Now this is where the biggest changes have happened, under the hood. So the earlier 2.2, four-cylinder and the brilliant 3.2, five-cylinder engine have been discarded and in comes a brand new BS6 compliant, 2.0 litre EcoBlue diesel engine. Now this might not put out the big numbers that the 3.2 did but for a 2.0 litre engine, the numbers are excellent. With 170bhp and 420Nm, the figures are on par with the competition even with a lower displacement engine. According to Ford, fuel efficiency has gone up by 14 per cent and it's quiter by four decibels during idle. What has also optimised the performance and efficiency is the first of its kind 10-speed automatic gearbox.

Getting off that mark, what is immediately noticeable is the instant torque available. Better availability of low and mid-range torque means the Endeavour now feels quicker in everyday conditions. The 10-speed torque converter gearbox works very effectively and even skips gears to make sure the car is always in the powerband.
On the highways too, the big Endy cruises effortlessly at triple digit speeds and it's only when you really step on it that you realise that there is a smaller engine up front and both the engine and the gearbox are working overtime to help you with your urgency. The Endy also becomes louder when you really put the foot down but that was also with the earlier cars, however once you settle down, it is a lot quiter than before.

The top end variant is available with 4x4 and comes with all the electronic wizardry that includes Terrain management system, active transfer case and now also gets SelectShift. We got the opportunity to test out the car in the sand dunes in Jaisalmer and boy did it manage to surprise us. Along with the terrain modes, the SelectShift feature allowed us to lock gears in the desired range which meant the car did not try to upshift which reduced the chances of losing momentum and bogging down. In fact the whole suite of 4x4 features worked so well that it made us amateur drivers look like 4x4 experts.
Ford has also tweaked the suspension and the Endeavour pretty much has the best ride quality out there. No matter how bad the roads, the big wheels and long suspension travel manage to smother everything. And despite all that travel, the Endy managed whatever corners we could find quite well. Ford has really done an excellent job with the suspension set-up.