Ford Everest 2017 review

Comparing the Everest to its Ranger sibling, the two have been separated by dint of design.

The Everest and Ranger are all but identical from the windscreen forward, save for an overly bold front fascia that must have cleaned all the chrome pieces out of the spare parts bins.

Looking at the exterior, the Everest appears shorter than the Ranger, thanks to minimal front and rear overhangs. The dimensions confirm this, too, with the Everest some 370mm shorter in its wheelbase and 470mm shorter overall.

The interior design also pushes away from that of the donor Ranger. More stylish and car-like trim pieces including a different dash with a soft top, padded centre bin console cover, and padded armrests announce the Everest's more civilian intentions.

The large Everest is unsurprisingly generous in its interior dimensions. Three people can easily sit across the middle row, and there is also plenty of headroom for even the tallest passengers. There are two ISOFIX baby seat mounts for the outside pair of second-row seats, too.

The right instrument screen also features inclinometers to measure pitch and roll, as well as a digital speedo, which is a welcome addition.

There are plenty of places to stash bottles within the Everest including twin bottle holders in each of the doors, a pair of cupholders in the front centre, as well as in the centre in the second row middle and cupholders for the third row of seats. 

There is also a 230 v inverter socket next to a 12 v socket and a set of climate controls for the second row of seats.

Folding all seats down increases this capacity to 2010  litres .

The rear two seats in the three-row versions of the Everest are reasonably sizable and the middle-row folds forward easily to allow relatively easy ingress. Again, it's not a space for a larger person, but it is bigger than some of its rivals.

The third row of seats folds down quickly and easily – and electrically in the Titanium - to reveal a boot space of 1050 litres, although the prominent rear wheelarches do get in the way for awkward sized loads.

Folding all seats down increases this capacity to 2010 litres.

Looking at the price list, how much you'll pay for an Everest depends largely on how you want to spec your particular version.

All Ford Everest models are equipped with the same powertrain across the range; a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that's backed by a six-speed automatic transmission.

The price list starts with the base model rear-wheel drive (RWD), five-seat Ambiente at $47,990, while the 4WD version is $52,990. Add $1000 for the seven-seat version of either.

By comparison, this represents a cut of between $6000 and $7000 from the Ambiente's launch RRP.

For your money, you get 17-inch rims, Ford's latest 'Sync3' multimedia touchscreen system with 10 speakers, cloth trim, automatic lights, rear camera with rear sensors, dual zone air and second row climate controls.

Driver aids now include adaptive cruise control, lane departure control and automatic high beam control.

Driver aids include regular cruise control, trailer sway control and hill start assist, while the 4WD versions score a terrain management system, a locking rear diff and hill descent control.

Pricing for the mid-spec Trend kicks off at $53,990 for the RWD seven-seater, while the 4WD model will cost $5000 more at $58,990; this is a $2000 saving versus the 2015 launch price.

For your extra dosh, you get 18-inch rims, leather-wrapped steering wheel, seven seats, folding side mirrors, powered tailgate, auto wipers, digital radio, front parking sensors and sat nav.

Driver aids now include adaptive cruise control with forward collision alert, lane departure control and automatic high beam control.

Step up to the 4WD Titanium range topper, and you'll fork out $74,701, saving yourself nearly $2000 in the process.

For that you get 20-inch alloys, heated front seats, sunroof with powered blind, semi-automatic parallel park assist, HID headlights and LED daytime running lights. Also 'leather-accented' seats (first and second row) and 'PowerFold' third row seat.  

There's also a blind spot monitor with cross-traffic alert and – like all Everests – seven airbags.

Colours across the range include white, black, two shades of red (one is almost orange), blue and gold, as well as silver and grey.

The specifications of the powertrain don't vary across the Everest line, with Ford's 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesel motor used across all 4WD and 4x2 variants, along with a six-speed auto gearbox. Unlike the Ranger, the engine size doesn't change.

2017 Ford Everest (Trend 4WD variant shown). (Image credit: Tim Robson)

There's no manual gearbox option available for the Everest, and the only automatic transmission problem we've heard about is a thump between fifth and sixth gears on some early versions. This gearbox problem was rectified with a shift software update.

The diesel isn't so much about horsepower as it is raw torque. While it uses the same engine spec as the Ranger, different emissions gear means that while it retains the same torque figure of 470Nm, and it drops 4kW to post a peak power figure of 143kW.

Instead of a timing belt, the 3.2-litre 'Duratorq' engine uses a timing chain to connect the camshafts to the crankshaft (and spin the fuel injection pump, as well). No engine problems of note have surfaced with the 'Duratorq', which is also used in the Ford Transit commercial van.

All Everests comes with trailer sway control as standard.

