The Ford Territory is the product of a 500 million dollar investment. It was released to widespread acclaim in early 2004. But frankly, not much has happened since. To find out if there's still a good reason for you to buy a Territory today, I'm joined in the studio by Car Advice road tester, Paul Maric.
So Paul, is the Territory yesterday's hero or is there still some life left in the old girl?
I'm afraid it's long overdue for a makeover and a bit of a touch-up. It's been out since early 2004 and barely anything has happened since.
So tell us what the range is now and then we'll go into what's planned.
Well basically, it starts off with TX, then you have the TS and the gear at the top of the line. And actually those variances are available in either rear wheel drive or a wheel drive.
And the engine?
The engine's a 4-liter in-line 6, the same as the one found in the Falcon.
Okay, so there's some commonality between Territory and Falcon, there always has been. now tell us what's planned, because there's a diesel engine planned and, walk us through that. Well, as car advice exclusively revealed, Ford is building a diesel Territory and we called it testing. It'll basically be Land Rover's 2.7 liter twin turbo V6 diesel, and it'll give the territory the punch that it really needs.
That'll be in addition to one makeover. There's two points about that engine though, its a pretty old engine, its hardly a new engine and is used all over the place by all cars of brand Just put it in content for us. So essentially is used by Land Rover. It's used by Persia . It's being over the place.
And it is a [XX] engine. So by the time when it hits the market with the Territory next year. It will been awhile since it's been out to the rest of the market. And, too little, too late? Well look, I think it is a little bit too late but it's something that they really need to keep the Territory going, otherwise it'll be dead in the water.
The Falcon Wagon's dead. Is that a reason to buy the Territory? Yeah, it makes for great motoring. It's got car-like handling. You can get it with seven seats. And it really is just a Falcon that you can take mild off-roading only downside to is so far has been the fuel consumption. The lowest you'll get out of it is 11.6 liters per hundred and people have found that they've never been able to get that, it's always a lot more than that.
If I worked for Greenpeace, 11 point something is almost a crime against humanity, isn't it?
It's about 6 liters per hundred too much, I think.
Okay, but who's going to buy a Territory? Who's in the market?
Look, it will just be families and a lot of companies have been leasing them. The police use quite a lot of Territorys as their, a bit of a versatile car. And even the Prime Minister and the premiers use Territory Turbos as support cars.
Look, when you compare Holden, Holden released the sport wagon and it's really been instrumental in their success and holding on to the position of Commodore as Australia's most popular car. Does the Territory fit into the same sort of category for Ford?
Well, it was a massive revolution for them. They spent their 500 million and I think they've earned it back in, you know, in folds. So, it has been great for them but I think it's really, it's long overdue for an update.Tell us what they're like to drive, fuel consumption aside.
It's not bad. It handles like a car, it has a little bit of body roll because of its weight. It is much heavier than a Falcon with at least two tons for the lowest model. So it handles well. But the thing is that it's a bit porky and they need to work on the emissions and bringing it down a notch to make it more civilized.
All-wheel drive or two-wheel drive, is there much of a difference there?
Yeah, look, I prefer the all-wheel drive simply because you get the added grip on the road, and it's not a bad all-wheel drive system. It's good enough to go off road a little bit, get the thing a little bit muddy, but aside from that you wouldn't really bother with the rear wheel drive.
And what about the turbo Territory? Is it still around?
Unfortunately, it didn't make Euro 4 emissions standards, so they've had to cut it until the new one comes out. But I think there will be a new turbo Territory, as it proved relatively popular with the market.
And speaking of fuel consumption, Ford's about to have a revolution with its V8 engines. Is there some chance we'll get a V8 inside the Territory?
Probably not, but there is rumors that Territory might get eco-boost, which could be interesting, because there are cars, SUVs in that category that do have smaller engines like that. So that is another option for Ford. I can't wait to drive a two ton car with a two liter turbocharged engine. That's gonna be a memorable experience.
You can't tell me that's gonna be a viable proposition. And if they tune it correctly and make it work with the car, it shouldn't be too bad.
Tell us about the interior. Will you recognize it if you're familiar with the Falcon?
You will recognize it, but unfortunately the Territory didn't get the FG update, so it's still using the BA/BF interior, so it's slightly dated in that regard. But it's pretty comfy inside the cabin, there's plenty of room for front and rear passengers, but the third row is simply for kids only.
Fit and finish okay?
Yeah, it's not bad. It could be a little bit better. A lot of Territory owners complained about little rust spots in the boot and just general fit and finished problems, but as the new Territory comes out with the FG interior I think that's something they'll definitely look to improve.
And, one of the things about being so heavy, on the plus side, is towing I guess. And a lot of people with a heavy vehicle, like a Territory, like to tell you about that's got to be an advantage. While the fuel economy suffers, the towing capacity is fantastic. So you can tow your boat, you can tow whatever you like with the Territory.
And it'll have more than enough power to get moving along no matter what you tell it. Provided you can make it between the fuel stops. Exactly right. Thanks Paul. That was Paul Maric and maybe the Territory's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's still around and maybe it suits you. You can read the Territory review online now, download the specifications add your comments, even get a quote from a Ford dealer.
Just follow the links on this page.
