, though the pressure points aren’t as acute as with some of the more active seat massagers on the market.

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.