Isuzu MU-X v Ford Everest 2021 Comparison

Has there ever been a time when we’ve more desperately wanted to get away from it all?

Well folks, here are two vehicles that present that very opportunity: the all-new 2021 Isuzu MU-X and the well-established Ford Everest.

And not only can they take you far from the madding crowd, they can also dive right into the urban fracas in those periods between escapes.

The two models on test are both large seven-seat SUVs with strong turbo-diesel drivetrains and substantial off-road and towing ability.

They also take their technical base (or a significant amount of it) from two of the most popular utes found on the Australian market today, the Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-MAX.

Of course, there’s one big difference and that’s age. Designed and developed in Australia, the first-generation (sold in Australia) Ford Everest has been around since 2015.

Meanwhile, the second-generation Isuzu MU-X has just been launched and, like the D-MAX it’s based on, it’s vastly improved.

But is it good enough to put the Ford in its rear-view mirrors?

We’ve driven the Everest up and down and across much of Australia through the years and have come to admire its capabilities on- and off-road.

The MU-X has a tough task ahead of it, so let’s see how it goes…

It’s a close-run thing on pricing as the 2021 Isuzu MU-X LS-T 4x4 on test comes in at $65,900 plus on-road costs versus $62,390 plus ORCs for the 2021 Ford Everest Trend 2.0L Bi-Turbo 4WD.

Bear in mind that’s top-spec Isuzu versus mid-spec Ford, although we could have chosen the cheaper 3.2-litre five-cylinder Everest engine rather than the newer 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged four-cylinder and its 10-speed automatic transmission.

The 3.2 Trend 4x4 with six-speed auto comes in at $60,890 and the 2.0 Trend 4x2 is $57,090 (both plus on-roads). The cheapest Everest of them all is the 3.2 Ambiente 4x2 at $50,090 plus ORCs.

The MU-X only comes with a 140kW/450Nm 3.0-litre four-cylinder upgraded from the previous generation that mates exclusively with a six-speed auto.

You can knock $6000 off the MU-X LS-T price by swapping from 4x4 to 4x2, or $12,000 if you revert to the base-model LS-M 4x4. The cheapest model of all is the LS-M 4x2 at $47,900 plus ORCs.

While we’re on pricing and such things let’s consider what other ladder-frame seven-seat 4x4s are on offer. There’s the worthy Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, the often-overlooked Toyota Fortuner and some lesser lights like the affordable SsangYong Rexton and Haval H9.

And let’s not forget the elephant in the room, so to speak, the Toyota Prado. Immensely popular and capable, it is a bit bigger than these two and also in a different price bracket if you want one with more than just the equipment essentials.

So how does equipment stack up between the Everest Trend and MU-X LS-T?

Both come with touch-screens in the dash (the Isuzu’s is one inch bigger at 9.0”), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection, Bluetooth, embedded sat-nav, eight-speaker audio, leather seat trim, dual-zone climate control with air-con vents in row two and in row three, keyless entry and push-button start/stop.

Both have multiple USB and power outlets.

In a show of how high-tech life is getting, they also have remote start, the Isuzu by the key fob and the Ford via an embedded modem and smartphone FordPass app (that also provides remote car location and door locking).

Both have power tailgates, side steps, roof rails and alloy wheels fitted with Bridgestone Dueler A/T rubber; 20s for the MU-X and 18s for the Everest.

The Ford also updated its look for 2021 with a grey mesh grille ringed in chrome.

The MU-X alone includes power adjustment for both front seats and not just the driver, seat heating, ambient interior lighting, wireless Apple CarPlay connection, an electric park brake and reach as well as rake adjust for the steering column.

The MU-X has a full-size spare tyre on an alloy wheel, but as of 2021 Ford has swapped to a steel wheel and made the alloy a $550 option packaged with power-folding third-row seats.

The Everest has actually had a couple of other items recently deleted from its equipment level: standard glass replaces acoustic glass in the front-side windows, while active noise cancellation, rear fan control and a CD player have been axed (the latter from the entire range).

Equipment deletions have been a bit of thing with Ford of late, as we have reported.

The Everest comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, 12-month/15,000km service intervals and a capped-price service plan that adds up to $1551 over five years.

The MU-X is protected by a six-year/150,000km warranty and 12-month/15,000km service intervals. Its capped-price servicing comes out at $2215 over five years.

The 2021 Isuzu MU-X LS-T has the edge over the Ford Everest Trend when it comes to safety ratings and equipment.

