Back In April we had the chance to sample the now superseded Everest.
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Wanting to wait to understand what the new update contained, (ford openly spoke of it at pick up time) we approached this review from the mindset that there will be great deals to have on this car in the coming months. If one were new to this segment or were considering this car over say a Territory currently owned, how does this car stack up in comparison.
The only in class previous experience personally was from some time in the Tickford Ranger and some Territory seat time that's ongoing.
For that reason in this review you will hear from forum members who have more Ranger experience and could relate far easier that I to give you an insight into the differences.
"Ian says"
Our Trend Everest in the colour "sunburst" presents as a nice-looking truck. I say truck because that's what Ford refers to the product on which it is based. The Australian engineered Ranger.
The first thing you notice with that mindset in play is that this is far from a truck like experience in terms of ride quality obviously benefiting from the rear suspension being shifted away from the requirement of a payload.
It was, dare I say, Territory like. It took a corrugated dirt road that our satnav directed us onto to unsettled it to the point of "skip" instead of "soak". Speaking to a Ford representative about this we learned the next wheel size up also makes an impact on ride quality. Understandably so too.
The engine note is never intrusive and in the spirit of our recent grumbling on "Raptor" engine choice, performance would be described as fit for purpose. For what this is, matched to expectations of the market, it’s a little down on Territory but in isolation acceptable to me and I give it a tick. See I am not unreasonable.
I was impressed with the rear air distribution being roof mounted and the seven seat option and the activation of forward slid is something a product like Mustang could benefit from.
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A car like this is all about the living experience and it doesn't disappoint. I get it. I can see what this class of car has become so popular. It is really easy to live with. There is no fuss or drama here with us saying on more than one occasion, "hey that's a nice touch"
The view from being elevated gives the ambiance depth, a greater perspective on your surrounds but package wise smart engineering has made it easy to live with. Power charge options throughout the car, including the luggage area, power tailgate, key fob activated if you like, right ride height for ease of luggage load, entry and exit all wrapped in a handsome skin.
We used the car in a way I believe the majority of purchases are considered. Everyday transport in and around Melbourne, out to Phillip island and hauling us to and from the track for three days. Or city, highway and town consumption.
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Key differences between Ranger and Everest are that the Everest is shorter by 370mm and while it shares the live rear end it now coil sprung instead of leaf. Rear brakes also pick up disks instead of drum.
Introduced in 2015, a RWD option being added in 2017 was ley in dropping the entry price below 50K. I know here at the forum we debated the pricing and questioned the value for money. I believe that's now been addressed which has seen the 2018 model secure around 5% of the market albeit still about 10% shy of the segment leader from Toyota.
There are three spec levels, Ambiente, Trend and Titanium - entry through to top of the line with AWD and RWD taking care of the motivation factor giving the MY18 approximately 47k to 78k spread in asking terms.
This in my mind makes the model we drove compelling buying backed by numerous awards and widespread praise from the motoring media since its launch back in 2015. You will find a consensus in praise that will largely focus on Ranger DNA, NVH, packaging and technology.
"Tim says"
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Having a PX 2 Wildtrak as my daily driver, I was very interested in the Everest on how it compares.
Initial reaction was that the engine and cabin noise are much quieter than the Ranger. Both at low and highway speeds, this was observed from the rear and front passenger seats. The coil over suspension on the car feels very compliant, it is not bouncy like the Ranger can be when it has no load on board.
The engine power delivery, automatic gearbox and brakes felt exactly the same as the Ranger. No issues here.
Interior gauges and steering wheel are the same as the Ranger and I had no issues with any of the readouts. Sync 3 was the most impressive for me. My ranger only has Sync 2 and I couldn’t believe the changes. The ability to connect a phone, enter in an address for the satnav, even connecting a usb device for audio was much easier than Sync 2.
The adaptive cruise control and lane keeping system were the same as the Ranger and used with no issues.
I did like the additional touches for the cup holders having rubber inserts, the Ranger only has hard plastic and the bottles tend to rattle whilst driving. The additional chrome trims around the transmission selector and cupholders was a nice touch and should be in the Wildtrak. The full auto up / down on all cabin windows was fantastic. Along with the global remote open / close on the windows. This should be a standard feature on the Wildtrak.
The auto opening tailgate either via the remote or dash button was fine, we had one small issue where it wouldn’t open for the security in the parking lane, however that was a safety feature in that I didn’t have the car transmission in park.
I found the driver’s seat to be softer than my Wildtrak, however I think that comes down to the seat cover material. I did miss the power base adjustment of the Wildtrak, however I was still able to get the seat in a comfortable driving position.
I had no issues with the Everest and would highly recommend the car to any prospective buyer that is looking for a SUV wagon. There were no issues with parking or driving around the city etc. That being said, I am used to the size of the Ranger so the Everest was no different.
"Shaun says"
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As a Ford Ranger owner I would rate the Everest very highly. As a matter a fact it has a lot of good features in the trend model which wildtrak should have introduced. I can only imagine how good the titanium is. The noise of the engine in the cabin is a lot quieter you almost have to wind the window down the know you’re in a diesel.
The handling it quite impressive. Having driven late model Prado’s and Pajero’s I would say this vehicle drives just as good if not maybe better. Fords big suv is definitely a game changer and can only get better from here
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