The Ford Endeavour is set to receive a facelift in 2019, to offer a mid-life refresh to Ford's flagship SUV in India. The new, facelifted model is expected to be launched internationally in mid-2018, and Autocar India reports that it will make its way to India by next year.
The Endeavour, which sells as the Ford Everest in Australia and Thailand, is one of the few options available for buyers of premium SUVs in India without venturing into the luxury segment. Its rivals include the Toyota Fortuner as the prime competitor and Skoda Kodiaq among seven-seater options, and Volkswagen Tiguan, Hyundai Santa Fe and the upcoming Honda CR-V in five-seater choices. It has been fairly popular, and with the new facelift, is expected to get changes like a newly designed radiator grille, silver trims to the front bumper, newly designed six-spoke alloy wheels and protruding fog lamp holders.
Inside, the new version of the Endeavour is expected to make up for the features that it conspicuously missed in its present variant. These include elements like keyless entry and push-button ignition – commonplace features that someone weren't present on the Endeavour. That, though, is as far as the changes go. Ford will be selling the Endeavour globally with a new 2.0-litre diesel engine and a 10-speed automatic transmission, both of which debuted globally in the new Ford Ranger. The new engine produces 213bhp and 500Nm torque in its twin-turbo tune state, which is a noticeable upgrade over the 3.2-litre diesel mill that produces 200bhp and 470Nm torque, and powers the present generation Endeavour. Unfortunately, the new engine will not make it to India.
The new Ford Endeavour launches next year, by which time it will also have the Mahindra-badged SsangYong Rexton to compete against. The new facelift may not seem to offer much, but Ford will look to capitalise on its reputation and reliability to keep its demand.