46 SEPTEMBER 2019 leisurewheels.co.za
ADVENTUREDRIVE Ford Everest in Botswana
scenarios thanks to 132kW
and 420Nm.
The front suspension has been
extensively reworked to achieve
significant improvements in
ride quality and refinement,
without impacting the towing
capacity of up to 3 100kg
on Bi-Turbo models.
Most important is a
repositioned front anti-roll
bar that has increased in
diameter and stiffness. This
in turn allowed engineers to
reduce the front spring rates,
giving the Everest a more
comfortable and pliant ride.
The outgoing model used one
set of damper settings across
the range. In the new range;
however, these settings have
been tailored specifically to
each model, taking the weight
of the various derivatives
into account. This in turn
improves ride characteristics
and handling. These suspension
refinements also meant that the
recommended tyre pressures
could be lowered slightly,
further enhancing the overall
plushness of the ride.
These improvements were
immediately noticeable on the
dirt roads and tracks that took
us from the Khai River up
north to the Makgadikgadi
in the south.
All Everest 4×4 models
are equipped with Ford’s
seamless and intuitive terrain
management system which
facilitates easy switching
between Normal, Rock Crawl
or Mud and Sand modes, which
tailor the electronics to suit the
driving conditions.
Driving in a large convoy and
sticking to the speed limit can
be tricky but fortunately the
Everest sports adaptive cruise
control with forward collision
alert. It helps maintain a pre-set
cruising speed, as well as a pre-
set distance from the vehicle
ahead. A new feature enables
the recognition of pedestrians,
in addition to vehicles, ahead by
means of the radar sensor.
If the gap to a vehicle in
front reduces, the Everest
automatically slows and then
accelerates back to the pre-set
distance when the road is clear.
On the eve of the 50th
anniversary of Apollo 11
rocketing to the moon, I was in
a place that bears an uncanny
resemblance to its surface. This
is a place that many years ago
kick-started my yearning for
adventure. It’s the reason
I keep one eye on the door and
another on Google maps. Some
call it Wanderlust. I call it The
Pans Effect.
It is called Makgadikgadi.
Nestled between the
Okavango Delta and the
Kalahari are the Makgadikgadi
salt pans. Consisting of twolarge pans and a number of
smaller ones, the area is almost
the same size as Italy. It is
fascinating, with an interesting
mix of geology, wildlife,
vegetation and climate. The
pans flood during the summer
months, attracting various
wildlife including large flocks of
flamingo that choose to breed
here, before moving off to the
Delta.
As a young motoring
journalist, I first made the
journey here on an adventure
motorcycling trip. It was a
world unlike anything I had
experienced before. Camping
on these pans is surreal: theeerie silence and deafening
beauty, amplified by a night sky
illuminated by a million stars. It
is a special place and one I was
excited to return to.
Driving on the pans is
interesting. Under a thin crust,
the surface is almost always
moist and travelling across
the surface during my first
visit was hugely entertaining.
Twisting the throttle on a high-
powered adventure bike saw
us traverse this unique surface
in spectacular rooster-tail
fashion, the lightweight nature
of a motorcycle ideal for these
conditions. This time round
I was behind the wheel of a