Simple really, as well as being Ford's newest and shiniest big SUV that will go on sale across the Asia-Pacific region next year, the Everest is also the first Australian designed and engineered vehicle to be built in China.
The Everests we will get in New Zealand will come out of the right-hand-drive production of the Rayong plant in Thailand, where we get our Ranger utes from, but the Chinese news was the first really big and unassailable proof that Ford Oz has a strong future in the global Ford empire post-Falcon production.
The Everest has more than a passing relationship to the hugely successful Ranger ute.
Despite Ford engineer David French's statement that the Everest is "its own car" and that Ford "doesn't really talk in terms of platforms", the Everest has long been acknowledged as being based on a shortened version of the Ranger platform - or rather, that bit that the body sits on and that the suspension hangs off.
But in this case, while the suspension at the front may be somewhat familiar, the gear at the back is rather different to that of the Ranger, with coil springs and a Watts linkage set-up replacing the Ranger's leaf spring ute set-up.
The international reveal in Beijing of the Ford Everest. Picture / Damien O'Carroll
While this is much like the other ute-based SUVs on the market (Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-max and Mitsubishi Challenger) it is obvious, even from a quick glance, that Ford has put a lot more effort into creating the Everest than just bunging a roof, a couple of extra doors, a bunch of extra seats and some different suspension into a Ranger.
The styling is hugely more cohesive and deliberate than the other ute-based SUVs, and the amount of new technology, styling and sheer engineering effort that Ford has put into the Everest marks it out as a vehicle that stands several rungs further up the ladder than the opposition.
But the classier interior and huge amount of technology that Ford has jammed into the Everest actually lends credence to the engineering line that the Everest is "its own car", with advances over the (already massively impressive) Ranger that strongly suggest a vehicle that will be remarkably good on the road and even more remarkable off it.
The international reveal in Beijing of the Ford Everest. Picture / Damien O'Carroll
With its proper SUV construction of a separate body-on-chassis and ground clearance of 225mm and a fording depth of 800mm, the Everest already threatens to be one of the most capable off-roaders on the market when it goes on sale some time in the second or third quarter of 2015. The addition of an advanced terrain management system that gives drivers four preset settings - normal, snow/gravel/grass, sand and rock - that alter the vehicle's throttle response, transmission, intelligent four-wheel-drive system and traction control ensure the Everest will boast the best of both worlds, in terms of hitting the muddy stuff - the proven mechanical way of doing it and the new hi-tech way of doing it.
But this blend of hi-tech and proven doesn't end in the mud - the Everest's on-road abilities have come in for a similar treatment.
Curve control - designed to help drivers maintain control when approaching turns too quickly - lane departure warning and lane keeping aid - two technologies that help prevent drivers from unintentionally drifting out of a lane - and blind spot information system (BLIS) with cross traffic alert - which informs drivers when there is a vehicle in their blind spot while driving or when preparing to reverse out of parking spots - will all be available on the Everest, as well as other advanced features, including adaptive cruise control, forward alert with collision mitigation, roll stability control and an electronic stability programme.
Ford Everest. Photo / Supplied
The Everest will be available in 4WD and RWD, with a range of three engines - a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol EcoBoost, a 2.2-litre four-cylinder Duratorq diesel and the Ranger's mighty 3.2-litre five-cylinder Duratorq diesel - and a choice of either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
Ford says it will announce regional specification and pricing nearer the time of launch, but it is safe to expect that New Zealand will be seeing most, if not all of the new tech.