It has a 2021 five-star ANCAP safety rating, which is much more difficult to achieve than was the case back in 2015, when the Ford received its five-star rating.

The MU-X is the first Isuzu with a centre airbag, a feature critical to that five-star rating. The Everest has seven airbags. In both vehicles the curtains reach all the way to row three.

Both vehicles come with all-important autonomous emergency braking (AEB), operating from 8km/h to 160km/h in the MU-X and from 5-80km/h in the Everest. In both vehicles, the AEB detects both cyclists and pedestrians.

Both vehicles also include adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane departure and keeping aid, rear cross traffic alert, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors and bi-LED headlights.

In addition, there’s tyre pressure monitoring, traffic sign recognition, rollover mitigation, trailer sway control and driver attention monitoring fitted to both vehicles.

The MU-X has a couple of driver assist features the Everest misses out on. They include post-collision braking and misacceleration mitigation which suppresses the throttle in slow-speed situations such as car parks if the stereo camera mounted in the front window judges it has been erroneously applied.

The Everest has emergency assist which automatically calls rescue services if an accident is detected. You have to be in mobile range for this to work.

There are five child seat anchors fitted to the Everest across row two and three, while the MU-X gets two ISOFIX mounts in row two and three child seat anchors (also in row two).

The 2021 Isuzu MU-X LS-T and Ford Everest Trend both use traditional off-roading ladder frames. Unlike a car where body and frame are integral, the wagon bodies of these two are bolted onto the chassis.

There are advantages and disadvantages with that. The ladder frame allows for more wheel articulation and also transmits less road noise into the cabin than a monocoque.

But space tends to be compromised in the cabin and the centre of gravity can be higher, leading to less accurate handling.

On this point both the Isuzu and Ford have swapped from the leaf springs used by their donor utes in their torsion beam rear suspensions to coil springs. Leaves are better for load carrying and the coils for ride comfort.

The Everest also adds a Watts linkage to aid rear differential and wheel location. The MU-X uses a simpler Panhard rod.

The Everest also adopts a permanent 4x4 system via a torque-on-demand transfer case that detects wheel speed, with clutches controlling torque split front to rear. Drive is biased to the rear, approximately 90-95 per cent during highway cruising.

The MU-X sticks with a part-time 4WD system that’s dial-operated and shift-on-the-fly up to 100km/h.

Both have low-range gearing, hill descent control and a locking rear differential for the really gnarly stuff.

The Everest’s engine on test here is from Ford’s Panther family. It uses an iron block, aluminium head, double overhead camshafts, 16 valves, common-rail direct injection and two intercooled variable-geometry turbochargers. The cams are belt-driven.

Peak power of 157kW is delivered at 3750rpm and peak torque (500Nm) between 1750rpm and 2000rpm.

The engine only comes with a 10-speed auto co-developed with General Motors. It has a sports mode but manual manipulation of the gears is only available via a clumsy rocker switch on the gear shifter that’s really for towing.

The Everest’s claimed combined-cycle fuel consumption number is 7.0L/100km.

The Isuzu’s 4JJ3-TCX engine is also iron block, aluminium head, DOHC, 16-valve and common-rail direct injection. However, it uses a timing chain and relies on a single intercooled variable-geometry turbo.

Peak power of 140kW comes in at 3600rpm and peak torque (450Nm) from 1600-2600rpm.

The Aisin-sourced six-speed auto is the only transmission choice. It has no sport mode but can be changed manually in the orthodox manner via the lever.

The MU-X’s claimed combined fuel consumption is 8.3L/100km.

We won’t hold you in suspense; both vehicles averaged 9.4L/100km on test. That’s a good number for these sorts of vehicles.

The Ford has driver-adjustable modes that set the driveline in normal, mud, grass, snow or ‘rock’ (low-range only). The Isuzu only has a ‘rough terrain’ mode that swaps the traction control system to off-road parameters.

Other important aspects of the Everest and MU-X mechanical package include independent coil spring front suspension, electric-assist power steering and all-round disc brakes.

And so to the numbers. The Ford is longer and taller but the Isuzu has the longer wheelbase and is wider. It also has more luggage space no matter how many seat rows are in place or folded.

The MU-X is nearly 250kg lighter than the porky 2417kg Everest at 2175kg and it tows 3500kg braked, versus 3100kg.

The Trend’s payload is 683kg, while the LS-T tops out at 625kg. GVM is 3100kg for the Ford and 2900kg for the Isuzu. GCM is identical at 5900kg.

