2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak V6 Review

Off-road focused SUVs seem to be in vogue at the moment with many manufacturers trying to get a piece of the pie. Ford has sold the Ranger-based Everest SUV in Australia for seven years now and is onto the second generation, which became significantly more modern and better featured than the previous shape model and we’re big fans of it. But while the lineup grew, we think it needed a bit of a hero model like the Ranger Wildtrak – funnily enough, Ford Australia agreed and introduced a limited edition Everest Wildtrak as well. Positioned to be more upmarket than the outgoing model how does it stack up to the rivalling crowd? We tested the 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak to find out.

The Everest Wildtrak is a special edition that takes styling cues and attitude from the Ranger Wildtrak and adds the Everest’s sophistication and extra practicality. 800 units of the Wildtrak were produced in 2023, and we’d wager them all sold by now. Ute-based seven-seaters are nothing new and the Everest Wildtrak has a lot of rivals like the Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. But we think, given its polish, that the Everest can be cross-shopped against more sophisticated seven-seat rivals too, like the Mazda CX-90, Volvo XC90 and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

How much does the 2024 Ford Everest cost to buy?

Pricing for the 2024 Ford Everest kicks off at $53,990 plus on-road costs for the entry level two-wheel drive Everest Ambiente and goes right up to $79,490 plus on-road costs for the top-spec Everest Platinum V6. The model we have here is a special edition which Ford positioned in between the Sport and Platinum. The Everest Wildtrak is priced from $73,090 plus on-road costs.

Everest Wildtrak standard equipment:

• 20-inch alloy wheels with a full-sized alloy spare wheel
• Dusk- and rain-sensing automatic LED exterior lighting
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Silver roof rails
• Front, side and rear zone lighting
• Keyless entry and push button start
• Electric bootlid with hands-free operation
• Heated and auto-folding mirrors with puddle lamps
• Panoramic sunroof
• Leather upholstery with heated and ventilated front seats with orange stitching
• 10-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory functionality
• 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen with Ford’s ‘Sync 4’ infotainment software
• Embedded modem with ‘FordPass Connect’ connectivity, including a smartphone app for features like remote start, vehicle location and fuel level
• 8.0-inch digital driver’s display
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Satellite navigation with live traffic
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• 10-speaker sound system
• Dual-zone climate control with rear fan speed control and ceiling-mounted rear air vents
• Wireless phone charger
• 5x USB charging ports and 2x 12V sockets

Everest Wildtrak standard safety equipment:

• Nine airbags
• Auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assistance
• Low-speed reverse automatic braking
• Automatic post-collision braking
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality
• Lane keep assist with active lane centring functionality
• Auto high beam
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Front and rear cross-traffic alert (with braking)
• Driver attention monitoring
• Rear occupant alert
• Rear auto braking
• 360-degree parking camera
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Alarm

The Everest range scored a full five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022 with scores of 86 per cent for adult occupant protection, 93 per cent for child occupant protection, 74 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 86 per cent for safety assist systems.

Everest Wildtrak options:

• 18-inch alloy wheels with 255/65 R18 all-terrain tyres: no cost option
• Tow Pack which includes tow bar and integrated trailer brake controller: $1,700

Everest Wildtrak colour range:

• Arctic White: $0
• Shadow Black: $700
• Meteor Grey: $700
• Sedona Orange: $700
• Aluminium (silver): $700
• Luxe Yellow: $700 (fitted to our test car)

In comparison, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado VX 4×4 is priced at $76,848 plus on-road costs, which is $3,758 more than the Everest – it’s worth noting that the new LandCruiser Prado will be on sale very soon, but we wager that it will be even more expensive. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Night Eagle is priced at $77,950 plus on road costs, which is a full $4,860 more than the Ford and it while it’s larger, it’s also not as well equipped as the Everest. While it’s not cheap, we think the Everest presents good value.

How powerful is the 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak?

While you can get a 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine in lesser Everest models, the sole engine choice in the Everest Wildtrak (and Platinum that sits above it) is the 3.0-litre V6 diesel that also features in the Ranger. It makes a strong 184kW of power (at 3,250rpm) and 600Nm of torque (between 1,750rpm and 2,250rpm) and as with the Ranger V6, the only transmission available is a 10-speed torque converter automatic. The Everest’s V6 engine is particularly strong in the segment, not only against the Prado’s 150kW four-cylinder diesel but the Grand Cherokee’s 210kW 3.6L petrol V6 too.

The V6 diesel is a great engine and in our opinion, should have been used in the Ranger and Everest ages ago. It’s got excellent refinement, grunt throughout the rev range and good performance as well. While you can’t choose the lesser bi-turbo diesel on the Wildtrak, if you’re choosing between the two engines on the Everest Sport, we would opt for the V6 every single time. But even the bi-turbo diesel has far superior refinement and performance to the loud Prado.

The 10-speed automatic transmission is also pretty good. As with many other aspects of the whole car, it feels like an extension of your body with even small throttle inputs resulting in subtle downshifts for more grunt, if needed. The transmission also has a manual mode – using the button on the gear lever – if more manual control is needed but it’s difficult to use and paddle shifters would be better. Our only gripes are that you can occasionally catch it off guard at slow speeds and it can fumble for the correct gear, and the electronic shifter can be difficult to use quickly going from drive to reverse, for example.

The claimed average fuel consumption rating for the 2024 Everest Wildtrak is 8.5L/100km with claimed CO2 emissions of 224g/km versus the Prado’s 7.9L/100km and 209g/km ratings and the Grand Cherokee’s 10.6L/100km and 243g/km ratings. We achieved 9.8L/100km in a mixture of mostly urban and some motorway driving, which we thought was pretty good. The Everest has an 80-litre fuel tank. Those looking to tow with their Everest will be pleased to know that it carries the same 3,500kg braked towing rating as the Ranger, while it also has great off-road ability – especially thanks to its locking rear differential, selectable off-road driving modes and its lockable 50/50-split four-wheel drive system.

