Ford Everest Sport v Toyota Prado GXL 2025 Comparison

The 2025 Ford Everest Sport V6 strikes the first blow with a distinct price advantage over the 2025 Toyota Prado GXL.

Before on-road costs the Ford is $74,690, while the brand new Toyota clocks in at $79,990.

Thanks to a $10,000-plus price rise for the 250 Series, the GXL hurdles right over the Sport on pricing. Convert to drive-away pricing and the disparity grows further.

The Sport is the cheapest way into a V6 Everest, but you can pay as little as $54,240 for the four-cylinder 2.0-litre 4x2 Ambiente.

There is only one cheaper Prado than the GXL, which is the $72,500 fleet-focussed GX. But there’s no cheaper drivetrain options for the 250 Prado. They all come with permanent 4x4 and a 2.8-litre four-cylinder 48V mild hybrid powertrain.

Alternative 4x4 family off-roaders beyond these two start with the popular Isuzu MU-X, which is priced as low as $47,400 (LS-M 4x2 with 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine) to $73,990 (drive-away) for the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel 4x4 Tour Mate.

Others include the ageing Toyota Fortuner – a spin-off of the ageing HiLux ute – as as the soon-to-be-defunct Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and the slow-selling GWM Tank 500 hybrid.

The 2025 Ford Everest V6 and 2025 Toyota Prado GXL match up pretty closely on equipment.

Externally, the Prado gets its own retro-LandCruiser style that has gone down extremely well among the fanbase. The Everest looks like a Ranger with a wagon body on the back, which it essentially is.

Both come with LED headlights, powered tailgates (the Prado now only opens vertically, but it alone gets a separately opening window), roof rails, side steps and 18-inch alloy wheels shod with all-terrain rubber. They are a more aggressive tread pattern and no cost option in the case of the Everest, which is also offered with 20-inch wheels and road tyres.

However, neither Everest Sport nor Prado GXL comes with tyre pressure monitoring, which is a real miss considering the off-road abilities of these two. Early detection of a leak is the difference between saving and wrecking a tyre.

Both vehicles have keyless entry and push-button start. Inside they both include driver’s seat power adjustment (but only the Everest has memory and lumbar adjust), heating and ventilation for both front seats, climate control (dual-zone in Everest, tri-zone in GXL) with second- and third-row air vents, some form of leather seat trim and a total of seven seats across three rows.

Everest alone gets exterior zone lighting, puddle lamps and front passenger seat power adjust.

Both Everest and Prado come with a full-size spare tyre mounted under the floor. Five premium paint choices cost $700 for Everest with only white the only exception. Three of six Prado paint choices cost $675 extra.

Both vehicles have five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranties and capped price scheduled servicing. But details do diverge from there. The Everest is serviced every 12 months/15,000km and that adds up to $2545 over five years/75,000km (it’s cheaper prepaid).

The Prado is serviced every six months/10,000km – Toyota says the hard driving the Prado is exposed to necessitates shorter intervals. Over five years/100,000km that adds up $3900.

The Everest has free roadside assist up to seven years if you service at a Ford dealer. The Toyota costs $99 a year for roadside assist.

Both the 2025 Ford Everest and 2025 Toyota Prado are covered by five-star ANCAP ratings. The Ford was tested against 2022 protocols while the Prado was tested against the latest 2024 protocols.

While the newer protocols are in some ways tougher, the Everest’s results are still relevant and reassuring.

Autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are the cornerstones of the high-tech driver assistance package in both cars. Compared to the old 150 Series the Prado has been seriously upgraded.

Both cars can now cruise autonomously centred in their lane on the freeway without steering input. The Ford only once asked me to put my hands back on the wheel when they were already there, which suggests our example had undergone an expected software upgrade.

The level of intrusion from the lane keeping systems was mild compared to many other systems that we’ve criticised in other new cars lately. The Everest’s is easily switched off via a button on the steering wheel, the Prado requires a bit more drilling into the instrument panel.

Driver monitoring was also much more under control in these two than some vehicles we’ve sampled recently.

These vehicles will also monitor blind spots, read traffic signs and warn of crossing traffic at the rear and brake for it.

There are nine airbags in both, including curtains that protect third-row occupants.

