√2023 Ford Everest Sport takes on Toolangi State Forest

We venture from town to country in the all-new 2023 Ford Everest Sport, tackling all things on- and off-road.

The second part of Ford’s one-two punch for 2022 is the new Ford Everest. Hot on the heels of the Ford Ranger utility, the Everest champions the family adventure under the guise of a five-door, seven-seat SUV wagon.

The 2023 Ford Everest arrives on the large off-road SUV scene to rival the Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, and Toyota Prado. It brings a swathe of new tech (led by a nifty 12-inch touchscreen), refreshed styling reminiscent of Ford’s American products, and the new option of a six-cylinder turbo diesel powertrain on Sport and Platinum models.

Like the previous generation car, the new Everest (like its Ranger sibling) was extensively developed right here in Australia, with engineers at Ford conducting testing at the Ford Proving Ground near Lara as well as on local roads around the country.

With this locally-produced, all-encompassing adventurous spirit in mind, I wanted to put the Everest through its paces by venturing on a good, old-fashioned Aussie day out in the country. Armed with a Victorian four-wheel-drive trek guide and some lousy Melburnian weather, I set course for Toolangi State Forest to sample how the Everest tackles the on-road, off-road dynamic.

Arguably the sweet spot of the range is the Ford Everest Sport variant, which sits second-to-flagship and unlocks the option of that new 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 engine. This is the car I saddled up with for the journey painted in the hero colour Blue Lightning ($700 extra).

Our journey would strike through Melbourne’s key arterial road network out towards the Eastern Freeway, Yarra Valley, and then beyond to the looming forests of the Yarra Ranges.

The Toolangi Forest is a popular four-wheel-driver’s playground with myriad tracks connected by a gravel road network for simple access. Victoria’s unseasonably cold weather into December did issue some cause for concern about track conditions, but a quick confirmation call to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning allayed worries of getting stuck without a buddy vehicle to tow photographer Frank and I out.

I started early from Melbourne up through Punt Road and out to the freeway, the mundane suburban schlep providing ample time to assess the Everest’s new cabin. It’s a huge step up in terms of technology to get excited about, plus the interior space and storage are as capacious as they ever were.

A new Sync 4 software system comes standard with the Everest Sport’s 12-inch portrait-mounted touchscreen. I could write a whole article on this great system all on its own, but it genuinely sets the benchmark for integrated infotainment systems in the segment.

The maps display nicely in detailed form and there’s a scrolling array of shortcuts to simply cut between functions. It has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality that display in minimised and maximised format. There’s also integrated FordPass Connect functionality whereby you can view bits and pieces of info about your car (such as vehicle status, location data, and even remote lock/unlock the car) on a paired smartphone.

While the Everest Sport doesn’t get the same fully digital instrument cluster of the flagship Platinum specification, the 8.0-inch display inside the Sport shows handy info such as the four-wheel-drive system’s status, fuel economy info, and engine info.

Highway kilometres see the Everest perform very comfortably over extended periods. The Sport-branded leather-accented seats, while on the firmer side, contain the right amount of support through corners and have nice adjustability for a high perch up and over the bonnet.

The Everest still tends to roll through corners and pitch forward once you get onto the brakes, but the experience overall is surefooted. The car is easy to place within its lane on the freeway. Ride quality is beautifully compliant over smooth undulations and corrugations, eating up the minor little impacts with impressive effect.

We’ve raised complaints at the Everest Platinum’s ride comfort previously, but that variant rides on bigger 21-inch wheels. You do still feel the Sport jar over larger road joins, but they’re not hard-edged and don’t upset the ambience.

There is little scenery to ogle over when driving through Ringwood and Croydon, but once you take a left onto Victoria Road towards Yering to escape the suburbs, the outlook becomes much greener.

After a few hard summers of worrying drought and the associated bushfire risk, it’s fantastic to see such lush fields and forests this late into the year. It’s these residents out beyond the Yarra Valley that face some of the biggest risks in terms of bushfire proneness, not forgetting the awful Black Saturday bushfire in Kinglake in 2009, just over an hour from Melbourne.

Having completed much of the boring aspect of our adventure, I pull into Yarra Glen for a quick coffee and croissant pit-stop and await photographer Frank. In addition to the requisite caffeine hit, it allows some time for me to jump through the cabin to assess space across all three rows (Everest features seven-seats in a 2-3-2 configuration) and passenger amenities.

