I recently had the pleasure of driving an Arctic White Ford Everest Platinum for a week and I was seriously impressed particularly when I discovered its price.
On every level this luxury sport utility vehicle was exceptional. Off road it behaved better than just about any of its competitors and for comfort and styling it is in the same class as vehicles twice its price.
I am not going to delve into its specifications, if you want these then click here. They are many and varied and all you would expect from a 2023 model luxury sport utility.
Driving the Ford Everest Platinum
What I can tell you is that the Everest is a wonderful driving experience. Despite its overload of gadgets, buttons, systems and an enormous touch screen (all of which are common to luxury vehicles of today) it was simple to start, indicate, change the radio channel, play music, set the speed control and clean the rain dappled windscreen.
When getting behind the wheel of a new vehicle the first thing I do, which also happens to be a test of a kind, is see how many taps and how long it takes to connect my phone to the car. Well the Everest was the quickest and simplest yet. In fact it was so easy that I could instruct my aged mother over the phone on how to get the job done without any frustration!
I took a drive through the notorious Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape. This area has but one road, well calling it a road is a bit of an overstatement, as it is more like a track in some areas.
The Everest handled every corrugation, lump and bump with ease. In fact the comfort levels were not much different to driving along a typical potholed road in an ANC municipality.
Inclines, declines, approaches and departures were all handled with ease. Changing from 4H to 4A to 4L or 4H was as simple as can be. Once or twice I needed 4L and, thanks to the 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel with its ample power as well as the good ground clearance and great traction I was able to traverse a river bed or two without any stress.
Back in the urban jungle I took my daughters shopping at Walmer Park. With sunroof open and elevated seating they had the Kardashian experience. I had the chauffeur experience which was made tolerable by the neat handling of tight turns and tighter parking spaces.
I was also a chauffeur for a trip to St Francis Bay. Despite my initial unhappiness at the inconvenience of the trip, the shear driving pleasure of the Everest turned it into an enjoyable outing.
St Francis Bay is THE playground of the luxury SUV and despite the Ford Everest Platinum costing significantly less than its Range Rover and Landcruiser competitors it still had many curious heads turning as I drove by.
In fact for the price of Range Rover you could afford to buy a new Ford Everest and a new Ford Ranger for your spouse as well as a Ford Ecosport for your offspring and still drive around in the same amount of comfort.
If you are in the market for a new luxury SUV then you need to talk to Dale Cuthbert, Dealer Principle at Eastern Cape Motors Ford North End. Contact him on 073 484 1618 or 041484 4326 or dale.cuthbert@ecmpe.co.za Find him at 41 Grahamstown Road, North End, Port Elizabeth. Why Dale? His dealership has won Best Dealership Of The Year on 15 occasions!