Bucket Seat: Ford Everest Platinum

Ever since I saw the new Ford Everest Platinum edition in the metal at their assembly plant in Silverton, I was itching to get behind the wheel of this monster. With the Everest being based of the much loved Ranger bakkie platform, it was no surprise to see how sales for this 7-seater in its previous generation competed well against it's competitors in the market. This new Everest however seems to have set the bar as a complete vehicle, leaving the competition in sixes and sevens wondering what to do. It's gained popularity over the past year and ever since its launch, sales have been pretty impressive to say the least. It took a long time for me to finally get my chance to pilot this car, so read the full review to find out if that age old saying "it was worth waiting for" proves to be true for this car. 

DESIGN 

The design of the new Everest follows the main design cues from the Ranger with that big American styled chassis and the front end reminiscent of the F150. The large grille with hot foil accent mesh and silk chrome accents which gives off a premium look and is exclusive to the Platinum model. Like the Ranger, the iconic new C Clamp headlights still remain a prominent feature on this model. Everything about this car is big and bold, being the range topping model, Ford didn't spare any cent in making it known that this is the Platinum Edition with me counting 14 badges and signs in and around the vehicle, which is a fun fact about the car if needed. The striking design isn't all about the badges but like the previous model, Ford have done an exceptional job in fusing a bakkie platform and adding the addition roof and tailgate to it to make a great looking SUV so much so that it makes it look like the Ranger was the afterthought from this design. While being bigger, bolder and slightly higher than its predecessor, the boxy design makes it look bigger than it actually is, which gives off this daunting look when its in motion on the road. The rear design is neat and stands out just as much as the front with the solid rear lights housing a unique LED design. The Everest Platinum comes with 21-inch machine faced alloys which give off that premium feel to the overall look. The colour in which I had on test was Equinox Bronze which gave a bit of a violet hue in the bright sunlight, a definite head turner if you ask me. The interior see's a complete revamp with the similar styling of the outside transcending on the inside with squared edges and bold accents. The main focal point being the huge 12-inch LCD touchscreen, more about this will be discussed later on in the blog. The cabin does match the exterior in terms of presidential looks and feel, really a major step up from the previous model. 

PERFORMANCE

Powered by a 3.0-litre Power Stroke V6 diesel motor, the Everest Platinum isn't short of any power with the plant producing 184kW @ 3250rpm and a maximum torque of 600Nm @ 2500rpm. With a car of this nature aimed for family leisure, its to note that the Everest Platinum has a maximum towing capacity braked at 3500kg! The motor is linked to an all-new 10-speed automatic gearbox which works like a charm on the open road, minimizing the search for gears when required and thus keeping the average fuel consumption respectable to say the least. With the various driving modes available at the touch of a button and with the car being 4WD, it made going from freeway to off road extremely simple. The Everest is dubbed as the ultimate family SUV, it definitely lives up to that reputation on the road. With the drive quality being superb, even with the big frame it's pretty steady on the open road with minimal body roll. Admittedly it isn't that agile but you won't expect a 7-seater SUV to be agile. There are many aids to assist the driving dynamics of the Everest, namely lane departure sensing which helps keeps the Everest in the lane you're traveling, collision alert which gives a warning if the car in front brakes abruptly, adaptive cruise control, and ABS braking. It really is a pleasant drive and once you get used to the bulky size of it, it becomes quite enjoyable to drive. 

COMFORT

With a car this size, its bound to be luxurious and comfortable, the Everest Platinum boasts an elevated luxury interior that has leather seats which are heated and vented. The driver and front passenger have a 10-way electrically adjustable seats with memory settings for the driver. The seats have bespoke inserts with quality design and signature Platinum badges for the front two seats. The cabin is filled with opulent finishes framed in satin chrome accents to provide a warm and elegance to make it known you're in the flagship model. What I liked is the quality of materials used to finish the dash, normally with a model that has wide range of variants, including the bakkie line-up, you would find that certain of the "cheaper" generic elements would remain the same throughout but with the Platinum everything feels pretty much premium. All 7-seaters are finished in quality leather with the 3rd row also electrically controlled, so you can fold or open with a flick of a switch. The cabin has 3-zone climate control with vents located in the roof for the second and third row ensuring the cabins temperature is maintained throughout. The multi-function steering works well and is much easier to navigate the digital instrument cluster than the previous generation Everest. The large 12-inch center console infotainment screen is easy to use with mobile phone connectivity available via USB or wireless. It also makes for a great display for the 360 degree camera view which is operating via four cameras around the car. The climate control setting can be changed by using the dials below the screen, this also brings up the climate menu on the screen so you can adjust it accordingly. The new "e shifter" is a bit of an odd design but another cool party trick is leaving it in drive and switching off the car, it will automatically move the gear into park. The car comes with a 12-speaker B&O sound system which pumps proper and The Platinum model also comes with a Panoramic Moonroof which adds to the wide-open space and allows plenty of natural light into the cabin. Luggage space is plenty, even with all 3 rows up, there is still place for light luggage or your weekend shopping haul. 

