New Ford Everest: Not simply a Ranger ute spin-off

Developing the new-generation 2022 Ford Everest alongside the latest Ford Ranger helped ensure the large SUV’s mechanical and technical package overhaul was as comprehensive as possible.

And the chief engineer of both Australian-developed vehicles, Ian Foston, said it wasn’t all one-way traffic, with the top-selling ute benefiting from features primarily developed for the seven-seat wagon.

The second-generation T6 Ford Everest has been globally revealed tonight, while the Ranger broke cover late last year. Both will be on sale in Australia in the second half of 2022.

The first-generation T6 Ranger was released in 2011 while the Everest was introduced in 2015. The arrival of the SUV brought with it a major update to the ladder-frame chassis and interior redesigns.

But this time the front two-thirds of the frames, 50mm wider tracks, 50mm further forward front axle position, drivetrains including the new 3.0-itre V6, interior tech and seats have all been shared.

There are deviations such as the Everest’s shorter wheelbase, its swap from leaf springs to coil springs and a Watts link at the rear-end, and the incorporation of third-row seating in its wagon body.

But many other features such as the swap from sheet-metal panels to hydroforming for the engine bay, the adoption of electric engine fans, better cooling and 3500kg braked towing capacity are shared.

“That’s some of the beauty of doing the platform development at the same time,” said Foston.

“The building blocks before when we did Ranger, we then did Everest and added bits on and then did North American Ranger we added small bits on.

“This time round we did them all at the same time. It gave us that capability to mix and match different powertrains, variants [and] combinations in the same platform.

“So it really helped.”

Foston revealed the Everest’s most important contribution to the process was to help pull the interior quality of the Ranger up to its level.

“If I was going to pick on one [contribution] I’d say some of the premium materials, the sound levels, where we are trying to get a really cosseting sanctuary feel within the Everest,” he said.

“I think some of that has really benefited the Ranger as well; its SUV-ness inside.”

So let’s check out some of the mechanical and technical highlights of the new Everest.

The 2022 Ford Everest has shot to the top of the ladder-frame large SUV class thanks to its new 3.0-litre Lion V6 turbo-diesel engine that should offer around 190kW and 600kW.

“The 3.0-litre is going to offer in the areas of towing and off-roading that next step up,” promised T6 program engine guru Pritika Maharaj.

The 2.0-litre Panther turbo-diesel continues, although Ford has not yet stated if its 157kW/500Nm outputs are updated.

The 3.2-litre inline five-cylinder diesel has been discontinued.

Both engines hook up to a retuned and improved – Ford guarantees – 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission and set-and-forget 4WD system (2Hi, 4Hi, 4Lo) via the latest Borg-Warner electronically-controlled two-speed transfer case.

Adding further support is the Terrain Management System with four on-road and two off-road modes, an off-road mode in the touch-screen with info and vison and a rear diff lock.

Tow-rated hooks are mounted up front for when the going gets too rough. Underbody protection is steel or plastic, depending on the model.

For urban challenges, park assist has also been upgraded; it’s now hands- and feet-off the controls, whereas previously the driver managed the accelerator.

Fuel economy is yet to be announced.

Intriguingly, Ford has revealed more about new Everest’s safety suite than the new Ranger.

The big deal is a suite of driver assist systems, much or all of which will surely spread into the ute.

They include blind spot coverage that extends to a trailer if towing, cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with lane centring, lane keeping with road edge detection, evasive steering assist, and pre-collision assist with intersection functionality,

The new Everest adds an airbag between the front seats to prevent head-clash, while head-protecting curtain airbags will extend further to cover passengers in row three. 

All these new features should aid the Everest’s quest to gain a five-star ANCAP rating around the same time as its arch-rival, the Toyota Prado, is to lose that rating.

The new Ford Everest weighs in much the same as the current model, despite the addition of the heavier V6 in higher-end Platinum and Sport grades and a significant injection of comfort and safety equipment.

Ford isn’t giving out exact figures yet but from entry-level Ambiente 4x2 to Titanium 4x4 the span is currently 2283kg to 2477kg. That’s pretty porky even by ladder-frame SUV standards.

“There is a lot more feature content in there,” said Foston. “The question is how did we do that without making it heavier?

“We’ve done a lot of efficiencies, the frame is significantly lighter than what it was before. The hydroformed front-end structure helps us as well. We’ve taken a lot of sheet-metal off the front.

“What we’ve tried to do is optimise the weight as much as we can, building in all the new features.”

Millimetre for millimetre and degree for degree, old and new do match up closely.

New Ford Everest (versus old)

The current Ford Everest has 3000/3100kg towing limits for 4x2 and 4x4 models respectively. With the new-generation Everest, the braked towing capacity is 3500kg across the board for the diesels sold in Australia. (A petrol engine sold in some markets has a lower limit.)

Cooling, brakes, frame and rear axle strength were all areas addressed to achieve the higher tow rating.

“We knew people wanted 3.5 tonnes towing on an SUV,” said Foston. “It’s one of the things we’ve wanted to do for a while, but we were restricted by the cooling performance on the outgoing Everest.”

Without going into specifics, Foston said gross combination mass (GCM), gross vehicle mass (GVM) and front and rear gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) were all higher on the new model to aid towing and fitting accessories.

The Everest’s Terrain Management System now has a tow-haul mode that includes the ability to check lights singlehandedly.

Ford has emphasised the efforts made to cosset passengers inside the new Everest’s cabin with a cluster of NVH measures.

“What we have tried to do is look at all the small things we can do to reduce the overall noise into the cabin,” said Foston.

“We have relocated a lot of the noisier components away from the firewall and mounted them on the chassis frame.

“We have redesigned the doors and mirrors, we have added sound deadening materials on the bulkhead.

“We have done more work on the sealing of the vehicle.”

As stated above, the Ford Everest shares much of its third-generation T6 steel box section ladder frame with the new Ranger.

In fact, all T6 vehicles – you can add the new Ford Ranger Raptor, the US-market Bronco and Ranger and next Volkswagen Amarok to that – are all now broadly in frame alignment.

The Everest has independent double wishbones at the front and coils and Watts link (like Raptor) at the rear. The wider track is claimed to deliver better on-road ride comfort and off-road stability.

The electric assist steering is the same hardware as Ranger but tuned specifically for Everest.  The disc brake system is upgraded.

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