The Ford Everest is cruder than luxury SUVs of the Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 variety, with an agricultural-sounding turbodiesel engine and bakkie-like driving dynamics.
It has a soggy, top-heavy feel and, with all that pitching and squatting under braking and acceleration, it's like driving a big see-saw.
Styling isn't exactly eye-catching either; it's an amorphous blob with no distinctive design cues.
But, despite all that, I couldn't help liking it. It's an honest, old-school SUV that doesn't pretend to be a sports car on stilts. This is how all SUV's used to handle before the Germans came along with their car-like Q's, M's and X's, and made accept physics-defying road-holding as a matter of course.
What you get in this Ford is a go-anywhere family adventure vehicle with a crate of creature comforts.
You also get space - plenty of it. There are seven seats and when the rearmost kiddie seats (which have great legroom although you sit very close to the floor) are folded, there's a truly enormous cargo bay.
The Everest was launched in South Africa in November 2009 to replace the Territory as Ford's big, all-terrain, seven-seater SUV.
It's based on the Ranger one-ton bakkie, complete with its workhorse leaf spring suspension at the rear and vague ball-and-nut steering.
In place of the Territory's four-litre petrol engine the three models in the Everest range - available in rear or all-wheel drive - make do with a less powerful but more torquey and economical three-litre turbodiesel.
We averaged 9.8 litres/100km, not bad for such big bus.
The Everest's not an unpleasant vehicle to drive once you get used to the marshmallow handling. It's quite soothing; once you've shed any sporty expectations you turn your adrenalin dial to "mild" and get on with driving it, appreciating the smooth, rock-a-bye-baby ride and gutsy torque.
The turbodiesel engine - the same as in the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 bakkies - is suitably equipped for the urban run with some cruising and off-roading mixed in. It has low-down muscle aplenty, the type that eats steep hills for breakfast and makes for easy towing.
It has a pleasantly slick five-speed manual gearshift, and there's minimal turbo lag even at Gauteng altitude, so it's a generally fuss-free driving experience.
I tested the 4x4 TDCi XLT which comes with selectable all-wheel drive, low range, a limited-slip differential and generous ground clearance - a proper off-roader capable of tackling deep dongas and mushy mud pits.
CREATURE COMFORTS
The Everest is targeted directly at Toyota's popular Fortuner D-4D and the spec sheet reads in the Ford's favour in terms of value for money. The Everest XLT at R372 290 costs 30 grand less than the Fortuner and makes 115kW and 380Nm versus the Toyota's 120kW and 343Nm.
They're about equal in terms of creature comforts; each comes with all the expected button-operated conveniences, although the Fortuner has the Everest licked on safety features with double the number of crash bags (eight) and trumps the Ford with electronic stability control.
The Everest is larger than the Toyota, however, its extra 360mm of length providing more legroom and cargo space, and has a better warranty at four years or 120 000km versus three years or 100 000km (each has a five-year or 90 000km service plan).
There's an argument that Toyota has a better reputation - or did, before all its recent much-publicised recalls.
VERDICT
The Everest is an old-school SUV for people who intend to do more than climb the odd pavement. It feels a bit blue-collar compared to an X5 or M-class but it has a rugged, outdoorsy appeal, masses of space and genuine off-road ability. The price is right too. - INL Motoring
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