The Everest wins the child seat top tether count with five spread across rows two and three, while the Prado has three across row two only. The Prado also comes with three ISOFIX mounts versus two in the Everest.

The Prado has the better package of surround view cameras, including a transparent view that proved especially handy off-road. Both came with front and rear parking sensors, but no hands- and/or feet-off parking aids.

As with the safety inventory, the 2025 Toyota Prado GXL has made a huge leap forward with the 250 Series in terms of tech.

That’s obvious from the 12.3-inch digital screen that stretches across the top of the dashboard and the 7.0-inch digital instrument panel in front of the driver.

The Everest and the Ranger on which it’s based have been around long enough for us to acclimatise somewhat to the huge 12-inch vertical screen that dominates its infotainment tech.

That’s accompanied by an 8.0-inch digital instrument display.

Wireless and cabled Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are offered with both, supplementing embedded infotainment systems that include Bluetooth, satellite-navigation, DAB and AM/FM radio bands and audio systems comprising eight speakers in the Everest and 10 speakers in the Prado.

Both come with wireless phone charging, while the Everest gets five USB outlets, four 12V outlets and 240V three-pin power.

The Prado has seven USB outlets, one 12V, one 220V and throws in an HDMI port as well.

Both vehicles also have smartphone apps that allow them to be monitored remotely.

Have a quick glance at the engine specs and you might wonder what the Toyota engineers have been up to all these years developing the 2025 Prado 250 Series.

Its 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine pumps out exactly the same 150kW and 500Nm as before.

However, what isn’t clear via the outputs is the addition of a 48V mild hybrid system first seen in the HiLux last year and now standard across the entire Prado line-up.

It’s claimed to provide drivability and fuel economy improvements compared to the old 1GD-FTV engine.

Further down the driveline the automatic transmission grows from six to eight speeds, while the 4x4 system continues to permanently drive all four wheels, has a dual-range transfer case and a locking centre diff.

However, the rear differential is no longer lockable. Instead Toyota has four-wheel off-road traction control to assist when the going gets really tough in low range.

The 2025 Everest Sport’s optional 184kW/600Nm 3.0-litre V6 is the segment leader when it comes to both power and torque. It is now familiar in Australia and shared with the Ranger.

The Everest also has more gears in its automatic transmission – 10 of them!

Its 4x4 system has more options than the Prado’s, able to drive in fuel-saving rear-wheel drive as well as auto 4x4 and 4x4 high and low range with the centre diff locked.

Unlike the Prado, it has off-road driving modes (mud/rut etc) that tailor traction behaviour and also has the ability to lock the rear differential for tough going.

Fuel consumption claims are pretty respectable for these two considering they both have a kerb weight in the region of 2.5 tonnes.

The 2025 Ford Everest Sport V6 claims 8.5L/100km, while the new Toyota Prado GXL claims 7.6L/100km, a drop of four per cent from the 150’s 7.9L/100km.

That’s the theory, what about in practice?

We split our testing up into several distinct loops and also arrived at a final overall figure. So let’s check them out.

Ford Everest Sport V6
• Freeway: 7.7L/100km
• Country secondary roads (up, down and winding): 11.2L/100km
• Suburban: 8.4L/100km
• Off-road including low range: 18.5L/100km
• Overall: 11.6L/100km

Toyota Prado GXL
• Freeway: 8.5L/100km
• Country: 8.5L/100km
• Suburban: 8.4L/100km
• Off-road: 17.9L/100km
• Overall: 11.15L/100km

So pretty close overall, really. There were some disparities to note in that the freeway running in the Prado was in much more congested stop-start conditions, so that would have impacted it negatively.

Can’t really explain the gulf in results on the country loop though. Sorry.

But the overall result? That gives you a pretty good feel for where these two end up. In other words, pretty close!

Some further things to note here. The new Prado’s fuel tank size drops from 150 litres to 110 litres, but that’s still significantly more than the Everest’s 80 litres. Prado wins the range war.

The Prado is also the first Toyota in Australia to have an AdBlue tank. AdBlue is a fluid that helps reduce noxious emissions and it sits in a 17.4-litre tank with a filler nozzle next to the diesel filler.

The Everest has always come with AdBlue.

The thing to note is Adblue consumption will vary along with fuel consumption. The higher the diesel use, the more AdBlue will be pumped into the exhaust stream. Something you’ll have to keep an eye on.

