Ford is aiming very, very high indeed with its new Ranger-based seven-seat SUV, the Ford Everest. CarAdvice reports that the company doesn’t consider similar pick-up-derived offerings from other manufacturers – like the Toyota Fortuner – as equivalent competitors, but instead is looking to rub shoulders with such esteemed company as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado!
According to Ford Australia president and CEO Graeme Whickman, the Everest will not be marketed as a SUV version of the Ranger; rather, it will attempt to challenge the much more upmarket Prado.
“It’s not a ute [pick-up] based competitor. If you want to put it in front of a [Holden] Colorado 7 or whatever you want to put there, it’s not in that space,” he said. “Without being too specific, you know that the Prado was in our minds when we were engineering the vehicle.”
Pricing for the new Everest in Australia seems to affirm Ford’s bullish target – it ranges from AUS$54,990 (RM168,100) for the base Ambiente all the way to AUS$74,990 (RM229,300) for the range-topping Titanium.
That’s ambitious next to the Prado’s range of between AUS$51,990 (RM159,000) for the GX and AUS$84,490 (RM258,300) for the top-spec Kakadu, although the Prado has less expensive five-seater models that the Everest lacks.
And the Everest won’t have everything its own way in this uphill battle. It’s smaller, for one – 4,892 mm long, 1,860 mm wide and 1,837 mm tall as opposed to the Prado’s 4,930 mm length, 1,885 mm width and 1,880 mm height – although its 2,850 mm wheelbase does trump the Prado’s 2,790 mm.
More pressing, at least for Australia’s rural outback buyers, is the fact that the Everest only has a single 80 litre fuel tank; the Prado’s relocated (to the tailgate) spare tyre enabled the fitment of both an 87 litre main tank and a 63 litre auxiliary tank, ideal for major long-distance journeys like those many Aussies traverse.
Whickman, however, doesn’t believe that would be an issue to buyers. “There’s horses for courses in terms of the specification and some of the engineering behind it, and the attributes of the vehicles. There might be a number of things I could pitch to you Prado doesn’t [have or do], but it doesn’t feel like a constructive discussion.
“If you’ve got a point of view, that’s fine. But at the end of the day we’ve pitched it into the market, we think that we can go head to head, and ultimately the proof will be in the pudding,” he said.
We’ve driven the new Ford Everest already, and although it’s early days to decide if it can justify the premium billing (and price, estimated to be between RM180k and RM240k in our market), it’s certainly a cut above the current crop of pick-up-based SUVs, even if the latest Fortuner and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport have yet to be tested. Read what we think of Ford’s latest offering here.
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These fords will cost you many headaches and empty your wallet in the future. Even the newest models (mondeo, kuga, ford focus st) have so many recalls already, typical ford. Stay away. – Personal experience.
Still not as many recalls as Toyota,GM or Fiat Chrysler.
waaahh… so much ford you owned for your personal experience?
My Kuga so far no problem…
Ignore him he is butthurt Toyota salesman
waaahh… so many ford you owned for your personal experience?
My Kuga so far no problem…
just how many Fords have you owned to jump into such conclusions? i have a ford for 5 yrs….ZERO problem.
THANK YOU BIJAN 4.3~1 USD
And definitely not Santa Fe or Sor Lan Tou
Now i know why you owned proton.u hate kimchi bcus u can’t afford one
A brand with a leader lack of confidence is what i see.
Lack in confidence? More like people know this product is crap, ford cars always have been unreliable, uneconomical and sorry for sounding like sam loo…..zero rv, not to mention bad and very expensive servicing at their 3s centers.
You again.. why are u so desperate in making many negative comments on ford??..
I owned a 2014 fortuner 2.5 sportivo.the whole dash board is a dissappointment as it is EXACTLY the same as my friend’s 2006 hilux. It has never been change for 10 years! WTH?? well it got stolen after 16months later.a fortuner test drive car in subang dealer was also stolen.found it abit funny, a demo car stolen? n so tokyo marine not accepting these 2 as its insurer anymore due to high stolen rate in mlysia. Im getting the ford evest. Only to add another 2 or 30k u get better accessories functions power features etc etc. n for the user name ‘a’ shut up will u.. either u in a different brand sales person or simply u cant afford a ford. I get alot of these kind of people..they cant afford or they just dont want you to have something good. What a loser.
Maybe they just want to find a reason to justify asking a premiuim price….
Ford Australia, to sum it up, is being bloody cocky right now. Just see the statement they made saying that pricing of the Toyota Hilux will be irrelevant.
Walk into their dealerships, and you get the same feel. All so stuck up. The FG X Falcon is a mess, outside it is OK but the interior is KO. 2002 called, they want their interior back. Territory SZ Mk2 too isn’t moving much. The Mondeo is not bad, but you can sense the desperation to try and go against the Camry with their current ad scheme of badmouthing the competition.
At the rate they are going, I have a feeling Ford AU can end up crashing and burning when consumers just find them idiots to deal with. Just look at what happened when Volkswagen Malaysia thought consumers were idiots.
Also Rival to Honda Pilot, 2016 Pilot is a nice looking car.
How many staying in the outbacks wanted this crap?
A farmer need a pickup, ute to ferry their harvest, no need such luxury SUV.
Meanwhile Urban folks will opt for Qasqai or CRV which only cost approx AUD30K. So Ford just bet on their sales with such premium asking price?
Ford everest 3.2 when launch in Malaysia
christmas
don’t be too cocky… customers surely can judge…