2026 Ford Everest Wildtrak Returns: 1,000 Cars, $79,990 Before On-Roads, Platinum Kit At a Sport Plus Price

Image credit: Ford Australia

If you have been waiting for an Everest that gets the Platinum kit without quite paying Platinum money, this is the one. Ford Australia has locked in a third run of the Everest Wildtrak, the closest the seven-seat SUV gets to a true halo trim, and the 2026 version is the biggest local allocation yet at 1,000 cars from $79,990 before on-roads. That puts it $3,500 below the flagship Platinum and at the same price as the off-road Tremor, while pulling across the matrix LED headlights, panoramic roof and power-folding third row that previously needed an $83,490 sticker to access.

For buyers on a CarSorted shortlist that already runs through the Prado, Everest and MU-X, this changes the maths on the Sport V6 versus stepping up. The Wildtrak is only $3,000 dearer than a Sport V6 ($76,990) but adds about $8,000 worth of factory hardware once you tot up the headlights, roof, third-row motor and 20-inch wheels. That is the buyer angle we will work through, alongside the V6 diesel running costs against the new 2.0-litre single-turbo entry car.

Pricing: Where the Wildtrak Sits

The Wildtrak slots between the Sport V6 and the Platinum and now matches the Tremor on sticker. Ford has held the rest of the MY26.5 Everest range as confirmed back in November, with the new entry car the 2.0-litre single-turbo Active 4x4 at $58,990.

Prestige paint, including the new Acacia Green and Alabaster White options shared with the Platinum, is a $750 add. The Premium Towing Pack with its integrated brake controller and Ford's trailer setup software is $2,500. So a worst-case-loaded Wildtrak walks out the door at about $83,240 before on-roads, still inside the $83,490 Platinum.

For reference, the first run of Wildtraks in 2023 was $73,090. The 2025 batch was $76,950. This 2026 car is $6,900 dearer than that 2023 launch price, which lines up with where the rest of the Everest range has drifted across two MY updates.

What You Actually Get

Mechanically the Wildtrak carries over. You get Ford's 3.0-litre Lion turbo-diesel V6 producing 184kW at 3,250rpm and 600Nm from 1,750rpm, the 10-speed torque converter automatic, and the permanent four-wheel-drive system with low range and an electronic locking rear diff. Braked towing stays at 3,500kg with a 350kg ball weight and the 3,180kg GVM is unchanged.

Equipment: The Bit That Justifies the Step Up

The headline upgrade is matrix LED headlights with auto-levelling. In previous Wildtrak runs that was a Platinum-only item and the Wildtrak made do with quad-projector LEDs. Carrying matrix LEDs at this price point is genuinely useful for anyone doing regional driving where high beams matter and oncoming traffic comes and goes.

Also pulled in from the Platinum: a panoramic roof with an electric blind and a power-folding third row. The third row goes flat or upright at the press of a button rather than the manual flop everyone in the family eventually swears at.

Outside the Wildtrak gets the same Ignite Orange treatment that links it to the recently updated Ranger Wildtrak, with orange accents through the grille, a gloss-black H-Bar bumper bar, gloss-black side mirrors and 20-inch alloys finished in black with orange highlights. Inside, partial-leather seats wear orange contrast stitching and there are Wildtrak badges on the dash and seatbacks. The 12-inch portrait touchscreen with SYNC4A, the 12.4-inch digital cluster, B&O sound, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate, 10-way power front seats and an electric tailgate all carry over.

Safety

The current Everest carries a 5-star ANCAP rating under the 2022 test protocol, with 86% Adult Occupant, 93% Child Occupant, 74% Vulnerable Road User and 86% Safety Assist sub-scores. The Wildtrak inherits that rating because it shares its core structure with the rest of the range.

Driver assist kit is full Ford Co-Pilot 360: autonomous emergency braking with intersection assist and reverse AEB, adaptive cruise with lane centring, blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, rear cross-traffic alert with active braking, intelligent speed assist, driver attention monitor, surround-view camera and front and rear parking sensors. Nine airbags including front-centre and a driver knee bag are standard.

