The NDTV Car And Bike Award for the Full-Size SUV of the Year 2017 went to the new Ford Endeavour. Ford launched the new generation Endeavour at the beginning of this year in a bid to take on the segment leader, the Toyota Fortuner. And it succeeded in doing that. Right from design and styling to features and mechanicals, the 2016 Ford Endeavour is all-new in every aspect.
The original Ford Endeavour was somewhat of a cult favourite in India, thanks to its enormous girth and macho build. However, the car lacked the finesse, reliability, and serviceability compared to the Toyota Fortuner; which took the Indian market by storm. And Ford managed to tackle almost all of those shortcomings with the new-gen Endeavour.
The new generation Endeavour SUV is based on Ford's T6 platform, so it retains the Hulk-like personality along with the long stance but with a lot more composure and style. The front-end sports a massive chrome grille with projector head-lamps and DRLs giving it that signature American SUV look. The bold bumper design comprises a very prominent silver skid plate that extends to house the LED fog-lamps as well. The flared wheel arches are wide and high to accommodate those massive 18-inch alloy wheels shod in 265/60 all-terrain tyres.
Ford Endeavour Wins The Full-Size SUV of the Year 2017
The new-generation Ford Endeavour was designed and developed at the carmaker's facility in Australia and first went on sale there before coming to India. In fact, the carmaker even employed some inputs from its Indian engineers in developing the new-gen Endeavour.
The subtle character lines, roof rails and two-tone ORVMs that complete the side profile of the SUV. The rear profile on the other hand mimics the front design with a heavy chrome slat at the centre linking the two LED tail lamps. The rear bumper also comes with a prominent silver skid plate with extensions that house the rear reflectors.
The SUV also comes with a well-equipped cabin featuring bucket-seats at the front, LED lamps, multi-information display, remote key entry, one-touch power rain sensing wiper, dual-zone AC-automatic climate control, cruise control, power folding 3rd-row seat, terrain management system, and more.
With the new Endeavour, Ford also introduced two new powertrains - a 3.2-litre and 2.2-litre Duratorq motors in just two trims, Trend and Titanium, albeit in multiple combinations. The 2.2 litre TDCi develops 157bhp, which kicks in at a reasonable 3200rpm. Torque is great at 385Nm. The 3.2-litre monster churns out a meaty 196bhp. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox.
By launching the new Endeavour at the start of the year, Ford got a considerable amount of free run in the market before the new-gen Toyota Fortuner was launched. In fact, few weeks before the launch of the new Fortuner, Ford even announced a heavy price cut for the Endeavour to make boast the sales of the SUV. While currently, the latter remains to be its major rival in the Indian market along with the Chevrolet Trailblazer, the Endeavour will soon face strong competition from the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Skoda Kodiaq in 2017.
