Review: Ford Everest XLS 2.5 TDCi 4x2

Okay, it beats the Toyota Fortuner.

WORDS Marvin Tan PHOTOS Marvin Tan  | 21 March 2008

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO OPEN PHOTO GALLERY Why do people buy big SUVs? I’ve spent almost three years in automotive market research and respondents in my surveys and focus groups invariably give these answers: a) big SUVs mean big brassy balls of machismo; b) big SUVs offer safety and security; c) big SUVs are versatile, i.e. they can swallow the whole clan and all of their luggage; d) big SUVs are great for driving to far-off places, especially if the roads aren’t sealed with Lafarge cement; e) big SUVs are in a better position to conquer floodwater So there you go. Now the question is, does Ford’s new Everest have what it takes to make it big in the realm of big trucks? First impressions suggest yes. This big truck is skinned in stylishly minimalist sheetmetal from the classic cubist school of SUV design. None of that silly ‘flame surfacing’ and melted-chocolate styling. Just an honest-to-goodness square-jawed face and chiseled features and a gaping mouth that’s ready to swallow lesser cars on the road. Never mind that it looks practically indistinguishable from the old Everest from the A-pillar backward, just think of it as a more modern reinterpretation of the original concept. This is a good-looking truck. It’s not as flamboyant as a Fortuner, but since there are 1,934,285 Fortuners in Metro Manila alone, the Everest is a refreshing sight. Point (a), check. This is one whopper of an SUV: 5,009 mm (197.2 in) long, 1,835 mm (72.2 in) high and 1,843 kg (4,063 lb) heavy. That, folks, is 12.4 inches longer than a Toyota Fortuner. And like the Toyota, the Everest has seats for seven, or eight if you don’t mind sardine-can accommodation. Space is quite adequate, although the Everest would feel much more spacious and comfortable if the seats were raised a few inches. As it is, thigh support can be lacking for taller folks in all seats, and there’s not much footroom under the front seats. Up front, the voluminous transmission tunnel intrudes on legroom somewhat. At the way-back, adults will be eating their knees for the whole trip. So oddly, the Fortuner feels more comfortable inside even if it is much shorter. Nonetheless, that’s point (c) taken care of. Bulk and weight are advantages in case of a crash with another vehicle. With dual front airbags, ABS and a limited-slip differential as standard equipment, and not to mention the top-of-the-world view, that’s point (b) ticked off too. Underneath the skin, the Everest drives on the old-school Ford Ranger truck chassis, complete with a separate ladder frame and a leaf-sprung live rear axle. If you’re not sure what that meant, it simply means that the Everest has tough dinosaur bones underneath. So whereas say a Suzuki Alto sounds like it’s going to fall apart when traversing a pothole, the Everest will just grit its teeth and shrug it off like Manny Pacquiao. Driving the Everest feels like driving a tank. You feel invincible. You feel unstoppable. You feel like you have mastered The Secret. Point (d) and (e), no problem. So is the Everest, then, the perfect big SUV? Yes and no. Let me explain. Where the Everest falls short of satisfaction is in driving dynamics. It’s a big, heavy SUV, and its driver will never forget that. It feels large and cumbersome on the road. The steering has a wide and vacant feel on-center. Turns are no fun with this truck, and there’s just no point in pushing this behemoth in corners except to teach a kid what understeer is. And stepping on the brake pedal may as well be stepping on a marshmallow. And then we come to my largest gripe with this particular Everest, which is a 2.5-liter rear-wheel-drive variant with the five-speed automatic transmission. It feels slow. Really slow. Glacially slow. It feels slow-witted. The engine feels like it’s laboring with a massive load. The thing is, it only feels slow, because according to the GPS timer, it’s not really underpowered at all. 100 kph from a standstill is done in 14.6 seconds, which isn’t really all that bad as lumbering diesel-powered SUVs go. Overtaking could be a daunting prospect with a 60-100 kph time of 8.8 seconds, but passing power never really was a strong point for diesel trucks anyway. All the while I was driving the Everest 2.5 TDCi, I was not aware of how much power it was making, but I guessed it was somewhere in the vicinity of 102 hp like the Toyota Fortuner 2.5 makes. Only after I had returned the truck to Ford did I look up the output ratings, and I was genuinely astonished to find that it, in fact, made 141 hp and 330 Nm (243 lb-ft) of torque and that this Duratorq engine hails from the same family as the potent turbodiesel in the Ford Focus TDCi. These are respectable numbers, all things considered. Yet the Everest 2.5 felt like the Big Engine That Couldn’t. On the highway, the big Ford felt like it was struggling to maintain 100 kph, since it demanded heavy, tiresome pressure on the accelerator pedal. The problem is the throttle response is so tardy. Some calibration of the electronic throttle or the automatic transmission or both may be in order. Here’s the thing though. Driving dynamics is just not among the top five answers on why people buy big SUVs. In fact, it’s