2025 Ford Everest Platinum (7 Seater) REVIEW 🇦🇺 Better than a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 250 Series?

This is the Ford Everest Platinum and it's a body-on-frame off-road capable family seven-seater that is also a good towing vehicle and although there are some new rivals out there like for example the Toyota Land Cruiser 250 series, I still think the Everest is still worth considering amongst its main rivals and throughout the video I'm going to explain to you why. So first I'm going to give you a full guide to the model range, talk about the options and other key rivals to consider and from there we're going to talk about the design, the cabin, the technology, practicality, the powertrain and I'm also going to take this out for a drive to finally end on a verdict. So before we start please like the video, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell but for now let's get straight into the review. In Australia the Everest is priced from $54,000 before on-road costs. There are five model variants to choose from along with two engine choices and the variant I'm featuring in today's review is the top spec Platinum which is priced from $81,000 before on-road costs and for options you have five external colours to pick from and in addition to that there are also free packages. I'd also like to thank Harrigan Ford for allowing me to film their demonstrator for this review. They are located in the Southern Highlands and they have a professional sales team and you can find their details in the description below. Now in terms of rivals the Everest is the type of vehicle that competes with the Isuzu MU-X and of course the Toyota Land Cruiser 250 Series Prado. Okay let's now move on to the styling. So the external colour of this example is finished off in Arctic White which is a no-cost option and I think it suits the car very well. Now in terms of the overall styling you get Ford's C-clamp headlight design like what you get on the Ranger and F-150 but of course this being the Platinum version you get Ford's Matrix LED system so full auto LED headlights, LED DRLs and LED fog lights. There's also Platinum badging on the bonnet, chrome across that open radiator grille and for off-road driving two rated recovery points and as well as steel underbody protection for the engine sump. And now coming to the side so the Platinum sits on 21 inch low profile alloy wheels that are wrapped in highway terrain tyres but for off-road driving they're not very good so you can option for all-terrain tyres and smaller wheels. Now in addition to other key features we've got plastic side steps on the lower section, Platinum badging and V6 badging and as well as some air cooling across to the side. Looking at the wing mirrors your 360 degree camera system there's also front and rear disc brakes and moving up the top brushed aluminium roof racks and from what we can see this has been optioned with a black roof which is free of charge and I think it does set the two-tone appearance apart very well. And now looking at the rear design so at the back partial LED lighting, there's also privacy glass across the third quarter, Platinum badging in the centre and as well as a full-size spare tyre underneath the car. It's also worth noting that unlike the Ranger with its leaf spring suspension at the rear you have a proper spring setup at the back and for towing you can equip this with what is called the Touring Package which includes a tow bar, an integrated trailer brake controller inside the cabin and other additional towing features. As the Everest does have a brake towing capacity of three and a half thousand kilograms and an unbraked towing capacity of 750 kilograms. Let's now move on to the cabin so before you climb inside the Everest comes with a remote key, keyless entry, push button start for the ignition and if we start off with the presentation inside it looks very much the same like every other Everest or Ranger model but this of course being the Platinum version you get accented leather across the dash and along the doors. There's also a panoramic glass sunroof above me and as well as this wood grain effect with ambient lighting which I think looks very nice. So overall it definitely feels a bit more premium in here compared to the rest of the Range and if we now move on to build quality the door slam feels fairly solid. Up the top here is nice and soft and hidden where you rest your elbow. You also get soft padding up the top here and across the dash as well. Soft padding on the glove box and as well as a leather wrapped steering wheel that feels very nice to grip onto. However, when you start to look lower down it does start to get a bit durable even on the lower section of the doors but in terms of quality it feels just as good as a 250 series Prado. Next if we now move on to comfort the seats are finished off in accented leather and as you can see they've got this diamond quilted effect. They both also include electric adjustment with lumbar support, seat heating and ventilation. The steering wheel can also be heated as well and it offers both manual tilt and reach adjustment and finally dual zone climate control with physical dials and buttons. And if we now move on to tech it all runs off this 12.3 inch touchscreen and overall it's pretty easy to work out. This is your main menu, your settings, camera functions, smartphone mirroring and of course a dedicated screen for the climate control. And in terms of key features by going to this has AM, FM, DAB, digital radio, a 12 speaker B&O sound system, USB, Bluetooth and as well as smartphone mirroring with both wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto. There is also inbuilt satellite navigation with 3D mapping, voice recognition with the ability to connect to Siri and if I go into this menu here this is your sketchpad to draw things on the go and next if I go into zone lighting this will project LED lighting around the car at night and there is also a dedicated towing menu so you can connect your trailer and perform a trailer light check and if you go for the touring package you get additional functions for your towing and of course an integrated trailer brake controller over by this section here and as you can see up the top here an inbuilt modem and you've also got the ability to connect this car to a smartphone app to access remote functionality. Next if we now move on to safety this comes with a 360 degree camera where you can cycle through different views around the car to your preference. There are also front and rear parking sensors, a rear cross traffic alert, an auto dimming revision mirror up the top here and along with autonomous emergency braking behind this black box here. And moving on to other safety items there's blind spot monitoring on the wing mirrors, a lane keeping assistant with active lane centering which means the Everest does have the ability to steer itself within its lane. There is also adaptive cruise control that keeps you within distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front and finally speed sign recognition on the bottom corner of the display. It's also worth pointing out that the Platinum gets a bigger 12.3 inch screen in the centre and there are many different ways to configure the middle section and you can also customise it to your preference as well and when you cycle through the different drive modes graphics appear which is pretty cool. So for on-road driving you've got normal, eco and tow and for off-road driving slippery, mud and sand and that automatically sets up the four