Ford Everest Concept

[Slash]

Ford released these photos yesterday. Apparently, this is the potential replacement to the Endeavour, which is currently only sold in Indian Market.

Seems like a lot of people are calling for this to be put out in North America. Apparently it's expected to use the current 2.5L and 3.0L 4 cylinder engines, that put out around 150 horsepower but are supposed to be more refined. Also, they will be paired to a 5 speed manual and 5 speed auto in both 2WD and 4WD models.

Wonder what would happen if this replaced the Explorer.

 

[Aquarelle]

I never thought I'd say it.. but... needs a V8

Or at least something with more pep than 150 horses in such a massive shell.. that thing must be dangerously slow! intersections must feel like hardcore frogger.

I kinda like the styling though, rare for an SUV to vaguely interest me in appearance.

 

[RocZX]

It looks like the Durango....

 

[homeforsummer]

Well that's a big bag of uninterestingness. Looks worryingly like they've given it the proportions of the Ecosport too, comfortably one of Ford's worst cars at the moment and coincidentally built in India.

​

 

[BKGlover]

Did Ford not JUST decide to ditch the truck-based Explorer for a car-based version. And what's with 150 HP, the Gen 2 Escape had more power across the board. My take, the people who want this here are the people who lost their off roading toy when the Explorer got overhauled. India can keep it.

 

[Slash]

I never thought I'd say it.. but... needs a V8

Or at least something with more pep than 150 horses in such a massive shell.. that thing must be dangerously slow! intersections must feel like hardcore frogger.

I kinda like the styling though, rare for an SUV to vaguely interest me in appearance.

I agree. Many people are asking for that.

 

[MedigoFlame]

I would take it over the current softroader Explorer. Quite like the more beefy (hopefully) offroad capable design.

 

[niky]

Well, it's not quite correct to say it's replacing the Endeavor.

It's replacing the old Everest, which was basically a seven-seat Ranger (think: Toyota Hilux Surf). It just so happens that they're expanding the line's appeal to replace the Endeavor and perhaps the Territory in Australia.

-

It's based on the T6 Ranger platform. Which is bad-ass. This means 800mm water wading capacity, true off-road ability and a big, tough platform underneath it all. This also means that the car can and will likely receive the 200 horsepower 3.2 liter diesel and the 148 horsepower 2.2 liter diesel in the Ranger. The 2.2 is capable of 40 mpg on the highway, though I expect most non-commercial buyers to go for the 3.2.

 

[YSSMAN]

Wonder what would happen if this replaced the Explorer.

It wouldn't.

The Explorer has been selling reasonably well, and it's now a favorite fleet vehicle for police departments all over the US - including my home town, who will be replacing all of their Crown Victorias with Explorers by 2016.

 

[Robin]

Well that's a big bag of uninterestingness. Looks worryingly like they've given it the proportions of the Ecosport too, comfortably one of Ford's worst cars at the moment and coincidentally built in India.

I also instantly thought of the Ecosport which is a terribly odd looking car, its like they gave it a Transit face rather than what the should have given it (a smaller Kuga face). Also the name is poor, your car shouldn't be named like an engine The New Ford Duratec!

 

[MoLiEG]

I like it 👍

Would buy.

 

[Keef]

While I think our Explorer should look more SUV-like, I think this resembles the Durango too much to release here. Overall it's fairly handsome, not offensive, and would get the job done. But the truck we have now is just awful.

 

[homeforsummer]

I also instantly thought of the Ecosport which is a terribly odd looking car, its like they gave it a Transit face rather than what the should have given it (a smaller Kuga face). Also the name is poor, your car shouldn't be named like an engine The New Ford Duratec!

Yup. The Ecosport with the Ecoboost. Only "Ecosport" is pronounced "echo-sport", and "Ecoboost" is pronounced "eek-o-boost". Daft buggers.

 

[Keef]

Yup. The Ecosport with the Ecoboost. Only "Ecosport" is pronounced "echo-sport", and "Ecoboost" is pronounced "eek-o-boost". Daft buggers.

You Brits are the ones who pronounce "eco" as "echo". That's not us. Remember, EcoBoost was designed over here, not over there.

 

[homeforsummer]

You Brits are the ones who pronounce "eco" as "echo". That's not us. Remember, EcoBoost was designed over here, not over there.

Nope.

"Echo" is the German pronunciation, as that's where Ford of Europe is based.

Oh wait, the engine you meant. It's probably worth pointing out that several of those were designed over here too - particularly the smaller applications. Anyway, that one is pronounced as it should be.

 

[Wolfe]

The Explorer has been selling reasonably well, and it's now a favorite fleet vehicle for police departments all over the US - including my home town, who will be replacing all of their Crown Victorias with Explorers by 2016.

Totally. It's to the point where every plain-colored new Explorer I see is just as conspicuous as Crown Victorias always were. It took less time than it did with the Chargers.

 

[niky]

I can see the Everest doing rural police duty. The 3.2 has a lot of grunt, and the bones underneath make for great off-road ability. I've taken the T6 off, and it's very capable. Handling isn't all that bad, either, compared to the Explorer, even though the T6 has a higher COG and a narrower track.

You Americans would probably love it.

You're never getting it.

Because the T6 could possibly hurt F150 sales, and Ford probably would not like to hurt the profitability of that line-up. They could probably increase sales volume in the US quite a bit with the Ranger-Everest, but they would have to spend much more on federalization, tooling up and marketing, rather than simply spawning a dozen variants off the F150, dominating the market, and calling it a day.

