The Toyota Prado has long been the medium 4×4 wagon king, but the Ford Everest now wants the crown. Is the challenger good enough?
2017 Ford Everest
Pricing From $58,990+ORC Warranty three-years, 100,000 kilometre Safety 5 star ANCAP 35.98/37 rating for 2015 Engine 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel Power 143kW at 3000rpm Torque 470Nm at 1750-2500rpm Transmission six-speed automatic Drive all-wheel-drive, low range, locking rear differential, adaptive terrain system Dimensions 4892mm (L); 1860mm (W); 1837mm (H) Ground Clearance 225mm Approach/ramp/departure angles 29.5 / 21.5 / 25 degrees Wading 800mm Seats Seven Turning Circle 11.7m Tare Weight 2407kg GVM 3100kg Fuel Tank 80 litres Thirst 8.5L/100km Towing 3000kg braked, 300kg TBM, 750kg unbraked GCM 5800kg Spare full-size alloy underslung
2017 Toyota Prado
Pricing From $59,900+ORC Warranty three-years, 100,000 kilometres Safety 5 star ANCAP 35.98/37 rating for 2015 Engine 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel Power 130kW at 3400rpm Torque 450Nm at 1600-2400rpm Transmission six-speed automatic Drive all-wheel-drive, low range, locking rear differential, adaptive terrain system Dimensions 4930mm (L); 1885mm (W); 1845mm (H) Ground Clearance 220mm Approach/ramp/departure angles 32 / 22 / 25 degrees Wading 700mm Seats Seven Turning Circle 11.6m Tare Weight 2435kg GVM 3000kg Fuel Tank 87+63 (total 150 litres) Thirst 8.0L/100km Towing 2500kg braked, 250kg TBM, 750kg unbraked GCM 5475kg Spare full-sized alloy on door
THE MATCH-UP used to be Toyota Prado vs Mitsubishi Pajero but a lack of investment in the latter means the real comparison is now Prado vs Everest.
What are we testing and why?
There might be other ute-based wagons such as Fortuner and Pajero Sport, but they are priced a bit lower than these two. And, besides, Ford has very much targeted the Toyota Prado in its advertising and media materials.
Toyota’s Prado is one of the best-known 4x4s on the market and has been around since 1996, developing through the 90, 120 and now 150 series with various refreshes along the way. The platform isn’t shared with the HiLux, but the Prado 120 was developed into the now-discontinued FJ Cruiser.
The Everest wagon was new for 2015, and developed on Ford’s T6 platform which is shared with the much-admired Ranger PX2.
You don’t mention build quality, warranty service and re-sale value. Three very important considerations when deciding to buy any vehicle. The Prado is streets ahead on all three.
Resale is mentioned under value for money section. Ford is in the news for their warranty problems, that would be a deterrent for buyers, a bit hard for a review to test though I guess.
Thanks Benn0, and you’re right. We’ve talked about including that sort of thing in reviews before but given we only drive the vehicle for a week, and all vehicles and drivers are different, it can be hard to cover beyond generic commentary. Thanks Isaac
Resale is just as much a product of what you pay for upfront relative to the rrp.
Too many pay over the top for prado inflating resale.
Good news is discounts on rrp give non toyota purchasers a leg up.
Just make sure you keep an eye on that d4d engine they have a nasty habbit of eating themselves.
Considering the Prado design dates back to 2009, Ford had ample time to make a far superior vehicle on all accounts, but only delivered one that was marginally better in most but not all aspects. In my opinion on that says a lot for Toyota.