2026 Ford Everest review

For a while there, the Ford line-up had an enigma on its hands. Its ute, the Ranger, was New Zealand’s best-selling new vehicle. But the SUV version of the Ranger, the Everest, was a perplexingly slow seller. Same platform, same powertrain, yet one had a mere fraction of the other’s sales. 

But a few years ago, something happened. In rapid succession Ford rolled out its comprehensively updated Everest, and the National government scrapped the Clean Car Discount feebate scheme. The net result was an overdue surge in Everest sales, quickly making it the country’s best-selling 7-seater SUV. 

With the model finally getting the flowers it’s always deserved, Ford has started introducing a handful of new variants. The Wildtrak and Black Edition recently joined the fray. And so too did a new gravel-bashing spec, the Everest Tremor you see here. 

How much does the Ford Everest cost? 

Much like its Ranger counterpart, the ladder chassis Everest isn’t particularly cheap — at least on paper. Base pricing kicks off at $74,990 for the Trend, and extends to $91,490 for the flagship Platinum. The Tremor sits towards the middle, priced from $87,990 before on-road costs. 

There are some caveats to that pricing. The Everest is currently in the same position of upheaval as the Ranger, with its 2.0-litre variants also on the chopping block. Ford has subsequently given these grades a hefty price cut recently of around $3000 apiece. Dealers are applying further price cuts on top, too. We found multiple brand spanking new Sport and Black Editions advertised for around $70,000 plus on-road costs. 

With the 3.0-litre V6 being the only powertrain in the Ranger and Everest stable that isn’t slated for changes in 2026, prices on V6-shod grades remain static. 

There’s an argument that can be made for the Everest’s value, although it largely hinges on what’s been happening over the fence in the backyard of Ford’s arch rival, Toyota. 

The Everest was previously seen as a rival of sorts for the Fortuner, which Toyota culled from its Kiwi line-up in mid-2024 (Australia follows suit this year). The Fortuner’s slack is set to be picked up by the all-new Land Cruiser Prado. With the latest Prado downsizing to a 4-cylinder mild hybrid, and the Everest gaining a V6 option, the two are now arguably direct rivals. And in this context, Everest pricing starts to look like solid value. The Prado is priced between $84,990–$106,490, cannot be had with a V6, and has a much publicised compromised boot space. Game on, I say.

There are other body-on-frame three-row SUVs to consider of course. The recently updated Isuzu MU-X arrived a few months ago, and is priced from $76,990 plus on-road costs. There’s also the more value-positioned LDV D90, KGM Rexton, and Mahindra Scorpio to consider; priced from $49,990, $64,990, and $52,990 respectively. Barring the Prado, perhaps the most compelling alternative to the Everest is the GWM Tank 500. The huge and surprisingly likeable tech-laden hybrid wagon is priced from $74,990. 

What’s the Ford Everest like on the inside?

If you’ve been inside a Ranger in the recent past, you’ll know what to expect when peeking inside the Everest. The 7-seater SUV carries over the same software, screens, and most of the same trimmings as its Ranger counterpart. And whilst the notion of an SUV featuring ute-derived interior hardware might’ve rung an alarm bell a decade ago, such is the rate of improvement in the pick-up segment that the Everest still manages to feel appropriately well put together inside. 

The Tremor we tested is heavily based on the Sport with respect to equipment. That means you get a fully digital cluster and a giant 12-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a power driver’s seat, and black-on-black leather-appointed upholstery. There’s also plenty of Tremor insignia — such as the embossed logos on the seats. 

Neither the Sport nor this gutsier Tremor feel like they’re lacking in the equipment department, with both looking and feeling like the 80-something-grand behemoths that they are. In the build up to launching this generation of Ranger and Everest, Ford touted how much real-world research it did with customer feedback, and the level of comfort and logic inside the Everest highlights the value of that legwork. 

What the Everest has that the Ranger doesn’t is a boot, and the Everest’s is considerable. With five seats in place, you get a gaping 898-litres of volume — more than enough for a giant chilly bin or a week’s luggage away. Even with seven seats up, the traditional achilles heel of these three-rowers, you still get a very handy 259-litres. The Everest’s boot space is considerably more resolved than that of the compromised Land Cruiser Prado, which has to deal with a very high load lip in all grades, and an unsightly and unremovable cargo bin in 7-seater models. 

The Prado’s boot space woes stem from the location of its hybrid hardware, which left the brand unable to sink its third-row seats deeper into the floorpan. I’m curious to know if a hypothetical Ford Everest PHEV would be able to avoid this conundrum. 

Flipping up the back row of seats is a breeze, and can be done from the boot without having to faff around in the second row. Space in the second row is reasonable to good, depending on if those seats are slid forwards or backwards. Being a ute-based 7-seater, don’t expect the second row to be quite as comfortable as the equivalent seats in something like a Kia Sorento or Toyota Highlander. The best ladder-chassis 7-seater for second-row space remains the huge GWM Tank 500. 

What’s under the bonnet?

Ford is in the midst of shuffling its powertrain line-up for both the Ranger and the Everest. The 2.0-litre bi-turbo is soon to depart the range, with a reworked version of the Ranger’s single-turbo 2.0-litre to enter the fray. This explains the good deals on 2.0-litre Everests that are prevalent at the time of writing.