drive system to what the car thinks it should be in. Next if we now move on to off-road controls for on-road driving you've got two high and four a and for off-road driving four drive high and low range and if I push this button here this will take you into a dedicated off-road menu so you've got a front view camera with active guidelines. You can also cycle between tyre pressures, pitch and roll and parking sensors and it's also the location where you were going to find the hill descent control and the button to engage the rear diff lock. And finally moving on to storage so there are two glove boxes over by the passenger side along with two pop-out cup holders on either side of the dashboard. Your phone can live there or on the wireless phone charging pad. You've also got a usb c and a port two small cup holders in the center and a decent size center console in the middle with a 12-volt socket and looking up the top here a sunglasses holder and finally decent door bin storage for a big bottle of water. Let's move on to the second row so from what we can see this front seat is set in my driving position and I've got good knee room, toe room and plenty of headroom. If I move over to the middle seat again good knee room, toe room and headroom. Now in addition to other key features above me are directional air vents, there are map pockets behind the front row seats, the two outboard seats can be heated. You've also got a fan control dial, a usb c and usb a port along with an ac power socket. There's also decent door bin storage that could also fit a bottle of water and over here a fold-down armrest with two small cup holders and it's also worth noting that the seats move forwards and backwards may also recline forwards and backwards and finally for child seats the two outboard seats are isofix compatible and right behind me there are three top ten points. Moving on to the third row seating so as you can see I've got plenty of knee room, toe room and headroom but if I move the seat all the way back as you can see it's pretty limited and in terms of other key features up the top here we've got directional air vents, some coat hook hangers, tie-down hooks, a 12-volt socket and some cup holders but it is worth pointing out that these two outboard seats are not isofix compatible however behind me there are two top leather points. Right let's move on to boot space so the platinum version of the Everest comes with a power operator tailgate which you can remotely access with the button inside the cabin or using the key and from what we can see with the third row in place there's 259 litres of boot capacity which makes this space big enough for a couple of school bags, shopping bags, we've also got a 12-volt socket off to the side, tie-down points and a net on the right hand side to keep loose items secure. There's also some underfloor storage and that is also the location for the jack and spare tool kit and exclusive to the platinum these seats fold down electronically whereas the rest of the range come with manual operation and once folded down there's 898 litres of boot capacity which makes this space big enough for a couple of suitcases and finally to fold down the second row seats you go to the back seats pull on the lever and they fold down pretty much flat. Under the bonnet of the platinum version of the Everest you get Ford's three litre V6 turbo diesel engine that develops 184 kilowatts and 600 newton metres of torque and all this is paired to a 10-speed auto, a full-time selectable four-wheel drive system instead of the part-time system like what you get on the bi-turbo versions of the Everest and for ownership Ford Australia offers a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty and up to seven years of roadside assistance and each service is every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres and finally for off-road specifications that includes front ground clearance, weighting depth, approach angles, all that key data is on your screen now and with all the specs out of the way let's go for a drive. Okay moving on to the driving impressions so at the front I've got great vision over the bonnet, there's also good side vision, decent size wing mirrors and rear visibility is also pretty good. Now starting off with some of the driving aids the only thing I find intrusive with all Ranger and Everest models is the lane centering system which you can turn off with this button here but aside from that the 360 camera works really well. It's a pretty easy car to manoeuvre as it does have a turning circle radius of 12.9 metres so as you can see manoeuvring it around a tight street shouldn't be a problem. So for touring around Australia and towing a trailer this is definitely the engine to go for but for normal everyday driving and if you just want to use the seven seats with light off-road capability I think the Biturbo version would be fine as a family vehicle. In terms of the brakes they're a bit spongy and soft but responsive at the same time and in terms of ride refinement as you can see with the camera footage it soaks up the bumps really well it's a lot more comfortable compared to the normal Ranger on which this is based on. You still get a ladder frame chassis so there is a bit of body roll through the corners this does feature an electronic steering setup so it's nice and light but responsive at the same time especially when you engage full high so yes that is a benefit with the V6 version and for performance if I... there is a bit of a wheel slip if you run it in turbo drop high range but in it's pretty much perfect and whilst we're up to speed as you can hear there is barely any tyre roll because you do have highway terrain tyres but I am getting a bit of wind noise which is pretty typical for this shape of car and fuel consumption for Ford claims that the Everest V6 can achieve 8.5 litres per 100. I'm currently seeing around 10 litres per 100 but this is a new vehicle with under 40 kilometres on the clock but around 10 litres is what I got on a Ranger V6 and that does drop down to around 7 litres on the freeway. So how does this compare with the latest generation Prado which I have driven? Well with this V6 engine and the full-time four-wheel drive system it's definitely a lot punchier. Both of them feel pretty similar when it comes to comfort. I prefer the seats in the Prado but both of them do have wind noise coming into the cabin. The gearbox seems to be a bit busy because it is a 10-speed gearbox. It is seamless in terms of how it shifts gears and of course the bi-turbo version will be a bit more efficient around town but if you are using this for towing like I mentioned this is the engine to pick and it's just a bit more punchier for freeway driving. So what is my final verdict on the Ford Everest? Well compared with the latest 250 series Prado, the Everest V6 is more punchy, more practical and I think overall in most areas it stacks up to be better value and it's also more off-road capable thanks to that full-time four-wheel drive system and it's definitely the powertrain I would pick if I was doing a lot of touring driving around Australia, towing, caravanning, that sort of stuff but for everyday driving, putting kids in the back seats, I think the four-cylinder is fine for all occasions but of course let me know what you think on my verdict down in the comment section below and if you haven't already please like the video, subscribe to the channel, hit that bell icon to stay up to date with my latest uploads but for now I will see you in the next film. Thanks for watching!