Ford Everest Sport in the 4x4 long-term shed update

With ever-tightening travel restrictions, we’ve had to abandon our plans for gallivanting around the countryside with the Everest Sport and a camper trailer in tow. Apparently it’s not the done thing at the moment. So, what’s a fella to do with the keys to a new 4x4 and articles to write? If you’re thinking we should punt it around the local tracks to find its limits, then we’re definitely on the same page.

The Everest Sport was put in the 4x4 Australia fleet to see how they fare as a family camping machine, but like every 4x4 ever built, it’s going to get punted down some tracks it definitely shouldn’t at some point, so we figured we’d find out exactly how it’ll perform when you push it further than you should.

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With any 4x4 sporting independent suspension, lack of wheel travel is always going to be a challenge you’ll need to overcome, and the Everest is no different. Pointing it at the local wombat holes, its rear suspension does a reasonable job soaking up the terrain, but the front end lifts almost immediately.

Despite the wheels in the air, the suspension is supple and the wheel track wide enough that it rarely felt unsettled – we had to jump out a few times to verify that the wheels were in fact in the air. Tapping the rear locker button was all it took for the Everest to keep working competently off-road, no matter how many wheels were in the air. The only two things stopping forward momentum were traction with the road-focused tyres, and mechanical sympathy by not wanting to punt sheet metal into rock.

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The Terrain Management System is something you don’t necessarily need to play with, but it did make things a little easier for the terrain. Engaging Rock mode softened the throttle response significantly, allowing for finer, more precise inputs. It also locked the transmission into first gear for maximum engine braking, and turned the traction-control sensitivity way up to keep us moving forward predictably without all the bucking and jerking of older systems.

Essentially it turns the front axle into a nearly locked state and slows everything down so you’re in full control. Even pointing downhill, the Everest never wanted to run away from us. Unfortunately, the nearest beach is three locked-down local areas away, so we’re unable to put the Sand mode through its paces.

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While the vehicle itself is fantastic off-road, it’s not without its drawbacks. Those 20-inch wheels on each corner look fantastic, but with next to no sidewall, airing down simply wasn’t an option. Even dropping 10psi out of the tyres would have had us hitting the rims on rocks and potentially rolling a tyre off the rim. The Everest itself is so insanely capable that fitting a set of larger mud tyres is all you’d need to drive most tracks you can point it at. A set of rock sliders and a front bar would also be highly recommended, as we’ve had a few moments where the Everest will keep climbing places it has no right to be.

THE DATA