Ford’s all-new Everest SUV, due here later this year, will raise the bar in the SUV sector, Ford ASEAN president Matt Bradley said at its official world launch at the Bangkok International Motor Show in March.

“It’s a completely new vehicle inside and out with a host of first-in-class features, providing unmatched value in its segment, ” Bradley told the large crowd gathered at the Ford site.

A sister vehicle to the well-received Ford Ranger ute, the all-new seven-seat (three-row) Everest has been designed and engineered in Australia, will be built at Ford’s AutoAlliance plant in Rayong Thailand, and sold throughout Asia-Pacific where China is the biggest single market.

No firm date has been announced for a local launch by sources at Ford here suggest ‘this rather than next year.’

Key to the new model’s appeal is its stylish blend of tough Ranger-based ladder chassis (body-on-chassis) underpinnings with a spacious, modern interior and full suite of electronic driver aids.

Here it will go up against Holden’s broadly similar ute-based Colorado and Isuzu’s Mu-X models as well as traditional cross-over SUVs like Toyota’s Land Cruiser Prado and Land Rover’s new Discovery Sport.
 

To read the full story in the June 2015 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale May 18) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.