Off-road, they have the same 800mm fording depth, but the MU-X has the slightly better ground clearance (at 235mm versus 227mm), departure angle and ramp-over. The Everest has a slightly better approach angle.

The 2021 Ford Everest Trend 2.0L Bi-Turbo 4WD and Isuzu MU-X LS-T 4x4 are proof of the improvement these ladder-frame SUVs have achieved through the years.

Yes, they are based on utes, but they are no longer afterthoughts. Of course, the Everest proved that at launch and has continued to do so.

Meanwhile, the new MU-X has evolved to a higher level than its predecessor. If the old truck was an honest if somewhat aged warhorse, the new generation is more thoroughbred.

It outdoes the Everest as an interior package. There is more room and the third row can even fit a reasonably tall adult for short trips.

Exit and entry is much easier than in the Ford thanks to the flip-forward (rather than slide-forward) second-row seat.

Up front, the driver sits higher for a better view out and benefits from more steering wheel adjustability and a digital instrument panel that doesn’t require a choice between tachometer and digital speedo.

That reflects a slightly better overall interaction with controls in the Isuzu, which also doesn’t make you use the touch-screen to adjust climate controls, as the Ford does.

The Everest Trend fights back with a lower step-in height, a brighter look to the trims, marginally more supportive and pliant seats and a slide function in row two that allow more or less legroom depending on preferences. Both second-row seatbacks recline.

Second-row passengers in both vehicles get overhead air-con vents, seat and door pockets and fold-down arm rests with cup holders. Only the MU-X gets USB ports and only the Everest has power outlets – both 12V and 230V/150W.

Passengers in both second rows have to put up with a slightly more knees-up seating position because of the ladder frame.

Overall, cabin storage is generous throughout both SUVs. There are tie-down points, underfloor storage and power outlets in both boots. As previously noted, the boot space is bigger in the MU-X.

The Everest edges out the MU-X when it comes to handling, steering and ride. But, gee, it’s close.

There’s a subtlety and comfort to the Ford’s absorption of corruptions the Isuzu cannot quite match. The MU-X vibrates over small lumps and heaves over the big ones. It’s not bad, just not as good as the Everest.

It’s the same story for cornering, where the Everest’s body remains that little bit more securely in place.

Steering on the open road in terms of both response and feedback is unrecognisably good compared to ute-based wagons of yore. The MU-X has a lighter and crisper touch at low speeds for around-town driving, but both offer plenty of assistance.

That helps ensure they can both be used with confidence as family commuters.

The lane keeping feature in the Isuzu is quite intrusive and obvious. Switching it off does require some laborious drilling down into the system.

As we’ve already revealed, fuel consumption turned out the same. In fact, the overall powertrain behaviour was close to inseparable.

The Ford’s smaller-displacement twin-turbo diesel engine was quieter and revved a little quicker but its 10-speed auto rummaged around in the early gears a bit too obviously at tip-in throttle.

Lighter kerb weight helps the Isuzu overcome any theoretical power and torque disadvantages and both are suitably punchy. The MU-X just lets you know it’s working harder with a bit more vibration and growling than the Everest.

We scrambled around off-road without hitting up the really gnarly stuff that would require low-range. The Everest’s permanent 4x4 system made it all that little bit more set-and-forget, but the shift-on-the-fly Isuzu system was quick to change between 4x2 and 4x4.

The biggest advantage of the Ford system was not having to think about making a change when conditions became greasy when driving on-road, such as when a rain shower drenched the bitumen. In 4x2 the Isuzu was a bit more prone to rear-end slip.

Add up its various equipment advantages, its more spacious and user-friendly interior, its strong drivetrain, capable on- and off-road behaviour and big towing number and the new 2021 Isuzu MU-X LS-T 4x4 emerges as a narrow but worthy winner of this comparison test with the Ford Everest Trend Bi-Turbo.

The Ford is still mightily impressive, but there’s no doubting the great job Isuzu has done.

In fact, both vehicles are good enough to dispel the mediocre reputation ladder-frame SUVs have long been saddled with.

It was wholly justified in the past and may still be justified for some models. But not these two.

Now we have the arrival of the second-generation Ford Everest to look forward to in 2022.

Let’s see if it can set a new standard for go-anywhere SUVs.

How much does the 2021 Ford Everest Trend 2.0L Bi-Turbo 4WD cost?
Price: $62,390 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel
Output: 157kW/500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 184g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)

How much does the 2021 Isuzu MU-X LS-T 4x4 cost?
Price: $65,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 220g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)