A jungle is a place where thousands of species of plants, trees and wildlife lives. It’s a remotely place for urban dwellers who are really not into an extraordinary thing.
Recently, Ford Philippines made an extraordinary event dedicated for the members of the motoring and lifestyle media.
The vehicle—2016 Ford Everest 4×4.
To be honest, we were bit concerned about the safety of the vehicle when we received Ford’s e-mail invitation.
Dubbed as 2016 Everest Extraordinary Adventure, the event was meant to highlight the power and capability of the new Ford Everest. According to Ford Asia Pacific design and product development team, the new Everest was designed from the ground up, building on its durable and versatile reputation. It boasts a new level of rugged capability and comfort, perfectly combining strength, smart features and style to bring consumers a refined and technologically-savvy SUV for city driving or the confidence to take on the toughest terrains.
EXTRAORDINARY FEATURES
From Ford Global City, we drove the new Everest straight to the stretch of C5 road going to the twisty and muddy terrain in Tanay, Rizal. As always, Ford delivers the most comfortable vehicle with state-of-the-art entertainment.
Inside, we were amazed on how Ford is positioning every of its vehicle towards safety. Like in the case of the Everest, the latest generation of Ford’s in-car connectivity solution SYNC 2, allows the driver to use voice commands to control the car’s entertainment system, climate controls and connect mobile phones instead of traditional touch controls. Thus, lessen any possible distraction for the driver on the road which is one of the primary cause of accident.
One of best functionality of the Everest is the Curve Control, which designed to help drivers maintaining control when approaching quick turns, and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert, which informs drivers when there is a vehicle in their blind spot while driving or when preparing to reverse out of parking spots. The vehicle also has Active park Assist that enables the drivers to parallel park hands-free, which only requires accelerating, shifting and braking from the driver.
EXTRAORDINARY POWER
As the group arrived at the Jungle Base in Tanay, we were greeted by Off-Road Guru Beeboy Bargas, who demonstrated the capabilities of the Everest using 3.2-liter Duratorq 5-cylinder TDCi diesel and 2.2-liter Duratorq 4-cylinder TDCi diesel variants.
We were impressed on how the gears shift smoothly, especially in tough terrain. Not to exaggerate, it was like a walk in the park when the Everest slowly climbs on the steep uphill. Thanks to its hill-start assist (HSA) and hill descent control (HDC) that helps the driver control steep hills and holds the vehicle without touching the brake pedal.
The Everest is equipped with advanced Terrain Management System (TMS) that works hand-in-hand with gearbox and differential lock. It has a four terrain settings available from Normal, Snow/Gravel/Grass, Sand and Rock modes. Each settings can be adjusted. We recommend you to use the default of Normal mode when driving on flat surface. The Snow/Gravel/Grass modes is for slippery surface, while the Rock mode is for ultimate grip and purists 4×4 settings.
EXTRAORDINARY BODY
Outside, the Everest is really meant for tough guys. It sits on a 20-inch alloys wheels, which provides strength required for challenging terrains. Best of all, the vehicle has a commanding 225 mm ground clearance and 800 mm water-wading capability.
After surviving our drive in the Jungle, we just realized how wrong we are on our first impression with the Ford Everest. If you really want challenge, I assure you that this SUV is certainly not for the faint of heart!
The 2016 Ford Everest is priced at P1.639,000 (4×2 Titanium AT) and P1.899,000 (4×4 Titanium AT) To tuners, you may add P100,000 for the optional 3.2-liter 4×4 Premium package.
*All photos contributed by Juan Ramon Alberto