SPY PICS: Ford Everest hits the road

We’ve seen the concept of Ford’s Australian-designed and developed Everest SUV, but as these exclusive spy photos show there’s still a lot of work to be done before the seven-seat off-road wagon goes on sale.

There are now at least 14 Everest prototypes running about on public roads, most of them not venturing too far from their nest at Ford’s You Yangs proving ground and development centre outside Geelong.

And that’s the area we spotted these two Everest mules, one right-hand drive and the other left, clothed in a combination of Ranger utility front-end and Territory rear bodywork.

What you are looking at here is what’s called an attribute prototype in Ford development language. It’s not until next year that camouflaged test vehicles in something approximating Everest sheetmetal will hit the roads.

A debut for the production vehicle at an international motor show is likely in late 2014, but don’t expect an Australian release date until around mid-2015.

The Everest’s global concept reveal at Ford’s Go Further event at Fox Studios last month was pulled 12 months ahead of the original schedule for the Sydney extravaganza.

The Everest is based on the same T6 ladder-frame architecture as the Ranger pick-up truck, but motoring.com.au understands there will be significant technical differences -- apart from the sheetmetal.

The most important of them will centre around the rear-end, where the Ranger’s leaf springs will be traded in for more sophisticated coil springs and multi-links, although a live rear axle will be retained.

Such a move is not uncommon among the SUVs that are based on light commercial vehicles, including Holden’s Colorado 7, Mitsubishi’s Triton-based Challenger, Nissan’s soon-to-be-discontinued Pathfinder based on the Navara and Isuzu’s upcoming D-MAX-based MU-X.

Our photos also clearly show the Everest will have an integrated tow bar. This is an important improvement from the Ranger, which has been criticised because its optional hitch is too low and prone to snagging.

The Everest is expected to share the Ranger’s turbo-diesel drivetrain choices, including 3.2-litre five-cylinder and 2.2-litre four-cylinder oil-burners. Whether both will come to Australia is unclear, as is whether we will get six-speed manual as well as six-speed automatic transmissions.

As per Ranger, the Everest will be rated for heavy-duty off-road work with high- and low-range gearing and generous ground clearance, the latter evidence by these shots.

To be built alongside the Ranger in Thailand, the Everest will sit within Ford Australia’s four-model SUV range. Due here in December, the pint-size Fiesta-based EcoSport will be the entry-level model below the mid-size Focus-based Kuga.

The locally built Territory will occupy the large crossover space until local production ends by 2016, when it is expected to be replaced by the imported second-generation Edge or Explorer – but still wearing the Territory name.

Ford’s local R&D operation will continue on past the manufacturing shutdown. Ford global executives have said there are no plans to cease product development in Australia, where there are plenty of projects to work on going forward.

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