The Ford Everest Sport is a towing and road-tripping champion

Bold new face, more luxury and

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17/01/2023

FORD EVEREST SPORT

Base Price: $79,490 (RightCar estimated Clean Car Programme fee: $3,910)

Powertrain and economy: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, 184kW/600Nm, 10-speed automatic, 4WD, combined economy 9.7L/100km, CO2 256g/km

Vital statistics: 4940mm long, 2207mm wide, 1837mm high, 2900mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 898L (259L with third row in place), 20-inch alloy wheels

Safety: 5 stars (Source: ANCAP)

We like: Wonderful V6, bold mini-Excursion styling, proper off-road ability

We don’t like: Not especially cheap, fab engine likes a drink

Electric vehicles are unquestionably the talk of the town at the minute, for good reason, but what’s worth remembering is that there are still swathes of new-car buyers around the country that are flocking to a very different kind of vehicle.

Long waiting lists aren’t exclusively the domain of the hybrid or plug-in. Try buying a Toyota Land Cruiser right now. The Suzuki Jimny used to have a fairly gnarly waiting period attached to its orders. And the Ford Everest, updated late this year, has never been more popular with more than 300 punters placing orders before it was even launched.

The common thread across these three is that they’re all designed to be capable bonafide off-roaders. While the hulking Land Cruiser and diminutive Jimny occupy the SUV genre’s poles, the Everest’s dimensions, pricing, and seven-seater layout gives it a broad appeal. The fact it shares platforms with the country’s best-selling vehicle probably helps, too.

OUTSIDE

The Everest shares its platform, engine range, and many other components with the Ranger.

The $79,490 Everest Sport is likely to be the nameplate’s most popular grade. Slotting between the base Trend and the flagship Platinum, it’s the most affordable way to get the big 3.0-litre V6. It also leans heaviest into the model’s outdoorsy marketing thanks to its more rugged styling.

The Sport ditches much of the chrome found on the other two grades, swapping the shine for gloss black. The grille, window trims, Everest badging, bash plate, and 22-inch wheels are all dressed in Henry Ford’s hue of choice.

The Everest is offered locally in three trim levels; Trend, Sport (pictured), and Platinum.

It’s up for debate, but I think this trim is the option that best complements the Everest's new styling. Like its Ranger cousin, it swaps its former rounded edges for a bolder, more squared-off look that positions it closer visually to the blue oval’s American line-up.

Having had several months of spotting the new Ranger in the wild (they’re rather popular, apparently), its looks have well and truly grown on me. Even the aspects I wasn’t so sure about initially, like the C-clamp LED headlight signature. It’s no surprise, then, that I consider the Everest to also be quite a handsome thing.

INSIDE

One of these comes with heated and cooled front seats, the other does not.

Those familiar with the Ranger’s cabin will find that the Everest is much the same inside. A tall, upright dash layout houses a portrait-orientation 12-inch touchscreen (paired to Ford’s latest SYNC software) and a digital cluster. The relatively utilitarian design is given various hits of soft-touch material to give off a more boujee feel.

Standard, the Sport gets wireless charging, dual-zone climate, an electric tailgate, heated and cooled front seats, and voice control. For those playing spec-sheet bingo, it misses out on the B&O audio, 12.4-inch digital cluster, parking assist, panoramic glass roof, and heated steering wheel in the Platinum. Despite this, the Sport rarely feels compromised or lacking in the equipment department.

In terms of space, things look pretty good on paper. The Everest’s updated T6 platform gets 50mm of added wheelbase to play with, theoretically growing the nameplate’s cabin. Despite this, the new Everest’s headroom and legroom in the second row is adequate, if unspectacular. The third row is really only for kids, although a contortionist adult could potentially squeeze in back there. These attributes are fairly normal within the body-on-frame SUV segment thanks to the raised floor present in most entrants.

The Sport’s cabin is loaded with features, to the point that it feels almost like a ‘flagship’ model.

Where the Everest’s interior proves its mettle is in the size of its boot. Most owners will likely have the third-row seats folded flat most of the time. This will allow them to access a gargantuan 898L boot space with the second row in place - dwarfing even the aforementioned Land Cruiser’s offerings.

UNDER THE BONNET

The PowerStroke V6, while new to us down under, is not a new engine. It’s a unit Ford has used in its F-150 on the other side of the world. Those who lament the death of the Ranger’s 5-cylinder 3.2-litre (and perhaps look down their noses at the frankly excellent 2.0-litre bi-turbo) will love this engine.

The PowerStroke V6 is derived from a powertrain used in the US.

It is noticeably quicker than the 2.0, which comes as no surprise given its 30kW/100Nm advantage. Those new horses are most discernable when accelerating in that 80kph to 120kph window (motorway passing territory), generating a characterful exhaust note underlined by turbo whistle. It’s emotive in a way few of its peers can match.

It’s also not especially friendly on the wallet or the environment. We averaged over 10L/100km in economy, and according to Ford the V6 makes 256g/km of CO2. With the Clean Car Standard’s first wave of penalties coming into effect in a few days time, the future of powertrains like this (as fun as they are) is in doubt.

ON THE ROAD

Sliding and reclining second-row seats make it easy to access the third row.

The Everest is big. This won’t surprise anyone stepping out of a Ranger, but it may well be an eye-opener for those not used to the visibility over its squared-off bonnet. Ordinarily one of the big points of order would be whether Ford has done enough to make the Everest more refined than its ute blood brother. But, given how refined the standard Ranger is out of the box, this becomes less of a concern.

Those with boats and other such toys will be pleased to learn that the Everest’s tow rating has grown to 3500kg braked, echoing what the Ranger can do.

Its ride quality is satisfyingly pliant and isolated no matter the terrain under its rubber. On gravel it’s excellent, feeling almost like a plush, dialled-back Ranger Raptor. Could it be sharper on tarmac? Probably … but that goes for all of its rivals, too. This is the handling benchmark for its class, on and off-road.

VERDICT

The Everest is a proper go-anywhere do-anything vehicle.

While it’s tempting to label the Everest a relic from an era of motoring firmly in our rear-view mirror, the fact is that its ongoing popularity defies that argument on its face. Evidently, this is a model that’s as comprehensive and resolved as ever, and a sign of just how good Ford can be when it gets everything right. All those EVs could learn a thing or two here.

- Matthew Hansen, Stuff.co.nz

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/130869554/the-ford-everest-sport-is-a-towing-and-roadtripping-champion