There’s loads of space in the second row to cater to passengers of all sizes, plus there is the ability to slide the second row forward and back as needed. Third-row comfort is less commodious for adults, but kids will find more comfort in the rearmost pews.

With Frank on board and a tank full of diesel, we power out of Yarra Glen and on to Toolangi. Instead of taking the Melba Highway all the way up to the forest, our route guide insists on little-known Old Toolangi Road, which snaked its way through Pauls Range.

This is a narrow strip of gravel road that services some rural properties, but there’s an occasional view or two on the right-hand side as you wind up through the hills. Wildlife is abundant. We end up spotting a number of wallabies along the way which remind us to be vigilant and on the lookout. There were also plenty of birds darting through the native flora.

Before too long we cross the Healesville-Kinglake Road and hit Toolangi State Forest proper. The prescribed trek spoke of well-formed roads to drive and not much trouble to anticipate. There are no dedicated camping areas anywhere in the forest – it can be explored in a day, so the need for camping is minimal.

Our route heads north along Spraggs Road for a short while, before quickly heading east along Nolans Road. Though there was no immediate need for it, we made sure to select the ‘4A’ automatic mode on the full-time selectable four-wheel-drive mode selector. The car also comes with a series of six driving modes that can automatically switch between driveline configurations.

Toolangi Forest is quite commonly inundated with rainfall, which proved the case on our occasion. There’s even the chance of snowfall at higher elevations throughout the area. Signs of spring continue well into December along Nolans Road, with a bright array of bell-shaped flowers and intensely green ferns. We spotted even more flighty wallabies along this stretch – you’ve been warned.

We quickly decided the Everest was eating up all of this gravel track and decided to deviate from the prescribed route in search of rougher terrain. We turn away from the roads and onto tracks such as Aeroplane Track, with a view to ascend Toolangi Hilltop.

This is where the terrain became hilly, the ruts started engulfing the car, and the recent rainfall provided more of a challenge to the car’s four-wheel-drive smarts. Luckily there’s impressive ground clearance to ramp over mounds and there was no point where we even bottomed out.

To get up the hills and through trudge-y puddles, I asked more of the 3.0-litre single-turbo diesel engine and its 184kW/600Nm outputs. Whereas it doesn’t stand out from the 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel offered lower down the Everest range around town and on freeway overtakes, the larger powertrain is appreciated in an off-road setting.

There is ample torque available down low in the rev range, and it doesn’t run out of puff as easily as its smaller-capacity alternative. I imagine the experience would be much the same with something towed behind the car.

The 10-speed transmission wins points for refinement and near-imperceptible gear changes, but it doesn’t always have the brains to serve up appropriate ratios. Especially around town, the Everest’s gearbox can tend to hunt around for the right gear. It is no deal-breaker, but certainly could be improved upon.

Even with just highway-terrain tyres wrapped around the 20-inch wheels, traction was no noticeable issue on the moving, muddy surface.

Before too long, photographer Frank and I are travelling along Aeroplane Track and come across a section of chopped-up track that gives us pause. After getting out to survey the scene, we promptly decided we were at an impasse. Without a snatch strap and a recovery vehicle on hand to yank us out, it would be irresponsible to even try it.

Thankfully, the Everest’s reverse camera is high-definition for backing up the 4940mm-long body. The steering isn’t quite as light as the previous-generation Everest’s, but it’s still easy to manoeuvre the body around obstacles. Though our car was not fitted with the $2300 Touring Pack (which brings a 360-degree camera among other add-ons), that all-seeing functionality is available to make parking and manoeuvring the car easier.

We rejoined Blowhard Road back towards sealed bitumen and made our way down towards Healesville and a well-earned pie at Beechworth Bakery.

Seeing the car all dirty in the parking lot against a slew of other clean cars highlighted just how capable the Ford Everest is in all domains. I suppose it’s true of many cars these days, but the breadth of ability exhibited by the Everest is hugely impressive, especially right from the showroom floor.

Photographer Frank and I made sure to wash away the mud and dust of the day before setting homeward, ready for the following day where it would ferry me comfortably for the everyday commute.