Absolutely appropriately, a great deal of praise has been lavished on the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado for its improved on-road driving manners compared to the old 150 Series.

Now underpinned by the same modern TNGA-F chassis as the LandCruiser 300 Series, and even rolling on the same 2850mm wheelbase, the Prado really has tidied up its act.

Trouble is, compared to the 2025 Ford Everest Sport V6 it still falls short.

In every dynamic facet – steering, handling, ride – the Ford’s combination of double wishbones up front and rigid axle and coil springs at the rear does a better job than the Prado’s version.

Riding on a modified form of the Ranger’s third-generation T6 ladder frame, it feels better connected to the road with less body roll and front wheel push (understeer) in corners, less float over the bumps and less frame shake on the sharp edges.

The Prado gets closest to the Ford in the steering, where a change from hydraulic to electric-assist power steering has made a huge difference in terms of speed, accuracy and weighting of response.

Look, driven in isolation, you’d come away from the Prado really impressed (I was), but then jump in the Ford and the improvements are clear.

That’s ever more so than when you press the throttle. Yes, the mild hybrid system and – especially – the new auto make the Prado’s engine feel more lively than before.

But it can’t match the quiet strength of the Everest’s V6. It’s not an explosion of urge, just strong and steady and always on tap. The Prado feels like you have to push it harder to go slower. It’s just not as capable.

That results in more engine noise and vibration entering the cabin, something some second-row seat shake emphasised.

It’s not only engine noise that is more obvious in the Prado’s cabin but also more wind noise, mostly from its big vertical exterior mirrors.

Which brings us to visibility where, again, the Ford had the edge, despite the boxy look of the Prado. The Toyota has a good view out, but it’s more enclosed and headrests from row two more obviously impede the rear view.

One thing the Prado definitely does better than the Everest is provide better accessibility to manual gear changing. Neither have flappy paddles on the steering wheel, but at least the Toyota allows traditional to and fro shifting from the gear selector in the steering column.

The Ford’s e-selector has a button on the side to perform the same function. Look, I found it more useable than in past experience, but it’s still neither engaging nor intuitive.

Left to their own devices both autos do a good job. The Ford’s 10-speed is noticeably less busy in the tightly packed lower gears than when mated with the biturbo 2.0-litre engine. The Prado’s eight-speed did have a bit of a clunk occasionally when the throttle was lifted and it dropped a gear.

Finally, we didn’t tow but we’ll give you the rundown on the basics.

Both claim a 3500kg braked capacity – that’s up 500kg for the new Prado – but payloads at that number are ordinary for both vehicles. Bear that in mind if you’re planning to use one of these for your around Australia trip. If you’ve got a big van you may need a GVM upgrade.

Speaking of trips, if you want to pack up your family and head for a touring holiday off the beaten track, then the 2025 Ford Everest Sport V6 and 2025 Toyota Prado GXL are very good at that job.

Okay, we didn’t drive them the back way to Alice Springs, hammering along those rutted high-speed red-gravel roads. But we did enough gravel driving to understand they’re both good at that sort of stuff.

So what about when the going gets slower, more technical and more challenging? Then, as expected, they go about the clambering stuff pretty well.

We have a 4x4 test site we use that includes one pivotal test – a short, steep set of moguls up a bank. It’s always instructive.

The Everest simply refused to get up without the rear diff lock engaged. In fact, it was noticeable that its diff locker was critical for almost any techy off-road challenge. Otherwise wheelspin negated progress.

Without a rear diff lock, the Prado conquered the same challenge in low range with its centre diff locked and off-road traction control managing wheelspin. It paused and spun wheels a little more as its traction control figured things out, but it made it comfortably.

Hill descent control in both vehicles worked smoothly – which is a real improvement for the Prado over the graunchy old 150 Series.

The Prado also had the advantage of Crawl Control, which is a low-speed off-road cruise control available in high range. It means you can navigate an obstacle like a rutty hill without having to worry about accelerator pedal bounce affecting progress.

Both vehicles make the transition between high and low ranges and locked and unlocked diffs easy and smooth via controls on the centre console or touchscreen. There was only very occasional shuffling back and forth to complete a change.

Issues? The Everest’s side steps bent up over the moguls – this seems a consistent issue for both the Ranger and Everest – but they were easily pushed back into place.

