FORD EVEREST: When tech features leave a father and son gasping for breath

Kids will be kids. They might be your worst passenger during a weekend drive or a daily ride with all their whims, caprices, tantrums and what have you, but they can always be your best buddy—and even be the best teacher or data provider you always look for.

Test driving the top and base models of the Ford Everest—first, the Trend 2.2L 4×2 AT, and then, the Titanium 3.2L 4×4 AT—in successive weeks left me awestruck on how latest innovations in automotive safety and convenience can bring driving to a new level.

“Drive your kid around,” said the PR person who handed the keys. And so I did.

My regular companion during most, if not all, those days of test-driving was my youngest son Joaquinn. He couldn’t have provided the right impressions that the best technical minds of the brand would want to hear and see.

Just for him to be able to sleep soundly on a front passenger seat laid almost flat speaks of the comfort that an Everest cabin (very quiet because of the active noise cancelling feature that auto corrects engine sound) can bring.

And I know that the seven airbags spread all over would keep him safe in the event of an accident.

He wakes up, grabs his iPad and gets the speakers blaring with his EDM favorites in seconds all because he had the Spotify connection via Bluetooth so handy that I got dazed listening to a variety of party music DJs I don’t know from Adam.

So in a whiff, he gets fidgety again because of the long drive. With the car running at medium speed, he crawls to the third row seat, and needing that extra space for him to stretch his legs, he discovers the PowerFold feature and gets what he wants with the press of a button.

My blood pressure slowly rising, he finds something else to rave about and tinker with: the panoramic power roof. He clambers up back to front seat, flicks the little knob near the rear view mirror, and together, we end up singing the Aladdin theme song.

“This is so cool, Dad!”, he quipped, not knowing that I’m close to calling emergency rescue from her mother.

And while all these are happening, the distracted driving issue comes to mind.

No problem, the Everest got my back. And my sides and my front, of course.

The smorgasbord of advanced features, especially of the Titanium, erases every worry—from the lane keeping system, blind spot alert, to terrain management, all built to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers.

And the Titanium model can also parallel park itself, something that gave the little boy another reason to search for more buttons.

Maybe, he said, one of those buttons might let the genie pop out and grant him his wish of buying me my dream Mustang.
End of story. The kiddo wins.

Ford Philippines is holding a series of test drive activities starting this month, allowing more customers to drive and experience Ford vehicles and its class-leading features and capabilities.

The Ford Weekend Test Drive is a nationwide experiential test drive roadshow that puts Ford’s top-selling vehicles on display in high-traffic areas and venues, such as malls and event grounds, bringing the test drive experience to more customers. Sales and service consultants from various Ford dealerships will also be on standby to assist customers on their queries.

Customers will be able to test drive the Everest and the Ranger in Alabang Town Center Corte Delas Palmas on Aug. 17-19, and at the SM Mall of Asia Atrium on Aug. 24-26. More dates and venues will be announced soon.