The Ford Everest tries to be lots of issues - a seven seat people mover, a torquey gear hauler and an off-road adventurer that is comfy around the freeway and about town. So has Ford bitten off more than it can chew with its flagship SUV?
Our test rig was the top from the line Titanium model with 20 The everest can wade through as much as 800 mm Further back within the cabin there's plenty of cargo space helped by the fact that the ... Ford Everest: energy tailgate and loads of cargo space
Somewhat remarkably, the answer is no. The Everest manages to complete the majority of these things extremely nicely, and do them having a healthy dose of luxury and sophistication.
Our test rig was the top-of-the-line Titanium model from the Everest built for the Australian marketplace, packing 20-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, panoramic power sunroof, lashings of leather, blind spot warning, park-assist, and loads of other tech onboard.
Under the hood is really a three.two L, 5-cylinder, turbocharged diesel mated to a six-speed transmission and making 143 kW at 3,000 rpm and 470 Nm of torque. It is not the world's most refined power unit, especially at low speeds where it can be a bit loud and rattly, but on the move it is a willing companion, with more than sufficient torque to obtain the Everest moving without too much fuss.
The Everest is constructed around the Ranger platform, but Ford manages to deftly hide its ute DNA. When we lately reviewed Toyota's Fortuner, it felt like we had been riding in a modified Hilux, however the Everest feels like fairly a different vehicle towards the stablemate it shares its architecture with.
As a full time 4WD with 225 mm of ground clearance, 800 mm wading depth, hill descent manage, electronic rear diff lock and various terrain settings prepared in the twist of a dial, you'd expect the Everest to be capable off the beaten track ... and it's. Whilst we did not get the opportunity to throw it at anything as well extreme, the wagon soaked up bumps and handled smoothly more than rutted out gravel roads, sandy tracks and steep inclines, at all times feeling like there was lots of power on tap.
Ford's dynamic stability manage, Watt's Linkage Suspension method and Torque-on-Demand method, which transfers torque in between wheels to optimize traction, means the Everest also feels extremely stable and sure-footed on winding country roads where you often discover 1 side from the car around the bitumen and the other in softer stuff. On these types of roads and on the highway, body-roll is surprisingly minimal and steering is surprisingly light and responsive.
Exactly the same applies about town. This hefty SUV manages to deal with more like a car, there's enough energy to obtain you out of difficulty when overtaking and the six-speed auto transmission makes good decisions in stop-start driving. Do not get me incorrect, this is nonetheless a big boat, but it's a boat with a solid keel and a sure rudder that will not have you reaching for the rail to reverse engineer your breakfast.
Around the highway the tech assistance comes in the form of auto high-beam, rain sensing wipers and adaptive cruise control with forward collision alert, which pre-charges the brakes and beams a row of red dots onto the windscreen in front from the driver when a potential collision is detected. Each this and the adaptive cruise are well calibrated, though the latter appears most efficient and least annoying when switched to its least sensitive setting.
The interior feels strong, comfy and well appointed without being more than the leading - there is no walnut panelling or Swarovsky-sponsored gearstick, but there is soft leather, heated seats and dual-zone climate manage. An 8-inch touchscreen with Ford's Sync 2 method, which we've spoken to before, requires care of infotainment, and a digital instrument displays keeps the driver informed.
Ford's digital instrument binnacle is among the best within the company. You will find a few off-road particular functions buried inside the menu structure, but for the most part it is rooted within the same logic because the method you get within the Mondeo, Concentrate and Fiesta. The tiny tachometer doesn't make a great deal of sense, but generally the steering-wheel button manage system is intuitive and also the menus do not force you to invest too much time with eyes off the road.
There is also a little of nostalgia in the form of a pointing metallic thing that you simply plug in and twist to begin the car ... yes, it has a key. We cannot remember the last test vehicle we had in the garage with certainly one of those, but the lack of push button start is hardly a big cause for complaint.
Further back within the cabin there is lots of cargo space helped by the truth that the power-folding third row of seats fold flat to the floor, leaving 1,050 liters of space behind the second row. When it is not in use, the third-row might as well not be there, providing you access to a wide, unimpeded load bay. That's more than can be stated for some of the competition, who force you to strap the additional seats to the side of the boot, robbing space and ruining your over-the-shoulder visibility. Getting to (and sitting) in the third row is a bit ungainly, but ample for young agile types inside a pinch - which is what it's intended for.
The Everest does like a drink, although. Ford claims fuel economy of 8.five L per 100km (27.6 mpg), but we averaged above ten L per 100km more than our week-long test, which included a fairly even mixture of city, freeway and light off-road driving. Granted we weren't precisely hypermiling, but we envision achieving the claimed figure would need a pretty delicate right foot.
The all-round polish from the Everest puts it ahead of competitors just like the Toyota Fortuner and the Holden Colorado in numerous locations, but that's reflected in its AUD$54,990-$76,990 cost variety. Each these issues edge it towards Toyota Prado territory and that is a comparison prospective buyers will most likely be taking a close appear at. Ford has also just announced a rear-wheel drive version from the Everest, which maintains the four-wheel drive variant's ground clearance and three,000 kg towing capacity but, in Trend spec, cuts $5,000 from the sticker cost.
If 98 % of one's off roading is carried out negotiating the muddy verge around the soccer field, this most likely isn't the vehicle for you personally - you will find lots of front-drive four-wheel drives out there which use much less fuel and deliver a smoother drive in the urban jungle. However, in the event you like to load up the tribe and head towards the middle of nowhere on the weekends, the Everest will get you there in style.