And yes, we did water-ford the Prado – in fact the very same puddle where the Altitude met its demise. Nothing happened.

The weirdness of the 2025 Toyota Prado’s boot dominates any discussion of these two interiors.

Look, it’s not unusable, but it just seems such a slap-dash solution. Especially from Toyota. Especially at this money.

What Toyota has done is box off space under the floor for the hybrid battery system sold in the Prado in North America. We don’t get that model, but we still get the raised floor height.

And just to add the cherry on top, Toyota drops a storage bin at the back of the boot behind the seats to presumably level the floor when they are folded. It’s so utterly shonky. Every time you lift it the lid pulls off its hinges.

Funnily enough, Toyota still claims the Prado has more luggage space than the 2025 Ford Everest in most seating configurations, but it certainly doesn’t look like it at a glance.

And it’s worth noting the heavier new Prado can actually carry less payload than its predecessor. The Everest Sport V6 claims 703kg, the Prado GXL 615kg.

It’s not all good news for Ford, because it’s not done a brilliant job of maximising interior space of a vehicle that’s 4914mm long with a 2900mm wheelbase.

No matter how you set up rows two and three it always seems you’re slightly compromising passengers in one row or the other. Tall passengers in row two means cramped row three. Be more generous for the kids in row three and it gets more cramped in row two. Of course, if everyone across these two rows is shorter, no drama.

The Prado starts off its row two-three arrangements badly because it doesn’t slide row two. That’s a big omission at this price – especially considering the 150 Series had this feature.

But its compromise is well thought out, with knee room slightly more generous for a six-foot passenger behind a six-foot driver.

The Prado also does a slightly better job of helping third row passengers access and exit row three. That’s because its row-two seats tumble forward in one motion, getting right out of the way. The Ford’s seats tilt and slide or fold flat – the latter’s more helpful for stowing long loads.

So what about up front? The Prado is a night-and-day update obviously, but the Everest is very stern opposition with a clean and cohesive design of its controls and infotainment touchscreen.

Both, thankfully, provide physical buttons to control air-conditioning and audio on/off and volume, even though the Prado’s is small and a fair reach for the driver.

Neither touchscreen has a dedicated home page, but the Everest does have handy shortcuts to frequently used features. It’s easier to work with than the Toyota screen.

The Ford also has slightly more comfortable front seats, wider door pockets (the same applies in the rear) and a double glovebox to boost storage space.

The Toyota has a nicer trim to grip on its steering wheel; its instrument panel is better presented than the low-grade Ford effort with a bar graph for tacho (not at this price please Ford!); and its gear selector is better to handle than the Ford’s e-select setup.

It does seem better tuned now than when first sampled in the Ranger, but over-shooting neutral or reverse into park is still too easy.

In terms of presentation, both of these vehicles are too dark. Can we just have a bit more variation, please?

In the end this was a clear victory for the 2025 Ford Everest V6.

To be honest, it was Toyota’s reputation as an off-road vehicle guru, the wide affection in which previous-generation Prados are held and the expectation generated by the warm-up propaganda previewing the new Prado that clouded the issue.

I kept waiting for the 2025 Toyota Prado GXL to do something amazing, in essence prove to me its superiority.

Once I recognised it was my preconception and not the vehicle’s reality keeping the Prado in the contest it was all over. It’s a good vehicle certainly, but overall it’s not as good as the Everest.

The Everest is a better performer, better to drive, more comfortable and quieter to ride in, has a cohesive set of interior controls and has the equipment, tech and safety parameters covered.

And, crucially, it’s significantly cheaper.

But it’s not perfect. The space utilisation doesn’t seem great in rows two and three and as good as its price is in comparison to the Prado, it’s still eye-wateringly expensive.

To be frank, we are being absolutely reamed by Ford and Toyota for these vehicles. They’re making hay right now because we are willing to pay the prices.

How long they continue to do so probably depends on how long it takes a Chinese brand to get a bonafide rival into the segment at a much lower price.

2025 Ford Everest Sport V6 at a glance:
Price: $74,690 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 184kW/600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 224g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)

2025 Toyota Prado GXL at a glance:
Price: $79,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 48V mild hybrid assistance
Output: 150kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 200g/km (ADR Combined) or WLTP if overseas model)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2024)

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