Back in August 2013, Ford unveiled a concept SUV called the Everest. Unveiled in Sydney, Australia, the concept foreshadowed an upcoming midsized SUV that would, for all intents and purposes, be a passenger version of Ford’s global (except for North America) Ranger T6 midsize pickup truck. And a recent set of spy photos shows that Ford is making good progress in developing the new sports utility.
Ford Everest Concept from the rear
Due to the presence of misaligned front and rear doors and other obvious imperfections, the vehicle in the photos is clearly a mule. It sports the Ranger’s front end coupled with the rear of the international-market Territory crossover, which itself is based on the RWD Ford Falcon.
According to the spy shooters, the mule’s wheelbases is shorter than that of the Ranger — something we have a tough time believing given that the Everest will, after all, be a passenger vehicle (the goal for such products is ample interior room, right?), and that The Blue Oval will likely want to maximize economies of scale by keeping the overall platform and wheelbase of the Ranger as similar to the Everest as possible. But we’ll digress about that… for now.
Additionally, the Everest will likely remain similar in appearance to the Everest Concept, while sporting several interior differences compared to the Ranger (as evidenced by the disguised dashboard), along with a new rear suspension and disc brakes at all four wheels. Expect a late 2014 unveiling, and a launch across Oceania as well as select international markets in early 2015.
The Everest, which will almost definitely be what Ford calls the midsizer, will have the new Chevrolet Trailblazer/Holden Colorado 7 in its crosshairs as direct competition.
Click here to check the spy photos at Autoblog.
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