Ford Everest 3.2TDCi XLT 4WD AT

A brand new Ford Everest 3.2TDCi XLT 4WD automatic has joined our long-term fleet. There are some exciting plans in the pipeline for the Ford, with the latest and greatest in mud terrain tyres and other off-road kit on the menu. For now though, let’s get better acqainted with the stock Everest XLT.

- Brawn and Brains

The Ford Everest sure has come a long way since the first generation model landed here around a decade ago.

That model was a lot of good things. Like practical, spacious and reliable. But it was certainly not pretty. Not even close. This was not a good position for Ford to be in. Here in South Africa, motorists tend to care about the looks of their automobiles.

So that first-generation Everest sold in relative dribs and drabs, and never came close to giving the top-selling bakkie turned-SUV – the Toyota Fortuner – a proper run for its money. Fast forward to 2015, and the first photos of the third-generation Everest (we only got the second and later the third generation in SA) started emerging on the interweb.

And it was pretty. But not in the typical fashionable sense. Pretty like our Ladies Women Proteas cricket team, pretty. These gals are not only pretty, they’re also tough and strong.

The latest Everest is the same, with just enough testoterone to get traditionalist fans of brawny Fords like the F250 excited. Yet, under the skin, there’s plenty of smart, including the best infotainment system in its segment.

THE GOOD STUFF 

The 3.2TDCi XLT 4WD is not the apex Everest in the range... that title belongs to the Limited model, which retails for R716 600. That’s R61 000 more than the XLT, which is quite a lot of cash.