I had Hankooks on my 2007 Excel, We drove cross country and back, also east coast from Maine to Florida, fully loaded and we even towed a Jeep Liberty with them. We put on I believe 37,000 miles, rotated at every oil change, I run 80# rear and 65# front and we never had a problem. I also have the Hankooks on my current 2012 Excel with 6,000 miles and no problems to date.
I doubt that these have had any more problems with sidewalls than any other comparable tire. I also doubt that Ford would have continued using them if there was an increase danger of blowouts. I did get better "tread wear" on my 2004 with Goodyears, at 36,000 miles or so they still looked great whereas the Hankooks were near being ready for replacement.
I feel safe driving on them.
Nick
