- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
4.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
195kW, 391Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 10.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2012 Ford Territory Tx (RWD) Review
We have owned a black RWD petrol Ford Territory TX model for 2 years now and have had a fairly positive experience.
- Grunt, Interior size, Great ride/handling balance, Safety (5 stars), Decent-ish fuel economy
- Engine can be a bit gruff, Occasionally clunky gearbox, Interior gremlins, Lack of equipment, Downmarket styling on TX
Owned through a work fleet package but used as a family daily driver car. While the car has been nothing but reliable in terms of the mechanical side of things, the central display screen has fully blacked out on us a number of times, only to come back on once the car has been turned off and on again.
This has been accompanied by a "systems communications error" of some sort. Not catastrophic, but a bit worrying for a car with 40,000 kms and only 2 years old.
We chose the car because of it's 7 seats (optional) and raised ride height along with its 'car like' feel and excellent ride.
Upgrading from a top of the range Captiva, we missed some of the fruit salad (GPS, leather etc) but appreciated the increased size and gain in power.
Speaking of power, while the Captiva was a V6 5 speed, a notable family member of mine though it was a 4 cylinder 4 speed for the first 2 months of owning it. Put simply it was gutless and coarse.
Upgrading to the Territory from a NVH/ride/power/handling perspective was a massive change. The engine, while not the best sounding, provides immense grunt and manages to cruise fully loaded at very low revs in 6th on the freeway.
The gearbox, praised in reviews, was found to be excellent except just after start up on winter mornings, where it would clunk downshifting. The ride was found to be very good in a wide variety of circumstances, no doubt helped by the chubby tires on the TX.
While not exactly driven 'enthusiastically', the handling was found to be very impressive, aiding the car's stable 'feel'. Even when wet, I at no times felt unsafe despite being in the 2wd version. NVH was also pretty good when not accelerating. The interior is also massive, with plenty of room in the first two rows and 2 occasional seats in the back.
However, the driving positives and the increased space does come at the cost of creature comforts. For around the 40k mark, standard equipment is fairly dismal, especially compared to the loaded Captiva you can get for the same price.
I understand the Territory is a size up and therefore more expensive, but it does seem a bit downmarket to have the tiny non touch monochromatic display screen instead of the nice clear one you get in the TS and Titanium. I guess they need something to make the base model cheaper though.
Despite this though, the Territory is very good value, especially at the 38k driveaway they've been doing recently. Also the fuel use is not as terrible as people make it out to be, the trip computer is sitting at 10.4 l per 100 on 91 octane, which, for a big car with a big engine is fairly impressive.
Overall, despite its utilitarian interior, the Territory does provide a wonderful driving experience, and the fact that it is tailored to Australian conditions is evident every drive, which makes it all the more sad that its going out of production.
Next car is a Ti Nissan Pathfinder so it will be interesting to see how it compares. Hopefully we get all the kit :) with comparably decent dynamics and driving experience. Fingers crossed :)