VERDICT

We South Africans are a proud nation and while there are many brands that assemble cars locally, the fact that Ford showed so much promise in investing billions into our infrastructure to produce the Ranger on our shores just makes it that much more special. While they are a few gripes about the car, there is a lot to love love about it too. Sales of the car speaks for it self and with the different models available, there is one for every type of driver. Yes, the price is a bit off putting but once you take a look at what is on offer, it does set itself apart from the competition by a good few miles. Like I said at the beginning of this review, the Everest has moved ahead of its competition, so much so opening another segment for itself. While the increase in fuel price, especially diesel is of a concern, there is still demand for these large family SUV's so I don't see sales being affected for the near future. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	3.0L Power stroke V6 Diesel
Gear Box	10-Speed Automatic with E-Shifter
Torque	600Nm
Power	184kW
Fuel Economy	8.5L per 100km
Price	R1,180,000

 

Bucket Seat: Ford Everest XLT 4x4

It's not often that I get excited to receive a vehicle to test, well okay there have been more than one occasion but those were for cars, this was probably the first SUV that made me feel this way. Much of it had to do with the fact that I have already driven it at the press launch late last year and loved everything about it. Well the SUV in question is as per the header, the Ford Everest, bare in mind at the launch I spent a lot of time with the range topping Limted model, the XLT which I received on test was just used for us to get back to the airport the next day and while the differences were obvious, as a whole the two are practically the same car just with a few cosmetic differences. 

Style

The guys at Ford got this one to the T,  at whichever angle you look at the Everest it's hard to fault the design. It's big, it's brutish and it has that sense of character that you need in the car like this, unlike the older model which just looked weird. Much of the looks has been passed onto the Ranger but I love how Ford gave the back of the car great shape and tied the tail lights into the chrome center plate. The large front grille which can also be found in the Ford Ranger is chromed out to give it that exclusive look and the large 18" rims just completes the overall package. The car has good symmetry with the design, clean lines, bold accents and nice details. Moving onto the inside styling, everything just works and looks good, I take a look at that in detail further on in the review. 

Performance

Both the XLT and Limited come fitted with the 3.2 litre , 5 cylinder inline TDCi engine which has their much talked about 6 speed Autogear box. Now with the auto gear box, you'd expect the drive to be a bit sluggish, especially seeing that the van weighs nearly two tonnes but it's quite the opposite. With the high torque of 470Nm, it's off the line in a matter of seconds with smooth changing between gears and none of that high revving grunts of it struggling to keep up. Mind you, all that power and response time comes at a cost, the consumption reflects it almost immediately. One has to see who the everyday driver of this car would be, its more than likely to be that of an office going exec, so spending most of his time driving on the freeway with the odd weekend away to the bush. This van performs well in the urban setting, it is a bit intimidating with it's size and looks but as I found out that isn't a bad thing as people just move out of your way and taxi's don't dare try to cut you off when they see you coming. 

Comfort

It's a big car, so there's no complaining about space, the seats are big and comfy and everything is adjustable to suit your preferred seating position. From height adjustable drivers seats to movable rear seats. The front of the cabin has dual climate control air-conditioning and the rear passengers have their own AC controls as well as a 12V power outlet should they need to recharge their cellphone or tablet. On the road, the ride is pretty smooth, with the larger tyres you do feel the bumps a bit but nothing too serious. 

Tech

The Everest is loaded with loads of cool tech, most of it passed on from the Fusion but it's still cool none the less! The instrument cluster is my favourite part with just the speedometer being the standard analog type with two information screens either side of it which can be easily changed to display information you're looking for. The left hand screen displays stuff such as your audio and telephone info whilst the right hand side screen displays information on the car itself. Your trip display, fuel consumption, heat gauge and if you're going off roading, a nice gyroscope to give you the cars gradient and positioning. The car comes standard with Ford SYNC's easy to use bluetooth telephone and audio streaming  and the large 7" infotainment touchscreen is extremely user friendly and displays the reverse camera and PDC sensors when reverse gear is engaged. The Limited comes with auto parking which really is something see on such a big car. 