How It Compares

The natural three-way among in-stock seven-seat 4WDs is the Everest Wildtrak, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado and the Isuzu MU-X X-Terrain. The Prado VX 4WD lands at $79,990 before on-roads with the 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel and 48V hybrid system at 150kW/500Nm. The MU-X X-Terrain is $67,400 plus on-roads with a 3.0-litre 140kW/450Nm four-cylinder. The Wildtrak's 184kW/600Nm V6 is the strongest of the three, and on towing rating they tie at 3,500kg.

The full Prado vs Everest vs MU-X comparison on CarSorted runs the off-road metrics, interior space and running-cost numbers in one place. Worth a look before you walk into a dealer.

Inside Ford's own range, the Wildtrak makes the Sport V6 a harder sell. You pay $3,000 more and pick up matrix LEDs, the pano roof, power third row, the 20-inch alloy package and the Ignite Orange trim. Add up the at-cost retrofits and that lot is closer to $7,500 to $8,000 of factory hardware, not counting the resale halo a limited-run badge typically carries.

The CarSorted Cross-Shop and Running Costs

On CarSorted's Ford Ranger entry, the comparable Ranger Wildtrak V6 sits at $73,440 before on-roads with the same 184kW/600Nm engine, 10-speed auto and 3,500kg braked tow. The Everest Wildtrak is $6,550 more, and what you are paying for is the seven-seat body, the third row, the longer wheelbase, the independent rear suspension and the on-road refinement that goes with it. If you genuinely use the back row more than twice a year, the Everest is the better tool. If you do not, the Ranger Wildtrak is the cheaper way to land the same drivetrain.

Against the Toyota HiLux SR5 at $63,260 before on-roads, the Everest Wildtrak is $16,730 more for an additional 34kW, 100Nm and four extra seats, plus a body car ride. The HiLux Rogue at $73,990 gets closer on price and equipment but still gives up an entire seating row.

On fuel, the V6 Everest's 8.5L/100km combined claim works out to roughly $2,975 a year on diesel at $1.85 per litre across 18,000km. The new 2.0-litre single-turbo Active at 6.9L/100km is around $2,415 over the same distance. That is a $560 a year fuel saving from the smaller engine, or about $2,800 across a five-year hold. It does not cover the $21,000 Wildtrak premium over the Active 2.0L, but it should be in the conversation if your driving is mostly suburban and the third-row hardware is the thing you actually want.

Warranty and Servicing

Ford backs the Everest with a 5-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals are 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Capped-price servicing on the V6 diesel runs around $379 to $429 per visit for the first four services, slightly more than the four-cylinder. Five years of roadside assist is included if you stay inside the dealer network.

What This Means For Buyers

If you were already cross-shopping the Sport V6 at $76,990 against the Platinum at $83,490, the Wildtrak collapses the decision. For $3,000 over the Sport you pick up genuine Platinum hardware that has a real $7,000-plus aftermarket value if you ever tried to add it yourself. The Tremor at the same $79,990 is the better pick for genuine off-road use because of its specific suspension and tyre package, but the Wildtrak is the better family-trip-and-towing build with most of the cosmetic flex.

Against the Prado VX and Land Rover Defender 110, the Wildtrak is the under-the-hood pick. The 184kW V6 still has a measurable performance lead on the Prado's 150kW four-and-a-half hybrid, and the Everest's ride and on-road manners are closer to a family car than a body-on-frame ute-derived 4WD has any right to be.

Two reasons to wait. First, there are only 1,000 of these cars and Ford typically uses Wildtrak runs to clear the previous specification before a deeper update. If a MY27 facelift is around the corner that would have been a softer way to get matrix LEDs at this price. Second, if you do almost no towing and no off-road driving, the new 2.0-litre Active for $58,990 is a $21,000 cheaper way into the same body and the same ANCAP rating, just without the show-and-shine bits.

For a sanity-check before you order, run the variants on CarSorted's 7-seat 4WD directory and then put the final two head to head in the CarSorted compare tool. Most buyers we see land back on the Wildtrak once the equipment-for-money numbers are in front of them.

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