Rather try out the new Ford Everest for your trip to the Wild Coast,” a friend suggested, just as I had planned our route down to the Transkei in my much-loved Ford Ranger Raptor. I’d been to those parts twice in the last few months and had a good idea of what the roads looked like. There may have been a time when they looked decent but now, as we are fully aware, they they are stuffed – regardless of whether you travel on tar or dirt!
Which is why the Raptor would have been the ideal vehicle, but my parents taught me not to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially a generous one, so I agreed. I could choose between the Platinum 3.0-diesel V6 with 184kW and 600Nm on tap, or the 2.0-litre bi-turbo Sport providing 154kW and 500Nm, both paired to Ford’s 10-speed automatic gearbox.
My choice of the Sport was both practical and economical. We were going to be driving a couple of thousand kilometres and fuel isn’t exactly cheap. Also, the 20-inch rims with