Off Road

I didn't get a chance to do much off road driving with the Everest but it's more than capable to handle any terrain. With it's easy to use jog dial type selector, you just choose the type of terrain you will be encountering and the car automatically adjusts to suit. You have four options to chose from, Normal, Snow or Mud, Sand and Rock Crawl which as per everything else in the car is pretty self explanatory.  It has a wading depth of 800mm should you find yourself going through streams or rivers, electronic locking rear differential which gives you extra traction on those difficult off road section and hill descent assist to make sure you don't go flying down the mountains. 

Storage

While you might be thinking its a big car so storage shouldn't be an issue, if all 7 seats are being utilized it may pose a problem. It reduces the size of the boot tremendously, so maybe day trips with 7 people is advised with the rear two seats fold in to increase the size of the boot for longer journeys and you still can get 5 people comfortably in the van. The seats are pretty easy to fold and unfold, even though the XLT comes with the manual seats, it's not that difficult to do so. 

Pros and Cons

There's a lot of Pros about the car as mentioned in much of my article but lets get to the cons. You paying a lot of money for this van and while I understand it is the bottom of the range, I just feel Ford could have thrown in some of these. Firstly keyless entry, I mean its 2016 now, if I'm paying over 600K for a vehicle that's the least I expect. The power folding mirrors only fold up when the car ignition is switched on, I normally do this after the car is switched off so I found myself switching it back on and then having to fold it in. There was no sunroof, not sure if it is an optional extra but if it is, nice to have one. The consumption is pretty high, I know its a big engine but perhaps they should look at an eco mode to the van. The XLT doesn't come with the nice LED day time running lights like the Limited, I feel they could have given it that, just makes it look a bit plain and guys that wap ariel needs to go, the van is high as it is and that just whacks most things in its way, to its credit it is pretty durable and flexible.Also Satnav would be nice.

Verdict

Overall I am very impressed with the XLT, whilst it didn't have all the bells and whistles associated with the Limited, it still did the job and did it damn well! It looks the part and certainly feels the part too and sending the brand in the right direction for increasing their presence with the consumers. It's something people like and gets them asking questions, which sparks curiosity and then spark sales. During my time with it, I had several people ask to have a look at it and many of them are seriously considering getting one, if I had the cash it would also be on my watch list. 

Specifications

• 3.2 litre Duratorq TDCi 
• 6 speed PowerShift automatic gear box
• 147kW
• 470Nm torque
• Consumption: 8.2ltr/ 100km
• 0-100kph in 11.6 seconds
• Price: R634,900

Bucket Seat: Ford Invest in South Africa

Even though the current political climate in the country is at a boiling point with Parliament in turmoil after the recent constitutional court judgement against the president, it's good to see major investment being made to the country. Yesterday speaking at Ford Motor Company's Assembly plant in Silverton, Pretoria, Ford's executive vice president and president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Jim Farley announced that company will be expanding operations at the plant with an investment of R2.5 billion!

This investment and expansion will mean an extra 1,200 jobs at Ford SA and within the South African supplier network. The plant will see itself after completion of the expansion produce the all new Ford Ranger and Everest, of which both were launched in the last quarter of 2015. Along with this, the market will also receive a new engine line up for the Everest which includes a 2.2 litre Duratorq TDCi four cylinder diesel engine. "Our customers love the capability and utility offered by the all-new Ford Everest. By producing the Everest in South Africa, we will be able to make it more readily available, and in greater variety of models for customers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa." - Jim Farley.

The plant currently exports the Ford Ranger to 148 countries in Africa, Middle East and Europe, and supplies Argentina, Thailand, North America, India and China  with engines and machined equipment. Last year at Ford's Go Further Summit held in Sandton, they pledged their alliance with the continent growth by confirming that they would assemble the new Ranger in Nigeria, using semi knock-down (SKD) kits and components imported from South Africa.

It's great that Ford Motor Company is showing interest in investing in our country, the demand for their product is here and if they can improve service and delivery times of vehicles for the market as well as create jobs while doing that only serves as a massive boost for our economy. Also with the Everest expanding it's engine line-up, gives the consumer more choice in decided their perfect SUV and takes the competition directly to their competitors.