Everest tops for easy climb

RELAXED: NO STRESS, NO STRAIN, LEAVE IT TO THIS SUV New twin-turbo 2.0 diesel gave good grunt and fuel economy on 1 300km trip to coast.

When you’re looking over the bonnet of a vehicle and all you see is sky, and you notice you’re hanging on to, rather than holding the steering wheel, then you know you’re climbing at a pretty steep angle. And that can be downright scary, if you’re on a single track trail with deep dropoffs all around you.

Yet, in the Ford Everest, with its permanent four-wheel-drive (4WD) system and torquey turbodiesel engine, I was relaxed enough to leave it all to the vehicle and take in the scenery on the rutted track to the top of Spitskop, the highest point in the Knysna area.

With the revs barely above idle and still in “normal” (that is, not low range or fancy electronic programmes engaged) 4WD, the Everest chugged up. No stress. No strain.

And that almost summed up my month-long, 4 000km sojourn with Ford’s seven-seater big SUV. Almost – because the word which really applies to the experience is “surprised”.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected the Everest to be such a good all-rounder.

In this country, it’s always been overshadowed by Toyota’s excellent Fortuner. But just as Ford’s tough and capable Ranger has tempted fans away from Toyota, so, too, has Everest been steadily building its own following.

Doing my research, didn’t come across much in local media which constituted a proper Everest-Fortuner comparison.

I found one Australian YouTube account. They put a top-spec Everest up against, not only a Fortuner but a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota’s legendary Prado.

The Everest came out tops on all areas except in off-road ability, where it was only marginally shaded by the Prado.

It was better on road, more comfortable (in all three rows of seats), had more usable space and more flexibility, and the new twin-turbo 2.0 diesel gave more grunt and better fuel economy.

I’d say the Aussies were spot on.

With coil suspension at the rear and large wheels and tyres, the big Ford was a relaxed, comfortable place to be in the 1 300km trip to the coast.

My wife, who occasionally gets back pain on long trips, was very happy.

The cabin was much quieter than I expected, thanks to Ford’s clever active noise management system, which assessed sound levels and then pumped unobtrusive “white noise” into the cabin from hidden speakers to cancel out any harsh sounds.

It sounds like overkill but it works – and is a feature the Fortuner doesn’t have.

Aircon was top notch and there was a separate control panel for the rear-seat passengers, along with overhead air vents.

Not that it was used much, because the climate control in the main cabin was well up to the task … so much so, that, on occasion, when I had the temperature and fan on low, my son in the back asked me to turn it down.

The 157kW engine made light of passing traffic, was dawdling at just on 1 800rpm at the national limit ... and returned incredible economy.

The downhill leg to Knysna saw an average of 8.1l/100km, while coming back up saw this creep up to 8.2l/100km. Overall, the Everest used 8.4l/100km which is amazing for a vehicle weighing more than two tons with permanent 4WD.

The engine is obviously part of the reason because, under light throttle openings, it sips fuel.

However, Ford’s new 10-speed automatic gearbox (that is not a misprint) really keeps the engine in its most efficient rev range.

Top, or 10th, gear, kicks in at between 110 and 120km/h but it often drops, imperceptibly, back to ninth or even eighth on a hill.

I had to enable the gear indicator to see which gear I was in, so smooth are the shifts.

The boot, with the third row of seats folded away (much better than the Fortuner’s “jump seats” in the boot, which have to be removed to achieve a full, uncluttered space), swallowed up about 30% more than I would have been able to fit in our Subaru Forester.

In addition, a bike carrier fitted comfortably on the Everest’s tow hitch, without any effect on fuel economy.

My time with the Everest made me rethink these big family SUVs. If you have a family, if you like to travel long distances and take everything along except the kitchen sink, and you occasionally venture off the beaten track, then they make a lot of sense.

And the Everest, makes more sense than the rest.

Everest has been building its own following