Ford Everest Tremor 2025 review

The Ford Everest range has never needed a hero to be successful, but perhaps it’s time.

Offering a solid, well-rounded vehicle that meets almost every requirement of the exhaustive brief of the classic large, body-on-frame family SUV, the Everest offers a lot to like. And seeing that sales exploded last year, there’s clearly a groundswell of buyers being drawn to Ford’s big 4×4 wagon.

The one area that has left some room for improvement has been its off-road ability, a point highlighted by our recent comparison between the Everest Sport V6 and the Toyota Prado GXL.

Offering a litany of common sense upgrades like more aggressive tyres, a 29mm lift, extra protection and brawny styling to match; the Tremor certainly looks the part. Ford has even borrowed an aggressive Rock Crawl traction control model from its halo Ranger Raptor model.

And the price? Less than two grand more than the volume-selling Sport V6 at $76,590 before on-roads, making it significantly more affordable than off-road specialist flagship grades such as the Toyota Prado Altitude ($92,700) or the Nissan Patrol Warrior ($105,880).

But does it all come together as a comprehensive package, or is this just a strung-together accessory package with a cool name?

What are the Everest Tremor’s features and options for the price?

Based on the best-selling Sport V6 grade, the Tremor mirrors much of the same feature lists while adding a few more – though there are some traps to watch out for.

As standard, the Tremor offers the following as standard:

• 184kW/600Nm 3.0L turbo-diesel V6
• 10-speed automatic transmission
• Rear locking differential
• Full-time 4WD
• 265/70 General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres
• 17-inch black alloy wheels
• Bilstein position-sensitive dampers w/external reservoirs
• LED headlights
• Dual front recovery points
• Heavy-duty side steps
• Steel bash plate
• Tremor-specific styling with black accents and grille
• Weatherproof floor mats front and rear
• Vinyl steering wheel
• Leather upholstery
• 400W inverter
• 8.0-inch digital driver’s display
• 12-inch multimedia screen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
• Wireless phone charger

Worth noting is that to obtain the 10- and eight-way power seat adjustment on the front driver and passenger seats, along with heating and ventilation, fitted as standard on the cheaper Sport grade, Tremor buyers will need to cough up an extra $1100 for the Premium Seat Pack.

As standard, the Tremor only offers eight-way power and four-way manual adjustability for the front driver and passenger seats, and after a hot day of testing in the Aussie sun we can’t recommend the ventilated seats enough!

Buyers can also go for Rough Terrain Pack for an additional $3500, which adds further underbody protection, an auxiliary switch bank inside the cabin and a steel front bar. Chasing Cars understands that winch compatibility will likely be added later but is not currently available.

The $1900 Towing Pack is likely to be a popular choice for caravanners with the necessary assembly and integrated brake controller. The $2500 Touring Pack also adds a 360 camera to this setup, but we feel it should really be standard equipment.

However, the trickle effect of these tempting upgrades adds, with our tester asks for just over $94,250 driveaway once you include the $700 premium paint.

How does the Everest Tremor drive?

Having driven the Everest Sport V6 relatively recently, it’s remarkable how similar the Tremor drives despite our test vehicle sitting 29mm higher in the air, wearing much more aggressive off-road rubber and a steel front bar.

The handling remains sharp, the ride reasonably compliant and the road noise shockling quiet considering how aggressive the tyres are.

Trade-offs are always made when it comes to lift kits, and there is a notable dip in the dynamics and body control of the Everest when compared to its Sport base. Further patience will be required when cornering but nothing of great significance.

The lift is most noticeable when the heftier weight of the Tremor throws itself on the front axle under braking. We also noted some squirrely behaviour when braking on mixed gravel/bitumen surfaces, so be mindful of this on those half-paved country roads.

High-speed dirt roads are another matter; the Bilstein shocks come into their own here and work well with the 184kW/600Nm turbo-diesel V6 and full-time four-wheel-drive system to soak up bumps on the way into the corner, and provide consistent power delivery on the way out.

We also noted a few occasions where we struck a hidden pothole or drainage ditch and winced while preparing for the impact, but the tricky suspension adapted and overcame the challenge; keeping us squarely on the road and the car’s intended line.

The heat-resistant external reservoirs on the shocks also suggest the Bilsteins will keep performing over challenging corrugations in the outback, making it a common sense upgrade for those looking to do a bit of touring.

As speeds get lower, and the off-roading more technical, the upgrades made to the Tremor show their reason for being.

Chasing Cars’ off-road expert Evan Spence found the Everest Sport to be lacking clearance resulting in a damaged rear bar during our recent comparison against the Toyota Prado GXL.

Sadly no upgrades were made to strengthen the rear bar of the Everest Tremor but the new suspension has boosted clearance up to 255mm, increasing approach, ramp-over and departure angles from 30.2, 21.9 and 25 degrees to 32, 23.9 and 26.8 respectively.

Official wading depth remains unchanged at 800mm but this is academic, in real terms the Everest sits 29mm higher than it did previously. We’ll leave you to do the math and measure the risk appropriately.

Lift kits and tyres can be had anywhere in the aftermarket but harder to obtain are more aggressive traction control modes and Ford has seen fit to introduce its Raptor-sourced ‘Rock Crawl’ drive mode for the very first time in the Everest.

