By: Denis Droppa
Cape Town - The bakkie sales war that rages between the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux is soon to spill over into the adventure-vehicle segment when Ford and Toyota launch SUVs based on their one-tonners.
Ford fired the first salvo by unveiling the latest Everest in South Africa last week, with the rival new Fortuner due to arrive in the second quarter of next year.
Like the first-generation Everest that sold here from 2009 to 2014, its replacement is based on the Ford Ranger bakkie with the same rugged body-on-frame design, tough-guy styling (in front at least), and 3.2-litre turbodiesel grunt. Initially this 147kW/470Nm five-cylinder Duratorq is the only engine available in the two Everest derivatives that go on sale now, with a 2.2 diesel to join the range next year.
Ford’s seven-seat SUV is available in a standard XLT model and a more upmarket Limited derivative, both transferring their power to the road via intelligent all-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic gearbox.
EXPENSIVE BUT WELL APPOINTED
Prices of R593 900 for the XLT and R646 900 for the Limited might be a hill too high for what some customers are prepared to spend on a non-premium brand, but the blue oval hasn’t skimped on the Everest’s specification.
Atop that rugged bakkie-based chassis is a high-tech SUV that comes with advanced safety features like a lane-keeping system and blind-spot warning with Cross Traffic Alert on the Limited model. Seven airbags, ABS brakes, trailer-sway control, and electronic-stability control are common to both models, while standard luxury features include cruise control, dual-zone climate control, leather seats, rain-sensing wipers, and a Sync2 multimedia system with 8” touchscreen, among others.
The flagship Limited version on top of that offers hands-free parallel parking, powered tailgate, electrically adjustable front seats, adaptive cruise control which automatically maintains a safe following distance in traffic, and tyre-pressure monitoring to list a few. It’s visually distinguished by its LED daytime running lights and 20” wheels (the XLT rides on 18s).
Neither reach-adjustable steering (there’s height adjustment only) nor satellite navigation made their way onto the spec sheets, however.
SEATING FOR SEVEN
The Everest’s family-sized cabin comfortably accomodates full-sized adults in its adjustable front two rows, while a pair of toddler-sized seats pop up out of the boot floor (manually operated in the XLT and electrically in the Limited). The middle and rear rows fold flat to expand the 1 050-litre boot to a cavernous 2 010 litres, while cabin stowage spaces abound.
The interior is a mixed bag in terms of look and feel. It has some premium touches including a stitched soft-touch surface on top of the dashboard along with comfy padded armrests, but in other places the plastics look a little low-rent.
Driven on the media launch in the Cape last week, the Everest’s ride was on the firm side in the Limited model with its 20” footwear, while the XLT rode more comfortably on its higher-profile rubber.
The handling’s considerably sharper than the old spongy-feeling Everest. It won’t carve through curves like a Porsche Macan, but for a 2.5-ton vehicle with a solid rear axle and 225mm ground clearance this big Ford corners with acceptable precision. Body roll isn’t too extreme, and it’s kept in check by watts-link rear suspension, and a stability program that includes curve control and roll-stability control. In any case, mountain-pass heroics aren’t the Everest’s primary purpose. It’s about being capable on rough surfaces and here it does the job very capably.
KITTED FOR THE BUSH
The easy offroad course on the launch was barely enough to register on the Everest’s ability scale, but some steep descents did demonstrate the good braking ability of that high-compression diesel engine, allowing safe descents without needing to touch the brakes. With an electronically-controlled hill descent control system on top of this, the Everest is unlikely to ever end up in a dangerous runaway-downhill situation. The generous 225mm ride height proved its worth in protecting the belly from boulders, and a four-mode terrain management system offers settings for various types of slippery turf including mud, sand and rocks. Together with a low-range transfer case and a rear diff lock, an 800mm wading depth, and useful approach and departure angles of 29 degrees and 25 degrees respectively, the Everest is a proper 4x4. At sea level the big diesel engine delivered an easy-cruising nature and little trace of turbo lag, with an alert-feeling auto transmission that adapts to your driving style.
The Everest hums along with relatively good refinement, assisted by active noise cancellation that plays “white noise” through the speakers to reduce mechanical sounds.
Service intervals are every 20 000km and the new Everests are sold with four-year/120 000km warranties and five-year/100 000km service plans.
Star Motoring