Ford Everest Sport hits new high

YOU can't always account for people's taste and even less for their buying decisions, but it's been somewhat puzzling that Ford's Everest hasn't been more competitive when it comes to monthly SUV sales.

I've never understood why it hasn't run the Toyota Fortuner a lot closer because it's a fine vehicle with rugged looks, nifty tech and safety features and decent offroad ability.

That may change though in the next few months with the introduction of the Everest Sport.

In the past year Ford has launched a number of different variations of their popular Ranger double cab with the Thunder, XL Sport and FX4 all based on standard Rangers with a variety of attractive add-ons that give it a fresh and funky appearance.

The Sport is based on the XLT so under the bonnet you get the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder single-turbo mill that produces 132kW and 420Nm of torque distributed to the wheels via Ford's now familiar 10-speed automatic transmission. You get the option of either a 4x4 version or a 4x2, both with rear diff-lock.

A black mesh grille, a black front bumper chin, 3D Everest lettering on the bonnet, black mirror caps and door handles, ebony roof rails Sport decals on the rear doors and finished off with black 20-inch alloy wheels certainly make it a looker.

The interior finishes are striking, too, with embossed leather seats in blue stitching and soft-touch leather with similar stitching on the dashboard while the driver's seat is eightway power adjustable.

We took off from George and headed towards Oudtshoorn along some delightfully twisty tarred mountain passes.

The first thing I noticed was how solid the vehicle felt, from closing the doors to sound dampening and no squeaks or rattles to speak of. It's the same when driving. Sure, it's an SUV, so hard cornering wasn't in the design brief but it handled well and felt secure at a variety of speeds.

Much of this has to do with the fact that all 4x4 Everests are permanent allwheel drive with an electronic coupler on the centre differential so there's no wondering where the front is going to end up as it grips around the corners as well as a tweaked suspension set-up and I suspect the 20-inch rims with a decent profile had something to do with it as well.

I'm not a huge fan of large rims on a 4x4 but in the Sport guise I'm guessing most owners won't be tackling grade four and five obstacles over weekends so for normal dirt roads and tar the application works perfectly.

To prove that, we drove over the famed Swartberg Pass, which was Thomas Bain's final and best piece of road building with 28 spectacular kilometres of sharp twists, hairpins and sweeping bends.

The Everest comes standard with Ford's Terrain Management System allowing you with a turn of a dial to switch between snow, mud, grass, sand, rock or normal roads. And if the going gets really tough you can switch to low range as well.

It was dry on the day and you could have done it with a standard 4x2 vehicle but when you know the electronics, including hill descent control should you need it, are doing all the good things to keep you safely ensconced it provides a large measure of comfort.

Driving around the Southern Cape also showed that the 2.0-litre single turbo is Ford's sweet spot in their engine range. It has enough power when called on, will gladly cruise all day at the national speed limit and is light on diesel averaging just over 8l/100km covering various terrain over the two days we drove it.

The Everest Sport comes standard with Ford's SYNC 3 infotainment system. Linked to an eight-inch integrated touch screen, it has intuitive voice control, recognises multi-touch gestures and has standard mapping as well as Tracks4Africa.

There's an electronic stability programme with traction control, Trailer Sway Control, Hill Launch Assist and Roll Over Mitigation as well as seven airbags.

As a package there's not much to dislike and it will be interesting to see over the next few months whether buyers can be swayed into the blue oval.

All Everest derivatives come standard with Ford Protect, comprising a 4-year/120 000 km comprehensive warranty, 3-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and 5-year/ unlimited km corrosion warranty. A 6-year/90 000 km service plan is included.

PRICING

Ford Everest Sport 2.0 4x2 auto:

R676 600

Ford Everest Sport 2.0 4x4 auto:

R718 000