SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Changes: 2019 Ford Everest 2.0 biturbo 4x4 Limited

Barely fazed

Posted: November 10, 2019

 
The numbers
Price: R776 500
Engine: 1995 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, inline four, CRDI, biturbo diesel
Power: 157 kW at 3750 rpm
Torque: 500 Nm between 1500 and 2000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.9 seconds
Top speed: Worldwide secret
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.6 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Tare: 2446 kg
GVM: 3100 kg
GCM: 5900 kg
Gross payload: 654 kg
Maximum towing capacity (braked): 3100 kg
Ground clearance: 225 mm
Maximum wading depth: 800 mm
Approach/departure/ramp-over angles: 29.5/25,0/21.5 degrees
Standard tyre: 265/50R20 or 265/60R18
Spare: 265/65R17
Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km
Roadside assistance: 3 years/unlimited km
Service plan: 6 years/90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals        

Everest:
•    A really big mountain in Nepal
•    A six-model range of seven-seat SUVs
•    Three are 4x2 and three are awd
•    Three engines; four if you count both versions of the 2.0-litre turbodiesel
•    Designed in Australia and assembled in China, India, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam

This third-generation version, based on the Ranger, was facelifted in 2018 when it also received revised front styling and new 2.0-litre, Bi- and single-turbo, four-cylinder diesel engines paired with 10-speed automatic transmissions. Other changes include Autonomous Emergency Braking, powered liftgate for Limited, new wheels, and Sync®3 on most models. Interior changes include more soft touch materials and darker, upmarket colour schemes.

Limited 4x4 tops the South African range and, powered by the Raptor version of the 2.0 engine, arrives with more safety kit and standard features than you are likely to get for just under R800-kay in most other seven-seat, 4x4, SUVs.

Safety equipment: Seven airbags; ABS with EBD; ESP; hill launch; hill descent; emergency braking warning; adaptive cruise control with forward alert, distance alert, collision mitigation and HUD; roll-over mitigation; trailer sway control; adaptive load control; lane keeping aids; blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert; keyless entry and starting; Thatcham-approved security system and ISOFix mountings.

Nice to haves: 230-volt power point; powered and warmed leather seats with lumbar support; 60:40-split second row with recline, slide, tip and fold-flat; powered raising and lowering of third row chairs; single-touch powered windows front and rear; rear screen defroster; rain sensing wipers; dual-panelled, powered moon roof; illuminated vanity mirrors on sunvisors; automatic, dual zone air conditioning with separate controls in the rear; four x 12-volt power points; trip computer; trailer hitch and dipping rearview mirror.

Parking aids: Rear view camera, front and rear sensors, and active park assist.
Lighting: HID headlamps with light sensing, automatic high beam control and automatic levelling; LED tail- and stop lights and fog lamps at both ends.

But enough with the shopping list. Unlike Rangers, Everest provides full-time awd thanks to a central differential that distributes power fore and aft as needed. During easy driving, like on dry asphalt, 90 to 95 percent stays with the rear wheels but, as demands change, more is sent forward.

Most off-road challenges can be met by using the terrain selector with its mud/grass/snow or sand settings. But when things get technical, select 4Lo and Rock Crawl. When the chips are down, engage rear diff lock.

Because recent rains had washed away much of the binding soil, the stony hill on our local forest trail posed more of a challenge than usual. But it was still no match for 225 mm of clearance, 4Lo and Rock Crawl. Regular adventurers will be pleased to know that practical, 265/60R18, M+S tyres are a no-cost option on Limited.

Much has been written about Everest’s all-coil suspension; independent in front with Watts linkage at the back and its revised spring and damper settings. It works well. The rippled and jouncy road past the veggie farms barely fazed it, even at low speeds that usually bring out the worst in any setup. We were impressed. It comes very close to ride quality provided by expensive, air-sprung offerings.

The new ten-speed automatic, on the other hand, was ordinary. It works OK but not impressively and tended to hunt between gears quite easily. We hear the marketing logic behind so many ratios but suspect that it’s more about a numbers race than any real advantage. We would be happier if Ford kept the basic design but dropped four ratios and tightened up its responses.

Apart from that, not much is new. Third row seating still accepts adults of medium height but they’d better be reasonably supple; there’s lots of storage; cargo space is plentiful and, all-round, it’s a very decent SUV.

Test unit from FMCSA press fleet

Also reviewed: the 3.2 XLT in 2016 and a 2.2 XLS in 2017

We drove a single-turbo Sport version in 2021

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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