MELBOURNE, Australia, December 1, 2023 – We've all experienced that sudden gust of wind that threatens to yank an open car door from our grasp or struggled while trying to open a door with one hand while holding items in the other.

To fix these issues, Ford’s interior design team changed the design of the door handle, incorporating the release into the handle itself. To open the door, the release is squeezed against the handle, creating a natural grip on the door as it opens, preventing it from swinging open in a gust of wind or when you’ve parked on a slope.

The design echoes a similar approach first introduced on the iconic 1968 XT Falcon and sporty GT models – Australia’s first muscle car – and allows you to open and hold the door with one hand.

“Great design means thinking about how a customer uses a product and finding ways of improving that in a way that is both intuitive and easy,” said Nick Eterovic, interior design manager, Ranger and Everest. “Our link here to history is nice but using this approach on Everest actually made sense on lots of different levels like packaging, harmony of design from the inside to the outside, safety and, yes, of course, practicality.”

The importance of a handle

The design brief for Everest was to create a vehicle with bold, strong and athletic lines on the outside that could be carried through to the interior. The team wanted the Everest to feel bigger inside, despite the physical dimensions remaining unchanged from the previous generation.

“Moving the release handle downward meant we were able to narrow the top of the door, giving customers a little more shoulder space,” Eterovic said. “It also meant we were able to widen the instrument panel which greatly influences the perception of space and balance within the vehicle.”

The sculpted door card and longer armrest design create a more natural and comfortable place to rest your arm, while the controls for the power windows have been moved further forward, making them more comfortable to reach.

“Before we began designing Everest we spent time with customers, spent time in their shoes to work out what they wanted from their SUV,” said Anqi Li, interior designer, Ford Ranger and Everest. “They wanted bold design that was linked to practicality.

By integrating the door lever into the grab handle it not only looks neat, but you can now open the door with one hand, and we know our customers will appreciate that.”

So, the next time you hop into your Everest, take a closer look at the details. From headlights to handles, no decision is made lightly. Every aspect of a Ford is carefully considered, designed and engineered to deliver practicality, functionality, quality and safety to the customer.

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