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| A mud-splattered Everest Sport against a backdrop of storm clouds halfway up Swartberg Pass. |
Mountains make rain, which may explain why twice now on Ford Everest media launches, the heavens opened to create slippery roads and muddy slopes — perfect conditions to showcase the big SUV’s electronic rear diff lock, electronic stability and traction control, as well as hill launch assist.
Ford this week sent a convoy of Everests over the Swartberg Pass between Prince Albert and Oudtshoorn, a steep dirt road that has the distinction of also being a national monument.
One of 17 passes constructed by Thomas Bain in the Cape Province, the pass is well known for the spectacular geology that shows how tectonic plates pushing against each also push up mountains. Swartberg Pass is also known for the 140-year-old drystone retaining walls that still keep the many
hairpin bends on the pass in place. |
| The author at his namesake drift on the lesser but equally scenic pass through Meiringspoort in the Western Cape of South Africa. |
The pass was hacked out by some 240 convicts and while their lives were hard, the food was good. Swartberg Mountain Tours reports that one ox and sixteen sheep were slaughtered daily to provide meat for everybody on the project, along with freshly baked bread.
While prison food has changed for the worse since then, the way governments officials work, has not.
Bain was the second contractor to take the job after the first contractor, John Tassie and 100 labourers from Mozambique had managed to build only six kilometres during 13 months of hard labour before becoming insolvent.
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| A sliver of Swartberg Pass seen from the Prins Albert side. |
It then took three years for the work to restart after Bain’s plans were approved in 1880. And the pass had three name changes during its construction as local politicians vied to curry favour with their bosses and seem busy.
When the pass opened on January 10, 1888, Prince Albert closed for the day to allow everyone to witness the opening. A merry procession, consisting of about 100 wagons drawn by horses or mules, made the three-hour trek to the 1 585 metre summit, with some 500 people present, including reporters from six newspapers.
To celebrate the new short-cut between the dry Groot Karoo and the wet Little Karoo a bottle of champagne was smashed on a rock and 21 guns fired.
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| Tools of the transport journalist trade, circa 1930. |
Ford hosted many more media houses this week to celebrate the new Ranger Sport and, incidentally, to show how the SUV in 4x4 guise doesn’t skrik for steep inclines covered in slick mud.
En route, the company also delivered dog food to the Oudshoorn pound and supported the Veldskoen company, whose iconic shoes are made in Durban and will be carrying South Africa's Olympic Athletes in Tokyo.
What sets the Everest Sport apart from its established siblings are a black mesh grille and unique Everest badge on the bonnet, along with black mirror caps and door handles — replacing the chrome finishes on the Everest XLT.
Black front and rear bumper and rear bumpers, along with ebony roof rails, special Sport decals on the rear doors underline the promises made by 20-inch black alloy wheels.
There are six body colours to choose from, but only one engine, a 2-litre petrol with a single turbo. This proven block makes 132 kW and 420 Nm — with up to 340Nm available from just 1 250 rpm.
A 10-speed automatic sends the power to the rear or, in the 4x4, all four wheels, depending on where the dial of the Terrain Management System is pointing.
Doreen Mashinini, General Manager for Marketing at Ford South Africa. said the Everest was first introduced locally in 2019, it quickly gave Ford a strong foothold among South Africa’s SUV buyers.
“With the attractive new Everest Sport, we raise the stakes even further, catering to buyers who recognise and appreciate the qualities of the Everest but would like to set themselves further apart from the crowd through distinctive styling and feature enhancements,” she said.
“Everest XLT models are already extremely well equipped, with an eye-catching design, a refined and luxurious cabin, several trend-setting technologies and Ford’s legendary capability and durability all forming part of the package. In Sport guise, it offers all these features, and much more,” Mashinini said.
All Everest models come standard with Ford Protect, comprising a four-year/120 000km comprehensive warranty, three-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and five-year/unlimited km corrosion warranty. A six-year/90 000km service plan is included, with 15 000km service intervals.
Everest Sport prices
4x2 R675 600
4x4 R718 000