 

[JMoney]

Ford released these photos yesterday. Apparently, this is the potential replacement to the Endeavour, which is currently only sold in Indian Market.

Seems like a lot of people are calling for this to be put out in North America. Apparently it's expected to use the current 2.5L and 3.0L 4 cylinder engines, that put out around 150 horsepower but are supposed to be more refined. Also, they will be paired to a 5 speed manual and 5 speed auto in both 2WD and 4WD models.

Wonder what would happen if this replaced the Explorer.

I like the appearance and size of it but it will need a bigger engine to sell well in the U.S. Manual Transmission FTW.

 

[05XR8]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/9A64C8B1F671C178CA257E9200046685

Mr Worthington said that, unlike the Australian Territory SUV, which was benchmarked against the BMW X5 for driving dynamics, Ford did not measure the Everest against any premium SUV offerings.

“I think we know who Land Rover and Jeep are and what they do. Do we want to surprise and delight customers that they are buying something and they are getting something way better than they thought they would get? Absolutely.

“I wouldn’t say that we targeted Land Rover or Jeep specifically, but if people come to that conclusion then we won’t complain about it.”

As GoAuto has reported, the Everest starts at $54,990 plus on-road costs for the base variant – simply called Everest – rising to $60,990 for the mid-spec Trend and topping out at $76,990 for the Titanium.

Pricing for the Everest starts and finishes well above the range pricing of a number of pick-up-based SUVs including the Holden Colorado 7 ($47,990-$51,490), its mechanically related cousin the Isuzu MU-X ($40,500-$54,000) and the soon-to-be replaced Mitsubishi Challenger ($42,490-$49,990).

The Prado kicks off from $51,990 for the base GX diesel and hits $84,490 for the high-spec Kakadu, and while the Prado receives an upgrade in September with a new 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine from the forthcoming HiLux ute, it is unclear if this will impact pricing.

The HiLux-based Fortuner SUV is also arriving in October, giving Toyota another option in the rugged 4WD wagon segment.

While Ford may not have specifically targeted the Prado in the development process, Ford Australia communications and public affairs director Wes Sherwood confirmed the Everest will be pitched squarely at the Toyota, dismissing suggestions that buyers in the sub-$60,000 large-SUV segment might be put off by the price point.

“Our targeting and our communications are going to be around comparing it to Prado and we feel pricing is very competitive with Prado,” he told GoAuto.

“We are going (to focus heavily) at the top end of the Everest range. That’s where the volume is. People are just looking for more and more out of their vehicles and SUVs are a classic example of it.

 

[niky]

It's a big hunk of nice.

Unlike the EcoSport, which is a compromised Fiesta... or the Explorer, which is a compromised... uh... Flex... the Everest is a somewhat better car than the Ranger that spawned it. Better ride comfort, probably thanks to the extra weight. Handling intact, steering lighter. Interior almost Explorer nice. Mighty happy to have been able to check it out before the official release.

Against a Prado... it just might work... the interior is hella impressive, and you even get a Land-Rover style terrain dial on the console. The one thing holding it back is the 3.2 liter diesel... which is severely lacking in top-end grunt. 197 hp is a competitive number in the Fortuner/Colorado 7 class, but it's asthmatic past 3k rpm.

Ford could give the Everest the 2.0T that's in the Explorer... or the 2.3T in the Mustang... and it would probably come in cheaper than the diesel. I'm wondering if it would sell in the US. I know the market is moving away from ladder-frames, but it's rather nice, and it has good space. Probably would only gain fifty kilos or so if it needs beefing up for crash safety... then you drop that weight by shifting to gasoline.

Also:

It's nice having a second job that allows you to check out cars like this before they come out.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

This also reminds me that new Ranger has been spotted in the wild with manufacturer plates and 3.2 V6 badging.

 

[Slash]

I like the front for once.

 

[Keef]

I think this should be our next Explorer. That fits right into the global theme. And this thing actually looks like an Explorer, rather than the hideous monstrosity we have right now.

 

[TheCracker]

I never thought I'd say it.. but... needs a V8

Or at least something with more pep than 150 horses in such a massive shell.. that thing must be dangerously slow! intersections must feel like hardcore frogger.

They're diesel engines. They'll be like a million lbft of torques.

 

[Connoissuer]

They're diesel engines. They'll be like a million lbft of torques.

Why do they make so much torque?

 

[niky]

Why do they make so much torque?

Magic diesel pixies.

But honestly... it's all about the boost. Where a naturally aspirated gasoline 3.2 will typically make about 320 Nm of torque, a modern diesel with about 40 psi of turbo boost will be doing 450-500 Nm. Which is a lot of torque. Boost that gasoline engine, and you can get somewhere in the mid-400s, as well... along with much better top end power than the diesel.

 

[Endless-Wilso]

Looks more like a contender for the next Expedition to me.

 

[Adamgp]

Too small to be an Expedition replacement.

 

[niky]

Too small to be an Expedition replacement.

Way too small.

The Everest is about the size of the previous-generation Explorer, albeit with a longer wheelbase and better second row legroom. It's a step down from the wide-body new Explorer, and about two steps down from the Expedition.

 

[0ldman279]

The diesel torque vs gas torque, it comes down to the stability of the fuel under combustion. You can force more air and fuel in a diesel under pressure in a more controlled fashion. Gasoline is more volatile, tends to break stuff.

Diesel has higher compression before you force air in there with the turbo, closer valve timings, etc, it is made to build huge amounts of pressure every compression stroke. Just entirely different attributes in a similarly designed engine. Diesel and gas engines are quite different despite their similarities.