What is the Ford Everest Trend?

The Ford Everest doesn’t follow the contemporary, stealthy design of most its competitors. It has rounded edges and robust overall appearance that actually makes it appear somewhat chubby.

That has not deterred the market one bit as it continues to be the second best-selling model in Ford Philippines stable.

Known for its innovative tech features that provide both comfort, convenience, and driver/passenger safety, it isn’t exactly the most affordable SUV but for customers who want to give it a try, we detail the features of the entry-level Ford Everest Trend 2.2L 4x2 AT.

While it comes with a full-bodied exterior, nothing feels oversized and even without a striking façade and an edgy look, it’s still undoubtedly handsome.

The lighting system has been updated with auto-levelling and auto on/off LED (light-emitting diode) headlamps with daytime running lamps and even LED taillights.

Walk around it and you’ll see that it has power adjustable and foldable side mirrors with turn indicators, rain-sensing wipers, roof rails, and even a power liftgate.

For stopping power, it uses ventilated disc brakes in front and disc brakes at the rear, and it is held up by double wishbone with coil spring and anti-roll bar suspension in front and coil springs with Watt’s Link and anti-roll bar at the rear.

The steering system uses EPAS (electric power-assisted steering) with Pull-Drift Compensation Technology.

It comes with 18-inch alloy wheels and 265/60 R18 tires.

The Everest Trend 2.2L 4x2 AT strikes a tall appearance, as it should with its 800 mm wading depth, and that will come in handy as the rainy season kicks in but that obviously compromises rollover resistance to a certain extent.

Under the hood is a 2.2L Duratorq engine, which uses a turbocharged diesel common rail injection (TDCi) system to produce 158hp and 385Nm of torque. It is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission that sends power to its rear-wheel drive layout.

The hefty body looks heavy but feels light and responsive because of the generous torque. It launches and shoots forward if you’re less than gentle with the throttle, which makes the ride feel a little too peppy. Couple that with coil spring rear suspensions and you’ll literally feel a little bounce to its step. It’s still comfortable but it would be a stretch to call it sedan-like.

It has keyless entry but isn’t the ‘smart’ type and it you’ll have to key in to turn the ignition.

There’s a good amount of leather in the interior, on the seats, steering wheel, gear shifter booth and center console cover. The rest of the surface is either good quality plastic and some silver pieces.

The driver and front passenger seats are only manually adjustable, the second-row seats have a 60:40 split-fold seatback feature while the third row has a 50-50 folding seatback feature.

Like the exterior, the lines are plain and simple. Vents, eight-inch TFT (thin film transistor) touchscreen, and side mirror controls (on the left side) are up top and the bottom part of the center stack is a basic set of buttons for audio and aircon controls.

The entertainment system comes with SYNC3 with integrated voice-activated controls to manage music, the air-conditioning system, telephone functions, and other apps. It also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting) Digital Radio, three USB ports placed strategically on top of a cubby hole for power-hungry devices, and a premium 10-speaker system with subwoofer power amplifier.

What’s a little overloaded is the steering wheel. That’s because the instrument panel still comes with two multi-function displays on either side of the speedometer. Then there’s audio, telephony controls, and cruise control buttons.

There are a couple of 12V sockets, one in the first row and the other in the second row, dual-zone electronic automatic climte control, an electrochromic rearview mirror, one touch Up/one touch Down and anti-pinch feature on the power windows, and the passenger sunvisor comes with a vanity mirror.

Despite being the bottom trim, the cabin comes with Active Noise Cancellation already. It uses installed microphones to listen for unwanted noises coming in from the engine, wind, powertrain and road. These noises are then analyzed after which white noise is generated by the system to cancel out these unwanted sounds. This all happens without interference to the music coming through its premium 10-speaker system with subwoofer power amplifier.

While it doesn’t have the whiz-bang safety features of the top trim like blind spot assistance, lane keeping system, and collision mitigation, which you don’t really need if you just keep your full attention on the road (and use your side mirrors), it comes with truck essentials.

There’s Hill Launch Assist that uses sensors in the accelerometer to measure the longitudinal incline of the slope. If your car is on an incline that could cause it to roll, Hill Launch Assist automatically activates.

Front and rear parking sensors, plus a rearview camera make it so much easier, and not to mention safer, to park its big body even in tight slots in mall garages.

Cruise Control comes standard, which you just have to activate and set the speed when you’re on those long highway drives to make the whole experience of being behind the wheel easier and less stressful.

It also comes with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) that’s designed to help prevent skidding or sliding sideways when taking evasive action or in bad conditions, and it also includes the following suite of safety features:

• Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) prevents your wheels from locking when you have to brake suddenly.
• Traction Control adjusts torque to the drive wheels and help maximize the traction or grip on slippery or loose driving surfaces at any speed. Brake pressure is also applied in certain conditions.
• Rollover Mitigation applies brake forces on individual wheels and steers the car and adjusts the suspension to ensure that the vehicle remains as stable as possible on the road.
• Brake Assist senses when the driver has applied the brakes but not hard enough. The system will then apply the proper pressure to maximize speed reduction and reduce stopping distance.

Other safety features include seven airbags (driver and front passenger, side front, side curtain [up to the third row>, and driver’s knee), child seat anchor points with two ISOFIX anchors in the second row, volumetric burglar alarm system, and immobilizer.

The Ford Everest Trend 2.2L 4x2 AT is priced at P1.738 million and comes in Arctic White, Absolute Black, Diffused Silver, Meteor Gray, Sunset Red, and Aluminum Metallic body color.

Photos by Eric Tipan