quite rare for survey respondents to cite poor driving dynamics as a reason for not buying a particular model of vehicle. What could be of greater concern is the harsh, busy ride, something that also afflicts the Everest’s stiff competitor from brand T. But weirdly, the Everest also feels floaty at the same time. There is some body roll in cornering, and the truck's nose pitches considerably when accelerating or braking hard. It feels like the springs are soft but the shock absorbers are rock hard. So that said, there’s otherwise a lot to like about the Ford Everest. For starters, it looks good inside and out, and my non-car-type friends complimented the styling. The interior is nicely done, with plastics that aren’t so bad and a cheerful color scheme that while likely to get easily soiled adds up to an upscale ambiance. There are a few niggles, including the archaic pull-and-twist parking brake lever and the fact that the position indicators on the gearshift lever are on the wrong side. The one-piece third-row seat also lacks headrests (but at least there are three-point seatbelts) and since it doesn’t fold flat into the floor or fold out of the way as in the Fortuner, there’s not much flexibility when you need to carry something really big. But there are also some nice touches, like the leather-wrapped wheel, the illuminated cubbyhole in front of the shifter, the knick-knacks bin on top of the dashboard, the overhead aircon vents at the rear, the cupholders at the third-row seat and the dual overhead sunglasses holders. Access to the third-row seat isn’t bad. With the third-row folded against the second-row seatbacks, the cargo bay can swallow everything you throw into it. At night, the green lighting of the gauge needles make them look like Yoda’s lightsabers. Two friends thought the silver-painted trim on the dashboard was cheap, but on the whole, this interior puts the Toyota Fortuner’s Legoland interior to shame. And while the engine and drivetrain gets raspberries for lethargic response, it at least delivers respectable fuel economy for a big SUV: 9.65 km per liter in mixed city and highway driving, about 11 km per liter on the highway, and sevens in the city. Not bad at all. Fortunately, there could be an easy cure to the lethargic engine, and that is to pony up for the 4WD XLT edition of the Everest, which comes with the 3.0-liter turbodiesel with 154 hp and an almighty 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) of torque. All it takes is, ah, a bit more money. I would bet that typical large-SUV buyers will be quite pleased with the Everest and will find that it checks most of the boxes on their checklists. It’s big, it looks nice, it’s plenty macho and it’s indestructible. So on to the million-dollar question: Would I buy this over the Toyota Fortuner, if I were on the market for a big SUV? THE GOOD Uptown styling, spacious and inviting interior, tough-as-nails truck chassis, standard limited-slip differential aids traction in slippery conditions THE BAD Rather dull and tiresome to drive, lethargic throttle response, tough-as-nails ride quality THE LOWDOWN A handsome and versatile truck for those who insist they need a truck and are willing to live with a few truck niggles. You know, I most probably would. I do think this is a better truck than Toyota’s bestseller. The Fortuner’s horrendously cheap interior just puts me off. Though truth to tell, I’d much rather have the astonishing Ford Focus turbodiesel. SPECIFICATIONS Vehicle type 5-door, 7-passenger large SUV Vehicle layout Front-engine, rear-wheel drive Price P 1,305,000 Length 5,009 mm (197.2 in) Width 1,789 mm (70.4 in) Height 1,835 mm (72.2 in) Wheelbase 2,860 mm (112.6 in) Curb weight 1,843 kg (4,063 lb) Engine ZSD-425; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve common-rail direct injection inline-4 diesel Displacement 2,499 cc Engine features Variable geometry turbocharger, electronic throttle Max. power 141 hp @ 3,500 rpm Max. torque 330 Nm (243 lb-ft) @ 1,800 rpm Transmission 5-speed automatic Front suspension Independent: double wishbone control arms, torsion bar, stabilizer bar Rear suspension Non-independent: rigid axle, leaf springs Brakes (front/rear) Ventilated disc / drum Tires Bridgestone Dueler H/T 840, 245/70R-16 Major standard features Power steering, power door locks, power windows, power side mirrors, anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), driver and front passenger airbags, fog lamps, variable intermittent windshield wipers, limited-slip rear differential, dashboard-integrated stereo with in-dash single CD slot and MP3 capability with 4 speakers, manual front and rear airconditioning with overhead vents at middle and third rows, one-piece folding-and-tumbling third-row seat with two three-point seatbelts, anti-theft alarm and engine immobilizer bigbigcar.com TEST RESULTS Acceleration, 0-60 kph 5.8 seconds Acceleration, 0-100 kph 14.6 seconds Overtaking acceleration, 60-100 kph 8.8 seconds Fuel economy, city 7.0 to 7.5 km per liter (est.) Fuel economy, highway 11.0 to 11.5 km per liter (est.) Fuel economy, mixed city and highway 9.7 km per liter Top speed (manufacturer claimed) na Ford Group Philippines lent the test unit for this evaluation. Click on photos to open photo gallery.

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