There are some cars that try desperately hard to convince you they’re adventurous. They have plastic cladding, chunky-looking tyres and enough black trim to make a coal mine look underdressed. Then there’s the Ford Everest Wildtrak. It doesn’t really need to shout about its capabilities, it looks like it could happily spend Monday morning dropping the kids at school, Tuesday towing a boat, Wednesday crossing the country and Thursday disappearing down a muddy track simply because it can.
That’s the thing about the Everest Wildtrak, it manages to combine the practicality of a proper seven-seat SUV with the muscular character of a ute-based 4WD, without making you feel like you’ve brought a farm vehicle to a dinner party.
For 2026, the Wildtrak remains one of the performance leaders of the Everest family, sitting below the Platinum in the range. More importantly, it’s exclusively powered by Ford’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel, producing 184kW and 600Nm, with a 10-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive.
The Great Outdoors
Let’s start with the obvious, the Everest Wildtrak is a big SUV. Not enormous in the ‘merican sense, but definitely substantial. There’s a sense of width and presence to it that makes smaller SUVs look slightly nervous when you’re sitting at the lights.
The front end is particularly effective. Ford has given the Wildtrak its own distinctive grille, with a tough mesh design surrounded by those signature C-Clamp LED headlights. It gives the Everest a purposeful face without wandering too far into macho-overkill territory. The Wildtrak looks expensive, but it also looks like it could get dirty. That’s important because there’s something slightly ridiculous about an SUV that costs nearly $90,000 but looks terrified of a gravel road.
The 20-inch machine-faced alloy wheels add another layer of premium appeal. They’re large, they’re smart and they fill those wheel arches nicely, although if you were planning on spending most of your weekends bouncing around serious rocks, I’d probably be looking at something with a little more tyre sidewall. The Wildtrak also gets Matrix LED headlights, LED fog lamps, daytime running lights and zone lighting, the latter being particularly handy if you’re camping, loading gear at night or simply wondering why you thought midnight was a good time to reorganise the boot. Overall, it’s a handsome thing, it has to be, there aren’t many giant SUVs that can wear bright ‘ignite’ orange paint and get away with it.
Properly Premium
Inside, the Everest continues its trick of feeling more sophisticated than its ute-derived architecture might suggest. The dashboard has that wide, horizontal layout that makes the cabin feel spacious, while the large central touchscreen dominates the centre console.
But it’s the seating that really matters in a vehicle like this. The Wildtrak is a seven-seater, with leather-accented seating, powered front seats and heated and cooled front pews. The driver’s seat gets 10-way adjustment with memory, while the passenger also gets 10-way power adjustment. In other words, there’s no shortage of ways to get comfortable.
The second row is roomy enough for adults and the third row is genuinely useful rather than simply being somewhere you put people you’ve fallen out with. The third row also folds 50:50, making it relatively easy to switch between passenger and cargo duties. The cyber orange Wildtrak detailing on the seats adds some personality too, including the Wildtrak branding embossed into the front seats. It’s a nice touch. The cabin doesn’t feel like Ford has simply thrown some expensive materials at the Everest and hoped for the best, there’s a cohesive feel to it, and importantly, it remains practical.
Big Screen, Easy Living
At the centre of everything is Ford’s 12-inch SYNC 4 touchscreen. It’s large, bright and easy to see, which sounds like a basic requirement until you’ve climbed into some modern vehicles where operating the infotainment system feels like trying to defuse a bomb while travelling at 100km/h. The Everest’s system is much more straightforward.
You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging and FordPass connectivity, while an eight-speaker audio system handles the soundtrack. The big screen also means there’s plenty of space to display vehicle information and controls without making everything feel cramped. And while I’m generally a fan of physical controls for things such as climate settings, the Everest does a good job of keeping the important functions accessible. The 8-inch driver’s display isn’t as visually dramatic as the central screen, but it does the job and keeps the important driving information where you need it. It’s technology that generally feels like it’s working for you rather than demanding your attention.
The V6 Is the One
Under the bonnet is Ford’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel, developing 184kW and 600Nm. It’s paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive. And honestly, this is the engine that makes the Wildtrak. The 600Nm arrives from 1,750rpm through to 2,250rpm, giving the Everest the sort of low-down shove you’d expect from a vehicle designed to tow and tackle difficult terrain.
Put your foot down and there’s no great drama. The V6 simply digs in and gets moving. It’s not a sports car, (obviously), it is a large seven-seat SUV weighing considerably more than your average hatchback, but the performance feels effortless rather than strained. You don’t drive the Everest V6 thinking, “I wonder if this has enough grunt?” You drive it thinking, “Yep, that’ll do nicely”.
The 10-speed automatic is also well matched to the engine. There are plenty of ratios to keep the V6 in its sweet spot, whether you’re cruising on the motorway or crawling around town. And because the Everest is a proper four-wheel-drive machine rather than a soft-roader with some clever electronics, it has genuine ability when the road disappears.
Surprisingly Civilised
For something built on a ladder-frame platform and sharing its DNA with the Ranger, it doesn’t feel particularly truck-like from behind the wheel. Yes, you know you’re driving something large, the bonnet is substantial, the seating position is high and parking spaces suddenly seem considerably smaller. But once you’re moving, the Everest settles down nicely. The steering is reasonably light, visibility is good and there’s a reassuring solidity to the way the vehicle travels.
On the open road, it’s particularly good. The V6 has enough torque to make overtaking easy, while the suspension does a commendable job of keeping the body controlled without beating you up over every bump. And then there’s the other side of the Everest’s personality. Take it off the tarmac and the Wildtrak starts to make considerably more sense. Although I didn’t go off-off road (just some gravel) the full-time 4WD system gives you confidence when the surface gets loose. Sure the torque-rich diesel engine is ideally suited to low-speed crawling and slippery conditions, but this is one of those vehicles where you can head down an unsealed road without suddenly wondering whether you’ve made a terrible mistake.
Safety and Everyday Usability
The Wildtrak is also well equipped when it comes to driver assistance. There’s adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go, blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, cross-traffic alert, speed-sign recognition, pre-collision assistance, intelligent speed assistance, distance and driver alerts and autonomous emergency braking – phew. There are also nine airbags. The trailer coverage is particularly relevant given the Everest’s obvious appeal to people who tow boats, caravans, trailers and all manner of recreational toys.
The Sweet Spot?
The Ford Everest Wildtrak occupies an interesting position in the New Zealand SUV market. It’s not cheap, but you’re getting a lot of vehicle for your money, and unlike some premium SUVs, it doesn’t force you to choose between looking good and actually doing stuff. The Wildtrak looks smart enough for the city, has enough luxury for long-distance family trips, enough technology to keep everyone entertained and enough mechanical muscle to get you into places that most seven-seat SUVs would rather avoid.
But for me, it’s that V6 that seals the deal. The 3.0-litre diesel’s combination of 184kW, 600Nm, a 10-speed automatic and full-time 4WD gives the Everest an effortless character that suits the vehicle perfectly. It’s certainly not scared of getting its tyres dirty. It’s a big, capable, comfortable family SUV that happens to have the hardware to back up its adventurous looks.