Ford rates the Everest's towing capacity at 3000kg of braked trailer, but just 750kg if no brakes are fitted.

We conducted a towing test with a 1700kg trailer for about 350 kilometres behind an Everest Titanium, and apart from having to add our own electric brake controller, the Everest towed extremely well, even with its softer rear end. It was simple to hook up, too, thanks to dynamic lines on the rear view camera.

The Everest did sag a little on its coils when the trailer was mounted, but it certainly wasn't outside the realms of regular and legal operation.

The torque from the turbo-diesel meant climbing hills wasn't a drama, even with a larger load on board. The blind spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert systems are disabled on the Titanium when a trailer plug is detected, and all Everests comes with trailer sway control as standard.

Of course, fuel economy suffered, but not overly so, increasing at the rate of about 2.0L/100km.

The kerb weight of the Everest is between 2239kg for the Trend RWD and 2494kg for the Titanium 4WD.

The Everest's diesel tank size is 80 litres, which is a decent enough fuel tank capacity, and it uses AdBlue additive which needs to be topped off at roughly 10,000km intervals (depending on driving style). Don't try and put petrol in...

Ford claims a combined fuel consumption figure for the Everest RWD of 8.4L/100km, while the AWD versions use 8.5L/100km.

Over a test period of 280 kilometres in a Trend RWD with mixed condition driving, we recorded a dash indicated fuel economy figure of 11.3L/100km, and in a Trend AWD, we recorded a dash indicated fuel economy figure of 12.1L/100km over a test period of 320km.

With a 1700kg trailer aboard over 350km of a 500km test, the Titanium 4WD used 68.2 litres of diesel, resulting in a combined fuel economy figure of 13.5L/100km.

The biggest mechanical change between the Everest and the Ranger is also the one that provides the most difference out on the road. Instead of long leaf springs that are designed to better carry heavy payloads, the Everest uses coil spring suspension in the rear to give it a much more forgiving, car-like ride on the road.

Its turning circle of 11.7m is made easier thanks to the Everest's light-effort steering, too.

With 225mm of ground clearance and short front and rear overhangs, the rear-drive Everest still has off road capability, but lacks the outright ability of its better equipped 4WD brethren. An open diff, rear wheel drive and no terrain management means you'll be relying more on your skills and experience to get into the bush – and back again.

A limited run on a mixed gravel road reveals a truck with excellent cruising abilities over unsealed surfaces, thanks to that softer, more pliant coil-sprung ride.

A similar trip on a rutted, muddy gravel road with some gentle dirt climbs merely made the 4WD Trend yawn with disinterest; if you want to take it out bush, the Everest is ready; its wading depth, for example, is an excellent 800mm.

Ford doesn't offer 0-100 km/h performance figures for the Everest, but it can be a bit tardy off the lights if you're looking for a bit of extra acceleration, with some turbo lag dulling the throttle response.

Extra sound deadening and a clever noise attenuation system built into the audio set-up (think 'noise cancelling headphones' and you're on the money) keeps the cabin nice and quiet, although the large door mirrors do generate some wind noise at highway speeds – and you'll never forget that it's a diesel under the bonnet.

Standard spec for Trend includes seven airbags – including full length curtain bags – ABS, traction control, lane keeping assistance, two ISOFIX child restraint mounts, a rear view camera and sensors, adaptive cruise control and front collision warning.

This all contributes to a five-from-five ANCAP safety rating for the Everest Trend.

Blind-spot detection is kept for the top grade Titanium, along with cross-traffic alert and semi-automatic park assist.

The Everest range is covered a three-year/100,000km warranty, while servicing is recommended every 15,000km or 12 months.

Ford offers a capped price service plan for the Everest. The price of the first service is capped at $390, the second at $520, and the third is $480. It then rises to $520, before falling back to $390 for the five-year service.

Interestingly, the Ford website calculates the service prices out to 33 years!

While the three-year warranty period is in line with its competitors, longer warranties are becoming the norm for the industry.

Resale value is holding up well, though the car is only two years old.

One issue that has been giving early owners problems is the classification of the Everest 4WD as a passenger car (known as MA in homologation terms). This resulted in Everest owners technically falling outside of warranty and legality if they wanted to fit 4WD features like larger tyres and different suspension components.

Ford responded by changing its homologation rating of the Everest 4WD models from January 2017 to MC (off-road rated), and issuing documentation to legally recongnise MA-plated Everest 4WDs as MC homologated vehicles in every state and territory.

Thus far, very few reliability issues have been raised about the Everest. Following the service intervals as suggested in the owners manual is recommended.

Resale value is holding up well, though the car is only two years old. A base model Trend RWD, which cost $60,990 new, is now worth around $41,000 as a trade, and between $44,000 and $46,000 as a private sale.