Ford Endeavour Evolution

Ford Endeavour was launched in December 2003 and it was as American as baseball, hot dogs and extra-large fountain soda. With its brawny looks and humungous dimensions, it tapped into Ford's classic SUV heritage and found a lot of admirers in our market. With the next gen Endeavour about to be launched, let’s have a look at its evolution over the years-

First Generation- 2003

This was the first SUV from Ford India and it shared its platform with the Ford Ranger, which along with the Ford F-150, was one of the most sold pick-up trucks in the US. It was powered by a 2.5-litre diesel then and came with an option of 4WD and 2WD.

Generation 1 Facelift- 2007

The 2007 update made the Endy more powerful with 143 PS of power and 330 Nm of torque. A new five-speed manual transmission gave it a car-like feel with a shorter lever and reduced throw between gears. Other updated features included a new 4x4 transfer case, 16-inch alloy wheels, multi-reflector headlamps and tail lamps and all new interiors with leather seats and a 6 CD changer to name a few.

Facelift - Endeavour Thunder + - 2008

In February 2008, Ford plonked in a 3.0-litre turbodiesel common rail injection engine with Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT) to make this beast the most powerful car in its segment. It produced 154 Bhp of power along with 380 Nm of torque. They also christened it as Endeavour Thunder +.

Added exterior equipment included a new spare wheel cover, body cladding, two-tone exteriors, front bumper over rider, a rear ladder, bigger ORVM’s with puddle lamps. On the insides, along with camel tone full leather interiors, the infotainment system was also updated with a 6 CD changer with 6 speakers and a roof mounted DVD player.

Facelift- September 2009

Endy was cosmetically revamped in 2009 and it came with a new embossed chrome grille, wraparound headlamps, header bar with Endeavour embossed on it, new tail lamps, bumper, rear cladding and spare wheel cover along with 16-inch painted cast aluminium wheels.

Feature wise changes included a segment-first touch screen (7 Inch Wide) satellite navigation system, with built-in DVD player, a rear camera and Bluetooth capability on the automatic variant

Mechanical changes included the addition of a new five-speed automatic transmission for the 4X4 model. It used the same 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre diesel engines under the hood. Safety was improved by adding side/curtain airbags.

In September 2010, a 4x2 variant of the Endeavour with an automatic transmission was also launched.           

Generation 2 – Jan 2016

Ford will be launching the next generation Endeavour this month in our market. Ford claims it to be an all new vehicle and the big Ford looks mighty impressive on paper and in real world conditions. It will come with a choice of 2 new engine options- a 3.2-litre turbocharged diesel which produces 197 Bhp of power and a whopping 480 Nm of torque along with a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine that produces 158 Bhp of power and 385 Nm of torque.

We drove the upcoming Endeavour in Thailand last year. Have a look –

Also read-

• Mahindra Scorpio’s evolution
• Tata Sumo’s evolution