Ford Everest Problems

The Everest has a longer list of safety features, a higher towing capacity, is more family-friendly, and drives nicer; the Prado is more refined, but feels dated, the Discovery Sport is a true off-roader with car-like road manners. The Discovery for mine. Another to try is the Toyota Fortuner.

Your towing needs will dictate a big car. Others you could consider are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Isuzu MU-X, Holden Trailblazer, or Ford Everest.

The Everest is categorized as a non-offroad passenger car under Category MA. If it was an off-roader under the ADR system it would be categorized MC. By doing that Ford was able to keep all Everest variants, both two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, under the same ADR compliance plate approval, whereas MC only allows for 4WD and Ford would have had to have separate compliance for its 2WD and 4WD models.

Ford stands by the off-road capabilities of the Everest, and says the 4WD Everest meets the requirements of the MC category, and that using it off-road won't void the warranty. While Ford is comfortable with the situation and says it has no plan to change the Everest category anyone buying one should be aware of potential issues with insurance if you use one inappropriately, or modify it as you want to do.

The warning is out that anyone wanting to buy a 4WD Everest for off-road use should invest the time and do the homework to make sure you can do what you want with it. At the end of the day it's a case of buyer beware.

All of the vehicles are worthy choices, but you need to be careful about the towing ratings of them. The Kia Sorento, which would be my choice, is rated at 2000kg, which is right on your towing requirement. Others, such as the 2WD Everest, are rated to tow much more. Others, like the Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Prado, are full-on 4WDs, and would seem beyond your needs.

You were right on the limit of the Everest, close to both the towing limit and the GCM limit, so you needed to be mindful of that when towing and you shouldn't be towing in the overdrive ratios. It sounds as thought the transmission was overheating, which suggests the Everest is borderline for cooling when operating at its supposed limits. Anyone planning to tow in a similar loading situation should consult a towing specialist before they go to make sure they're fully prepared for the trip. Maybe the Everest needs extra transmission cooling. To be fair to the Ford dealers they can't diagnose a problem that isn't presenting itself at the time the car is in their workshop. As a consumer your best option if the carmaker isn't being helpful is to go to the consumer affairs department of your state government.

We haven't had any feedback on the issues you mention, but have had complaints of poor build quality. Your problems would seem to be because of build quality issues.

It would appear that Ford is doing the right thing by replacing the engine under warranty, so you have no complaint there. As for the other issues, on which you haven’t elaborated you should negotiate with Ford’s customer service seeking a deal that satisfies your concerns.

The answer all depends on what you call off-road driving, Javed. The Ford Everest, being based on the Ranger, is a very competent off-roader. In fact, it’ll handle anything most owners would ever throw at it, while the Endura is more of a replacement for the Ford Territory. Meaning it has abilities better matched to a trip to the snow, not a true log-jumping, river-fording off-road journey.

The Sante Fe is more of the same (as the Endura) that is; a car that can cope with gravel roads and slippery surfaces, but not the rough and tumble of the Aussie bush. So it really comes down to how far off road you need to go. And if the answer is a long way, even if it’s just occasionally, then the Everest is your best choice.