Ford Australia has announced a new limited edition ‘blackops’ version of its popular Ranger ute-based Everest off-roader, to help defend the large SUV sales crown it stole from the Toyota Prado for the first time last year.
Based on the second-rung-up Everest Trend 2.0L Bi-Turbo 4WD, the new Black Edition adds a range of blacked-out aesthetic upgrades for $68,990 before on-road costs – $1950 more than Trend’s price of $67,040 plus on-roads.
However, the Black Edition is being introduced with a drive-away price of $69,000, which is just $10 higher than its list price (excluding statutory on-road costs). That makes it significantly cheaper than the Trend on which it’s based.
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Exclusive extras include black roof rails, black side steps, black 18-inch alloy wheels with 255/65R18 all-terrain tyres, a black 18-inch spare alloy wheel, black front grille, black ‘EVEREST’ bonnet lettering, black ‘EVEREST’ interior door sill plates, black side mirrors and black door handles.
Limited to “an initial production run of 750 vehicles”, the Everest Black Edition is now available to order nationwide, ahead of first deliveries starting in July.
At $69k drive-away, the latest seven-seat 4×4 version of the Everest, which continues to be priced from $54,240 plus on-roads for the entry-level Ambiente 2.0L Bi-Turbo RWD, now brings to four the number of variants that undercut the Prado (from $72,500).
Despite its addition, however, the number of Everest grades available will shrink from eight to six after production of RWD versions of the base Ambiente and mid-range Sport ends this month due to the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
At that point the Everest admission price will increase by $5000 to $59,240 plus on-roads for the Ambiente 2.0L Bi-Turbo 4WD, while production of the latest limited edition Everest Wildtrak ended in April.
Ford is yet to advise whether it will offer another Everest Wilkdtrak limited edition, but says it has plenty of dealer stock available across the latest 2025.50MY Everest range, including the Ambiente, Trend, Sport, Tremor, Wildtrak and Platinum.
“Everest Black Edition is a bold response to the ever-evolving market – a fresh and distinctive take on one of Australia’s favourite 4WD SUVs,” said Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson.
“Packed with family-favourite features and full-time 4WD, Everest Black Edition builds on the proven strengths of the Everest, adding a distinctive blacked-out appearance that underscores the suite of interior and advanced driver-assist features that has made the Everest the pick of the segment.
“The Black Edition is the seventh variant of the Everest family – giving motorists more choice to suit their needs – and with a $69,000 drive-away price, it delivers outstanding value for Australians who demand more from their SUV.”
The Black Edition will only be available in three achromatic exterior colours, all of them for no extra cost: Aluminium Metallic prestige paint, Shadow Black prestige paint, and an exclusive new Alabaster White pearlescent paint.
However, three option packages are on offer, including a Premium Seat Pack ($1200), Towing Pack ($1950) and Touring Pack ($2900).
In addition to the standard leather-accented trim (not for the third row), the Premium Seat Pack brings heated and ventilated front seats, the driver’s with 10-way power adjustment and a memory function, and the passenger’s with eight-way power adjustment.
Naturally, the tow pack adds a tow bar and hitch, plus an integrated electric trailer brake controller and 12-pin wiring harness to take advantage of the Everest’s 3500kg towing capacity.
And the Touring Pack combines the towing hardware of the Towing Pack with a 360-degree camera and Pro Trailer Backup Assist, which offers steering control for reversing trailers via a rotary dial.
The Black Edition is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine delivering 154kW of power and 500Nm of torque to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission and full-time 4×4 system with selectable 2H, 4A, 4H and 4L modes.
There’s a locking rear differential and selectable drive modes including Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Ruts and Sand, plus an 800mm wading depth and 229mm of ground clearance.
Carryover safety equipment includes adaptive cruise control with stop/go, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, lane centring, rear cross-traffic alert, and traffic sign recognition, as well as a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors.
Other standard features include a 12.0-inch touchscreen running Ford’s SYNC 4 infotainment system and featuring wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice control, FordPass Connect embedded modem, and inbuilt satellite navigation with one year of connected navigation services included.
Other standard equipment includes an eight-speaker sound system, configurable 8.0-inch colour digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charger, five USB ports, three 12V outlets, a 240V/400W household power socket, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry/start, automatic LED headlights, automatic high-beam and zone lighting.
All Everests are backed by Ford Australia’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and 180-strong national dealer network.
After outselling the evergreen Prado in 2024, when Toyota was low on stock before the latest 250 Series arrived in November, the second-generation Everest (released in late 2022) also proved more popular last month when it attracted one more customer.
However it remains well behind the Prado this year, with 7220 sales to the end of April versus 10,674 for the Prado.
Neither Ford nor Toyota have yet offered end of financial year deals for the Everest or Prado.
MORE: Everything Ford Everest