Boldness to match new-found brawn and even better off-road capabilities were the main drivers behind the looks of the new-generation Everest due on sale later in the second half of this year.
Ford realised soon after the original Everest’s launch in 2015 that its large seven-seater SUV needed to look broader and boxier than before if it had any chance of reeling in the best-selling Toyota Prado, which resulted in preliminary work commencing early the following year in Melbourne.
The decision to add the new 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel from the coming Ranger really set the ball rolling, since everything from the windscreen base forward needed to be completely redesigned to accommodate the larger engine.
This meant pushing the wheelbase forward by 50mm and the track out by 50mm, which in turn required new and different front suspension and brakes, as well as an entirely different cooling system to help cope with the additional heat emanating from the V6.
Creating that tougher, more 4×4-credible signature front-end look led to the new-gen Everest adopting a squarer-shaped nose with reduced overhang, wider front guards, a flatter bonnet, distinctive ‘C-clamp’ headlight graphics and a unique upper grille element compared to the new Ranger, to deliberately connect visually with the American Ford F-150 full-sized truck.
The reshaped front end has, in turn, altered the SUV’s sides and rear, since the sheetmetal flares out more than before. From the B-pillar back, the glass is now “unsprung”, in that the side planes have been pulled out to widen the vehicle and bring the corners out more, resulting in new side and roof panels. A wider and squarer silhouette is the upshot.
Interestingly, while the coming Everest’s wheelbase and tracks have been stretched, and the sheetmetal is essentially all-new, overall length has not changed from before.
According to Ford design director Max Wolff, improving the latest Everest’s proportions and stance from every angle and at every turn should make it a more attractive proposition in the eyes of consumers.
“There is a unique grille in Everest,” he said. “It emphasises the width… with Ranger, the grille is more about verticality and the structural elements of that front end.
“It’s now also a lot more planted in the rear end, and makes it feel quite a lot lighter. That’s something that the previous generation suffered from, it was boat tailing in the rear, and we really wanted to get away from that on this one.
“That extra track width really helped us get width into the corners… and from a rear view, it emphasises volume… to make it feel a lot more planted.”
To help further differentiate it from the outgoing model, the new Everest also adopts what Ford calls ‘coast-to-coast’ rear lighting elements, which means that the tail-lights appear connected as an unbroken strip across the rear, to further underline the SUV’s newfound visual girth.
Ford identified that the previous Everest’s design didn’t sufficiently convey its off-road capability, with the latest model “… now actually looking the part,” according to Mr Wolff.
The ‘make Everest more muscular’ design brief meant that the styling changed more than it had to in the Ranger, as Ford felt the pick-up’s visual themes resonate more strongly with its target audience than the SUV’s. Research shows that buyers don’t want the truck’s fundamental appearance to change.
The new roof gave Everest’s engineers impetus to improve the roof rail system’s capabilities, with up-spec versions gaining a standalone roof rails, broadening the vehicle’s practicality while also enhancing the aesthetics.
The new Platinum grade gains 21-inch wheels, which are the biggest the Everest has ever offered, further boosting stance.
Beyond aesthetics, and just like on new Ranger, an additional benefit of adopting the F-150-like appearance is safety, since raising the bonnet line even by a few millimetres decreases the severity of pedestrian impact injury, as well as boost the Everest’s chances of scoring a higher crash-test rating.
Although the new Everest’s front end is now substantially bluffer, we understand that detailed air flow work around and underneath the SUV make it aerodynamically more efficient than the outgoing model.
As with the Ranger, Ford says it spent thousands of hours with existing Everest owners in Australia, Vietnam, Thailand and other Asia Pacific markets it’s sold in, to observe how they use their vehicles, conducting endless interviews to help shape the new model.
Australia continues to be the T6 ‘home room’ as per the 2011 original, with all design and engineering work for the T6.2 based vehicles at Ford Australia’s head office in northern Melbourne, as well as the You Yangs proving ground near Geelong.
Keyword: More sizzle, more steak! Why the 2023 Ford Everest looks beefier than before to sway you from the Toyota Prado, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Hyundai Palisade