The Everest Tremor doesn’t use this engine. Instead it’s shod with Ford’s popular 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, producing 184kW/600Nm. This is paired to Ford’s ever present 10-speed automatic transmission, with the brand claiming a combined economy of 9.5L/100km. Sharing mechanicals with the Ranger means the Everest also boasts a locking rear differential, a 3500kg braked towing capacity rating, and Ford’s rather handy off-road adjustment menu on its touchscreen (accessible via a shortcut on the centre console). 

Showing that it’s more than a look pack, the Tremor adds a few elements designed to lift its off-roading game. There’s a set of meaty looking General Grabber AT3 all-terrains, behind which sits a Bilstein position-sensative damper package. Together these changes lift the Everest’s ride height by 26mm, widen its track by 30mm, and boost its approach and departure angles to 32 and 26 degrees, respectively. Ford has also given it a wider set of guards and beefed up its underbody protection. 

How does the Ford Everest drive?

My partner’s daily driver is a little old Toyota Corolla. Despite this, I didn’t think twice about handing her the keys to the Ford to help me take these photos. Despite the Everest’s size, it is a big gentle giant of a thing behind the wheel — quickly shrinking around you as you drive. Outward visibility is excellent, and the squared off front end is surprisingly easy to place. 

The big 3.0-litre V6 is a gutsy powertrain that pairs perfectly with this platform. Whilst it isn’t much more powerful than the 2.0-litre bi-turbo on paper, in practice that added displacement and 30kW/100Nm output spurt is very much tangible. Mid-range performance is probably its highlight, the bent six and rapid-fire 10-speed working effectively in tandem to make this an overtaking lane demon. 

Along with being quick, the Everest is also hugely capable. Most Everest customers probably aren’t going to take their new, near six-figure family wagon up treacherous dirt trails. But, should they wake up one morning and choose the challenge the Everest — particularly in Tremor trim — will step up to the plate. The T6 platform’s articulation and four-wheel drive system are properly impressive, and we’ve previously enjoyed the off-road capabilities of these General Grabber tyres. As with its on-road performance, the Everest makes it all feel super easy.

Nothing’s free of course, and there are some costs to both the V6 and those tyres. This powertrain is louder than its 4-cylinder cousins, although this is mostly on start-up. And the General Grabbers create a bit of extra tyre roar, most noticeably at motorway speeds. A bigger issue is its thirst and emissions. Combined real-world economy sits at around 10.5L/100km, although this improves greatly if the majority of your driving is in a rural or motorway setting. The Everest’s 256g/km CO2 output is also on the high side for individuals and companies considering environmental matters in their equation. 

These snags aren’t dealbreakers at the minute. But given the surge in more frugal plug-in hybrids in this space (like the GWM Tank 500 PHEV, review on that one coming soon), this could soon be a sticking point in the Everest’s near future.

What do you get?

With no Ranger XL equivalent in the Everest line-up, all of the variants pack a fairly loaded standard equipment list. Each of them get a 12-inch touchscreen, wireless charging, some form of leather upholstery, four-wheel drive, and plenty more. 

Ford Everest Trend equipment highlights: 

• Chrome centre bar grille
• LED fog lamps
• 18-inch wheels
• Electronic parking brake
• e-Shifter
• 8.0-inch digital cluster
• 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen
• Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Leather-accented upholstery
• 8-way power driver’s seat
• Dual-zone climate control
• Wireless charger
• Intelligent adaptive cruise control
• Lane centering
• Traffic sign recognition
• Blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert
• Autonomous emergency braking

Everest Black Edition adds:

• Blacked-out grille
• Black interior accents

Everest Sport adds:

• Black centre bar grille
• 20-inch wheels
• Sport interior badging
• 10-way power driver seat with memory settings
• 8-way power front passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats

Everest Tremor adds:

• Honeycomb grille
• 17-inch wheels with General Grabber all-terrain tyres
• Extended wheel arches
• 12.0-inch digital cluster
• Bilstein dampers
• ‘Rock Crawl’ drive mode
• Heavy duty running boards
• ‘Tremor’ interior badging

Everest Wildtrak adds:

• 12.4-inch ‘coast-to-coast’ digital cluster
• Cyber Orange contrast stitching, grey accents
• ‘Wildtrak’ interior badging
• 360-degree camera
• 400W power inverter

Everest Platinum adds: 

• Mesh and chrome grille
• 21-inch wheels
• Zone lighting
• 12.4-inch digital cluster
• ‘Platinum’ interior badging
• Quilted leather upholstery
• Panoramic sunroof
• 10-way power front passenger seat
• Heated second-row seats
• Ambient lighting

CarExpert’s take on the Ford Everest

Thanks to a healthy update, more rugged new looks — and a little bit of political luck — the Ford Everest is finally getting the flowers it’s long deserved. The SUV that meshes perfectly with the classic adventurous Kiwi lifestyle is now one of the country’s best sellers. 

Whilst reviewers like myself have long raved about just how slick and refined Ford was able to make its latest Ranger, the Everest raises the bar to another level. Models that don’t come with the Tremor’s all-terrain tyres (and the Platinum flagship grade in particular) will have some seasoned drivers scratching their heads, wondering how such smooth ride control could be extracted from a humble body-on-frame platform. 

Although the Everest is eating well right now, there are a few icebergs ahead as new competition from China edges closer to its crown. We watch with interest to see what Ford does with the nameplate next.