Ford Endura 2019 review: Titanium AWD

Our schedule started with the usual game of soccer in the morning, a trip to the city and local shops, followed by the park in the afternoon.

Dressed in Blue metallic paint (option $650) and sitting on 20-inch 'ultra bright' alloy wheels, there's plenty to like about the Endura's exterior styling. It's sloped rear roof line is the most notable design cue, along with the sharp crease line running from the front three quarter panel to the rear tail light. The Endura's front end also looks like a more muscular version of the Ford Escape. Overall, it's a good looking SUV.

Dressed in Blue metallic paint (option $650) and sitting on 20-inch 'ultra bright' alloy wheels, there's plenty to like about the Endura's exterior styling.

The Titanium is the only variant in the range to miss out on roof rails, which make way for the panoramic glass roof.    

We jumped inside to discover a clean and smart looking cabin with chrome-effect trim lining the centre console and glossy black plastic around the cupholders up front.

It's a smart looking cabin with chrome-effect trim lining the centre console and glossy black plastic around the cupholders up front.

Rather than a gear lever, the Endura features what Ford calls the 'E-Shifter',  which uses a premium looking rotary dial for the automatic transmission, not unlike the one you'll find in a Jaguar. Its styling makes it stand out from the rest of the dash, helping to lift the quality feel.   

Moving up from the shifter, the dash console features a panel of neatly laid out buttons located beneath a 10-inch touchscreen, which Ford aficionados would be well familiar with. While it's incredibly simple to use and navigate, it is let down by old-style graphics that are well beyond their use by date. On the plus side, it comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

The dash console features a panel of neatly laid out buttons located beneath a 10-inch touchscreen.

The seats are covered in perforated leather and come in black as the standard colour. Thankfully, the glass roof helps lighten the interior somewhat. Front seats are 10-way electrically adjustable and include heating and cooling functions.

The seats are covered in perforated leather and come in black as the standard colour.

The kids in the back also had the luxury of heated seats and a heap of space to relax in. Our test car was also fitted with DVD screens in the front-seat head rests (optional $1600).

The kids in the back also had the luxury of heated seats and a heap of space to relax in.

Adult passengers should have no trouble back there, either, with about 80mm of space between my knees and the seat back with the front seat set in my driving position. The ample headroom and cabin width provides space enough to fit three adult passengers across the back with relative ease.

Our test car was also fitted with DVD screens in the front-seat head rests (optional $1600).

Good visibility paired with parking sensors and a reversing camera made parallel parking the Endura a trouble-free exercise. At the local supermarket and city carparks the Endura's two metre width (2.2m with wing mirrors) proved somewhat challenging, however, leaving us with a little space either side to get out.

Alternatively, you can let the Endura park itself via the Enhanced Active Park Assist, which comes standard on the Titanium.