What is the 2024 Ford Everest like to drive?

Sharing the same ‘T6.2’ platform as the Ranger, the 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak drives very well for the segment. As you’d expect for a large ute-based 4×4, it is comfortable and easy to live with, but it’s also somewhat engaging from behind the wheel and can be fun to drive thanks to Ford Australia’s engineering talent. For being a large capable SUV with big wheels, the 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak rides well. Even on its large 20-inch wheels, the Everest Wildtrak is comfortable enough to enjoy as a daily driver while also being heavy duty enough to enjoy at the weekend on a dirt track.

The Everest’s steering is nicely weighted with good levels of feel, while the lack of road noise is also impressive too. We also really like the active safety equipment that the Everest has – like the rest of the car, the various systems like lane keeping assistance and auto emergency braking feel really well tuned – not like Ford just bought said systems from a supplier purely to meet safety standards and then didn’t calibrate them properly.

How practical is the 2024 Ford Everest?

Being an off-road focused ladder-frame chassis SUV you would think that the interior is as rough as guts but that could not be further from the truth. The 2024 Ford Everest is one of the plusher SUVs you can buy for under $100,000 – it’s not as luxurious as the Grand Cherokee, but far nicer and more modern than the current generation Prado. The leather with yellow stitching is a highlight of the Wildtrak specifically and the large portrait touchscreen is a stand out feature too, thanks to its usability.

There are plentiful soft touch materials in the cabin: on the dashboard, the door tops and even the centre console. The leather used on the steering wheel and seats is also of a pretty good quality too. It’s quite a practical cabin as well with big door bins, a dual-level glovebox, a big centre console bin, a big tray below the centre screen with a wireless charger and a USB-A and USB-C charging port, big cupholders in the centre console and even some pull-out cup holders on the dashboard.

Centre of the Everest Wildtrak’s cabin is a 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen that’s fully loaded with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio and even features like a drawing pad. While it may seem like a huge screen like this could be distracting for the driver, it really isn’t. The screen is easy to use, it’s bright and has excellent screen quality. The standard 10-speaker sound system is good, but not as good as the 12-speaker Bang and Olufsen unit in the Everest Platinum. Another thing the Wildtrak misses out on compared to the Platinum is the fully digital driver’s display, instead you get a partially digital unit, and we think the fully digital unit would make it feel nicer.

The middle row of the Everest is spacious and well featured – plus, the soft touch materials from the front carry over. Despite the panoramic sunroof, there is ample space for even taller adults in the middle row, while there is a fan speed controller for the rear climate zone (with vents in the roof for both the second and third rows) and USB-A and a USB-C charging ports. For child seats, there are three top-tether points and two ISOFIX points as well.

The Everest’s third row features cup holders and airbag coverage too, though no charging ports. Access to the third row is reasonable as the seats fold forward easily, though taller adults will be cramped there as headroom isn’t great.

The boot of the Everest Wildtrak is well featured and well finished with some hooks, spacious under floor storage and a 12V socket. The power folding rear seats from the Platinum do not feature here sadly, but the seats are easy to manually fold. Behind the third row of seating lies 259-litres of space, which expands to 898L with just the middle row erect and to 1,818L with all rear seats folded and is a lot larger than the 104L/553L third row up/down space in the Prado. A full size alloy spare wheel lies underneath the car, with a handy diagram located under the boot floor to help owners use it.

What warranty covers the 2024 Ford Everest?

Like other new Ford products, the 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak is equipped with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with up to seven years of roadside assistance if serviced at a Ford dealership. The Everest’s service intervals are once yearly/every 15,000km and five years/75,000km of servicing costs $1,901 ($380.20 per service). Ford also offers a service plan for the Everest V6, which costs $1,200 for four years or 60,000km (saving $116).

Toyota also offers a five-year/unlimited km warranty with the Prado, but with no roadside assistance at all. Jeep offers a similar five-year/100,000km kilometre warranty but with lifetime roadside assistance if serviced through a Jeep dealership. The Prado requires servicing every six months or 10,000km with five years or 100,000km of servicing costing $3,886 ($388 per service). Jeep requires the Grand Cherokee to be serviced every 12 months or 12,000km with a cost of $1,995 over the span of five years or 60,000km ($399 per service).

Should I buy a 2024 Ford Everest Wildtrak?

We have maintained since its release that the best off-road capable seven-seat SUV is the 2024 Ford Everest. Not only is it Australian developed but it’s a great all-rounder and just has an extra level of refinement and comfort that a lot of competitors seem to miss out on without losing any off-road ability. The Wildtrak is an interesting limited edition too, positioned between the Sport and Platinum, and we still think think the pick of the bunch is the Sport with the optional V6 as it offers more than enough equipment with that silky smooth V6 turbo diesel engine. But the Wildtrak also adds a nice extra level of visual flair that’s proved so popular with the Range and we hope that Ford Australia adds it permanently.

While the Jeep Grand Cherokee has more mature on road manners and is larger and more practical, we much prefer the Ford Everest Wildtrak’s drivetrain as it’s far gruntier, smoother and more refined. As for the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, well the current model just shows its age too much but we will have to wait to find out if the new model will give the Everest a run for its money. Until then, if you’re after a seven-seat SUV capable of off-roading, the Everest is a great option – and considering that the Wildtraks are likely sold, any model in the range is great.

Read more: the DiscoverAuto Ford Everest Platinum review.