2002 Ford Excursion They donÆt come any bigger than this. By Mitch McCullough, Editor-in-Chief, New Car Test Drive .com

The Ford Excursion is the king of big sport-utilities. It is supremely stable; it feels safe and secure on the open highway. Whether you have a lot of cargo to carry, a bunch of people to transport, a big trailer to pull or all of the above, the Excursion is ready for whatever you throw its way. It's a beast, however, taking up more garage space, parking space, and street space than anything else this side of a dually.

Ford Excursion comes in two trim levels: XLT and Limited.

The XLT includes three versions: SSV, Base and Premium while the Limited offers Base and Ultimate versions.

All XLTs come with a nice cloth interior with comfortable seats that offer good support for long drives and a high level of standard equipment. The Base version adds body side cladding, a cargo net, day/night mirrors, a removable third-row seat and chrome steel wheels. The Premium upgrade includes a center floor console, autolamp headlights, rear-seat audio controls, running boards, six-way power front seats, a trip computer, alloy wheels and power rear quarter windows.

Limited trim adds automatic front air conditioning, wood grain trim, fog lights, turn signals on the exterior rear view mirrors, wheel moldings, power adjustable pedals, a reverse sensing system, leather seats and speed-sensitive intermittent wipers.

The Limited Ultimate adds a retractable cargo cover, HomeLink garage door opener, power adjustable pedals with memory feature, heated front seats and a deluxe steering wheel with audio and air conditioning controls.

Three engines are available: a V8, a V10, and a turbocharged diesel. And, of course, there's a choice of two- or four-wheel drive.

The base XLT 4x2 retails for $32,820. We drove a $38,235 XLT 4x4 with the V10. We've also driven a diesel, which adds about $4,000 to the bottom line.

Among the new equipment for 2002 is an available rear-seat entertainment system with a DVD player ($1,360).