Ford Everest Tremor 2025 Review

The 2025 Ford Everest Tremor is a new off-road focussed addition to the line-up of Australia’s top-selling large SUV (based on 2024 results) priced at $76,590 plus on-road costs.

The Tremor badge has been around for a while in the USA and popped up on the Ford Ranger in Australia last year. But while that was a limited edition, the Everest is a permanent member of the model line-up.

The word is this is as close to a Ranger Raptor equivalent as Everest is ever likely to get.

Slotting in about $2000 above the Everest Sport and about $4600 below the flagship Platinum, the Tremor is only available with the 3.0-litre Lion turbo-diesel V6 and a 4x4 transmission - which makes sense being an off-roader and because Ford is binning 4x2s.

Its most logical competitor is the Toyota Prado Altitude, which is beyond $90,000 before on-road costs, making the Tremor look like a good deal. Or you could just buy an Isuzu MU-X and pocket plenty of change.

The key mechanical Tremor changes are related to chassis and include Bilstein position sensitive dampers, longer coil springs and 17-inch General Grabber All-Terrain tyres that produce a 29mm increase in ground clearance (over an Everest Sport) to 255mm and a 30mm increase in track width to 1650mm.

The approach, departure and ramp over angles are also moderately improved, although the wading depth stays unchanged at 800mm.

Apart from the addition of rock crawl (borrowed from Ranger) as a seventh selectable drive mode, the powertrain remains fundamentally unchanged in terms of power, torque, and its attached 10-speed auto. However, the fuel consumption claim is 9.5L/100km versus 8.5L/100km for every other Everest V6. Put it down to more weight and more aero and tyre resistance.

The 4x4 system still runs in 2Hi, 4Auto on the bitumen, 4Hi on the dirt and 4Lo in the gnarly stuff, with the added help of off-road traction control and a locking rear diff.

The Tremor also adds tyre pressure monitoring. As laudable as this is, all 4x4s should have this as standard.

In terms of exterior appearance the Everest Tremor adds auxiliary driver lights to its grille, a steel bash plate under the radiator inlet, matte black mirror caps and doorhandles, composite rock rails and matte black 17-inch alloy wheels.

A pair of tow hooks are retained up-front.

Inside the Tremor, unique leather-accented seats with Tremor badging, some dark stitching and grey accents.

But dig past that stuff and the Tremor mostly works off the Everest Sport’s equipment list. This includes LED headlights, three rows of seats, dual-zone climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto displayed on a 12-inch touchscreen. As well as a suite of safety systems including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and a well-tuned lane keeping system.

A five-star ANCAP rating for Everest based on 2022 protocols is yet to be applied to the Tremor.

A 3500kg braked towing capacity carries over. Do the sums and the payload comes out at 300kg if hauling 3500kg. That’s not the worst result out there – better than the Prado Altitude for instance. It’s also 5kg better than the Everest Sport, which has a lower Gross Combined Mass than the Tremor.

There are four colours including new Command Grey. Only Arctic White won’t cost you $700 extra.

But that’s only the start of the options story. There’s the $3500 Rough Terrain Pack of ARB accessories, the $2500 Touring pack, the $1900 Towing Pack and the $1100 Premium Seat Pack, which is mostly power, heating and ventilation for the front seats that is standard in the Sport.

As per all Everests, the Tremor comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, is serviced every 12 months/15,000km and is covered by a capped price servicing schedule, which comes out at $2550 for five workshop visits.

Everest also comes with roadside assistance up to seven years if you keep servicing at a Ford dealer.

The Ford Everest V6 4x4 is the best large family SUV with true off-roading capability you can buy.

The Lion V6 turbo-diesel is great on- or off-road. It’s powerful, efficient, smooth, quiet and just so linear. The Tremor weighs 2.55 tonnes and the engine rises to the challenge impressively.

The Everest also drives and rides with great aplomb on-road and has good ability off-road – although maybe on that latter score the Prado is just that little bit better.

So adding a bit more ground clearance and tyres with more off-road traction certainly smartens the Everest Tremor’s off-road performance that bit more.

It straddled high-centred tracks that the standard Everest Sport following behind us on the launch drive in the Toolangi state forest north-east of Melbourne had to avoid.

Our Tremor still touched its belly down lightly, but as it was optioned with the Rough Terrain Pack with under vehicle armour there was no potential for harm to be done.

Those piggyback Bilstein dampers, which have separate compression and rebound zones, also seemed to produce slightly better body control on the bumps and ruts so typical of forestry tracks and 4x4-ing. It wasn’t a magic carpet ride, but it was well modulated.

This impressive level of control also translated to the road. Driven enthusiastically on a winding bitumen road, the Tremor proved well-sorted and able. The A/T tyres showed a surprising amount of grip while giving off a minimal amount of squeal.

All that means the Tremor wasn’t far removed from the typical Everest driving experience. What a good vehicle this is! Plaudits for about the 50 millionth time to all the good folks at Broady, You Yangs and Geelong who do such great work.

While there has been some attempts made at improving the 2025 Ford Everest Tremor’s off-road chops, it could go further.

One thing I remain unconvinced by is the off-road traction control by brake that operates on the front wheels in low range when the diff is locked. It seems a bit too prone to allowing wheelspin. Maybe a retune could address this. Or let’s get serious and add a front diff lock – hey GWM can afford it on a $50,000 ute!

More holistically, while we were crawling around in the tight terrain of Toolangi, the Everest Sport performed fine but didn’t seem to be in its optimum environment.

It would make a great trekking vehicle. Some people call it Overlanding these days. A remote, rutted red gravel road is calling this thing.

So why not offer a five-seat delete option so you can fit a set of drawers in the back? And rather than having a big 140 litre fuel tank as an accessory, make it standard. That would really haul people out of those 110 litre Prados.

I’d also love to see a sport button added to the drive modes – this being the most sporting Everest we’re ever likely to see. Apparently that’s not permissible with diesels in the Ford world.

Those omissions suggest the Everest Tremor is as much clothes horse as off-road thoroughbred. It’s intended to hang a whole bunch of options and accessories off. That’s fine, that’s what car companies do with 4x4s and utes all the time.

The usual concerns when it comes to the 2025 Ford Everest apply to the Tremor as well.

Hate the manual changing via the switches on the gear bun – if this is the ultimate sporting Everest give us a lever or flappy paddles PLEASE!!! Dislike the minimalist digital instrument panel. Wish there was better second row leg space for taller people.

If your focus is off-roading and other Ford Everest models don’t get you quite as far as you want to go, then the Tremor might be the right choice for you.

But we think the Tremor will sell more on its macho looks than its 29mm increase in ground clearance.

Look, it’s a really good vehicle, but so is the standard Everest. In reality, it’s as much about the marketing as the engineering.

A bit more of the latter would have been great.

2025 Ford Everest Tremor at a glance:
Price: $76,590 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel
Output: 184kW/600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 250g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)

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