Sometimes splitting the difference hits the sweet spot.

The Ford Expedition is bigger — and roomier — than a Chevy Tahoe. But it's not as "yuge" as a Suburban. It's also unusual in another way — two other ways.

First, it's wrapped in lightweight aluminum. All the other SUVs in its class — the Tahoe, Suburban, Toyota Sequoia and Nissan Armada — are made of heavy steel.

Second, it hasn't got a big V-8 under its hood. All the others do. But the Ford still outmuscles all of them.

What It Is

The Expedition is a full-size (and fuller-sized) three-row SUV.

The version with the regular wheelbase is slightly smaller overall than a Chevy Tahoe but bigger on the inside. The long-wheelbase Expedition Max is even roomier — but not quite as big on the outside as a Chevy Suburban. Either way, it has three rows and seats seven to eight people, depending on the configuration.

Base price is $51,790 for the 2WD regular-wheelbase XLT; adding the optional 4WD system bumps the sticker to $54,800.

A top-of-the-line long-wheelbase Platinum Max trim with optional four-wheel-drive system has a $75,720 sticker.

What's New

A ten-speed automatic transmission is standard equipment — replacing the six-speed automatic used last year — and all trims get a revised instrument panel. In-vehicle 4G Wi-Fi that can support as many as 10 different devices and stream movies is available.

What's Good

A twin-turbo V-6 engine has the power of more than most V-8s and uses a bit less gas.

It has more second-row legroom and cargo capacity than the Tahoe.

It has a best-in-class standard tow rating.

What's Not So Good

The aluminum body cuts weight but can cost more to repair.

The twin-turbo V-6 has big V-8 power, but big V-8s are simpler, and simpler usually means more durable long term.

The Nissan Armada — with standard 390-horsepower V-8 — costs $5,700 less to start.

The Toyota Sequoia has more cargo room and a smaller footprint.

Under the Hood

V-8s — all else being equal — have more power than V-6s because they flow more air. Turbocharging can equalize that and then some.

The Ford's 3.5-liter V-6 has 375 horsepower in the base XLT and 400 horsepower in the top-of-the-line Platinum. It's enough horsepower to get this big lug from zero to 60 mph in just over six seconds.

The engine also has a lot of torque: 470 foot-pounds in the XLT and 480 foot-pounds in the Platinum, which explains another number: the Expedition's class-best max tow rating of 9,300 pounds.

The Ford's V-6 is teamed up with a new 10-speed automatic transmission. The idea behind it is to tighten up gear spacing so the engine doesn't have to work as hard to accelerate and will therefore use less gas. The top several gears are also overdrive gears, which serve the same fuel-saving purpose once you're rolling.

You get slightly better gas mileage (17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway for the 2WD version; 16 mpg city and 21 mpg highway for the 4WD models) than rivals with less powerful V-8s like the Chevy Tahoe (the 2WD version with 355-horsepower 5.3-liter engine gets 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway; the 4WD model gets 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway).

On the Road

The power and torque produced by this V-6 could easily fool you into assuming there is a V-8 under the hood. It accelerates like a bull — and pulls like a Clydesdale. The only V-8 in this class that will run with it is the Chevy Tahoe with its optional 6.2-liter V-8, which says good things about this standard-equipment 3.5-liter V-6.

All that's missing is the sound. There's no V-8 bellow.

At idle, it's imperceptibly running. The V-6 has no lope and just one (big) exhaust outlet, tucked discreetly underneath the rear bumper. This thing doesn't make a public display of its goods. It just delivers them.

At the Curb

The regular-wheelbase Expedition has 43.9 inches of legroom for the driver and front-seat passenger, 41.5 inches of legroom for the second-row passengers and 19.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row. Fold the second and third rows and the space available opens up to 104.6 cubic feet.

The smaller-on-the-outside Tahoe is ... smaller on the inside, too — mostly. It does have enough driver and front-seat passenger legroom for an NBA forward (45.3 inches), but the second row is more cramped (39 inches), and there's less cargo space behind the third row (15.3 cubic feet) and with the second and third rows folded (94.7 cubic feet).

If you buy the supersized Suburban, the cargo capacity expands to 39.3 cubic feet behind the third row, and 121.7 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded.

Splitting the difference is the long-wheelbase Expedition Max. It's 221.9 inches long overall — about half a foot shorter than the Suburban but almost exactly as roomy in cargo (121.5 cubic feet).

The Rest

The Expedition is available with sliding second-row seats (most just fold), electrically deploying running boards, a 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium audio rig, dual rear DVD monitors and an in-vehicle 4G Wi-Fi hot spot that can support 10 separate devices.

The Bottom Line

As it turns out, there is a replacement for displacement!

View the Ford Expedition this week.

To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. His new book, Don't Get Taken for a Ride! is available now.