In stock form, the Everest’s traction control isn’t the snappiest and falls behind its Toyota Fortuner/Prado rivals but our first impressions found that Rock Crawl mode closes the distance somewhat, but we were still left reaching for the rear locker at times.

More importantly, Rock Crawl mode still works on the front axle with the rear locking differential engaged, giving the Tremor steadfast purchase on uneven terrain. The end result was that we were able to surmount obstacles we simply could not without these functions engaged.

It’s disappointing that the Everest Tremor lacks the Trail Turn Assist and Trail Control features found on the Ranger Tremor. The former tightens the turning circle on tight tracks by locking the inside rear wheel; while the latter can be thought of as off-road cruise control. We found both to be useful in practice.

Ford could’ve easily gone further by adding a front-locking differential but this would likely bring the cost of a fully optioned Tremor closer to $100K. Even still, it would be nice to have one available as a cost-option.

Payload is slightly compromised in the Tremor at 690kg, down from 703kg in the Sport V6, with Ford helpfully bolstering the GVM up by 90kg to 3240kg to help counteract the heavier 2550kg kerb weight.

The braked towing capacity remains unchanged at 3500kg.

What is the Everest Tremor’s interior and tech like?

With the Sport serving as the base of the Everest Tremor, little needed to be done to improve the practical and tech-filled interior space.

The Tremor isn’t the top-spec model, that crown is still worn by the luxury-focused Platinum, so it misses out on headline features like the swish B&O stereo, full-width digital driver’s display and Nappa leather seat material – but that’s not really the point here, is it?

Tremor-specific upgrades include the Tremor logo embossed into the leather seats available on the Sport; which, as we mentioned earlier, can be upgraded to offer heating and ventilation and a greater degree of adjustability for an extra $1100.

It’s a missed opportunity that Ford hasn’t offered the weather-proof synthetic leather seats it fitted to the Ranger Tremor as an option, as they would likely hold up better to long term off-road abuse.

The standard list of equipment is still perfectly respectable; though, with features like the larger 12.0-inch multimedia screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a decent eight-speaker stereo and a wireless phone charger to cover the basics.

Practicality is quite respectable up front, with enough room to accommodate my 182cm frame quite comfortably and the Premium Seat Pack gives the driver the ability to dial in the seat to their preferences, though the seats still feel flat and unsupportive at times.

Slipping into row two was relatively easy to do, even when sitting behind my own driving position. With separate climate controls, USB C and A ports to keep devices topped up. It’s a shame the seats don’t have more bolstering to stop occupants from sliding side-to-side.

The second row also slides forward to help make room for those in the third row, which is necessary as this remains a kids-only zone; unless of course, you particularly hate passengers six and seven.

Campers will also appreciate features like the 400-watt inverter in the boot, which is also quite large measuring 259 litres with all seats up, 898L with the third row folded and a mammoth 1823L when row tow and three are stowed away.

Is the Everest Tremor a safe car?

The Everest Tremor is covered by the same five-star ANCAP rating awarded back in 2022, with the following sub-scores:

• 86 percent – Adult occupant protection
• 93 percent – Child occupant protection
• 74 percent – Vulnerable road user protection
• 86 percent – Safety assist

It must be noted that Tremors fitted with the Rough Terrain Pack are not covered by this rating – likely something to do with the big hunk of steel hanging off the front that wouldn’t play well with pedestrian safety.

The Everest’s safety package is quite comprehensive, even when compared with the latest models with a total of nine airbags to protect all seven occupants.

It’s good to see that, unlike the Sport grade, tyre pressure monitoring has been fitted as standard to the Tremor, though the 360-camera is disappointingly only available as part of the $2500 Touring Pack.

What are the Everest Tremor’s ownership costs?

Mud-kicking tyres aren’t often found on long-range EVs and for good reason. Worsened aerodynamics thanks to the lift kit and rougher rubber have increased the 8.5L/100km combined fuel consumption figure on the Sport V6 to 9.5L/100km in the Tremor.

The 80L fuel tank remains the same though, so the theoretical range takes a hit at 842km.

Ford offers a five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing intervals every 12 months or 15,000km. Costs are capped at $1516 over four years, which stretches out to five if you pay upfront when you purchase the vehicle.

The honest verdict on the Everest Tremor

We still hold out hope that one day Ford will adorn the Everest range with a Raptor variant but for most people, the Tremor is likely the far better option.

For less than $2000 more than the Sport V6 the Tremor offers a package that is still accessible to most Everest buyers, many of whom find themselves priced out of the Prado after it rocketed up in price for the new generation.

And while the asking price does climb significantly once all those very tempting (and some might say mandatory) option packs are included, it’s still below the cost of rivals and likely much cheaper than if you were to make similar modifications yourself in the aftermarket.

Unlike the Ranger Tremor, the Everest version still retains the gorgeous 3.0L turbo-diesel V6 which doesn’t require a small oil field to keep running, unlike the twin-turbo petrol in the Raptor.

Importantly, Ford hasn’t compromised interior practicality or the 3500kg towing capacity in the process either, and while the improvement to off-road performance isn’t as game-changing as the Blue Oval might have hoped, it’s still mighty impressive.