Free at last!
And so, this festive season Saint Nicola freed the ute and their ICE friends from the bond imposed by the evil tax witch! “No more” Saint Nicola cried, “should our rural sector be shackled to taxes to which there is no alternative. And yes, I’ll do more in the next 100 days to continue to make you the engine room of our country, free to make your own choices on how to run your farms!”
I spoke to several car dealers over the last few weeks who report great EV and hybrid sales, with orders for new Utes and SUVs for delivery in 2024.
I received some comments on last months column, telling me I was wrong about battery weight as most Hybrids and EV’s have better mass distribution so travel better. That is true in some vehicles, but batteries still weigh up to ½ tonne compared to 100kg max for liquid fuel. I was also questioned as to why I claimed Lithium batteries are more dangerous in a fire. Simply put they will even burn underwater, so are almost impossible to put out. Petrol or diesel can be smothered or cooled to extinguish. And there are no plans for end-of-life batteries in NZ.
I thought I’d finish the year with a look at Ford’s Everest. Available in three models with two engine options it will benefit from the banishment of the ‘evil tax’ meaning the base Trend 2 litre Bi-Turbo 154kW/599Nm, will retail at $74,990 the 3 litre V6 184kW/600Nm Platinum start at $89,990
But it is the special edition V6 turbo diesel Wildtrac that I wanted to focus on for this edition. Sharing a name with the most popular private buyers Ranger, the Everest Wildtrac is very well equipped and comes with both a hefty discount at $84,490 over the Platinum Everest but also most of the fruit. Disappointing is the restricted colour palette available with only white, greys, black, orange and the hero colour Luxe Yellow. While more of a gold hue it is the pick or at least mine as blue is not available!
Of all the ute based SUV’s the Ranger is most powerful and best equipped. Toyota’s Fortuna is smaller and only runs the now ubiquitous 2.8l turbo-diesel 4 in Hilux Prado Fortuna and now Landcruiser 70 series, though the V8 is still available in the Cruiser. Mitsubishi have until the release next year of the twin turbo diesel the Pajero Sport while the KUX from Isuzu is looking long in the tooth, despite an upgrade 4 years ago.
I will drive both the top spec Platinum V6 and the base ‘Bi Turbo’ Sport over the Christmas break and so will be able to compare to my signwritten press Wildtrac. The 20-inch alloys that will fit both ATs and MS tyres, look well proportioned and with the coil suspension all round provide a better ride than it’s sibling pick up. Of greater moment is the standard inclusion of both surround cameras visible on the 12-inch portrait mounted infotainment screen and also the transmission option of 4A. This means you can leave it in 4WD all the time, working like most permanent systems by leaving the centre diff open. Off-road then the Everest is impressive and very composed. Onroad performance shows the benefits of the big SUV’s suspension and the copious torque.
Towing - the Everest has few peers in the SUV range and none from the ute based wagons listed above, with a rate of 3500kg braked. Fitted standard with the towbar is a trailer controller in front of the driver to increase or decrease trailer braking effort. In practice it works really well.
Now everyone knows what I want for Christmas, it is time to wish readers and their families a wonderful festive season. Drive safely. As a final note our Editor Barbara Stuart is stepping down from the paper. I wish her all the best for her family and future endeavours.