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Ford Territory 2011 fully revealed


A NEW level of luxury is on the way for the Ford Territory in 2011. Our spy shots, captured by an eagle-eyed Carsguide reader in Victoria this week, show what is obviously the next high-spec level of the eagerly-awaited new SUV.

"Yes, a lot of bling has been thrown at the Territory in the high-series version,'' Ford spokesman Neil McDonald admits. "We're massaging it a bit so it's certainly been given more of an upmarket look.''

This test vehicle certainly looks well-massaged - and production ready, with no black stickers or padded bras. It's wearing stylish metallic accents around the grille and fascias, while the sporty wheels look to be 18-inchers. Those rear tail lights have become noticeably more angular, somewhat reminiscent of Subaru's Forester. The front has a much larger mouth and there is more prominent use of larger Ford badges.

In all, it looks gratifyingly similar to the dramatic concept drawings Ford released before Christmas, with more striking, distinctive lines, bonnet and lights. "There's now strong SUV styling in the front of the car — and you'll probably see that across other models in the future,'' McDonald says. "It's a global DNA so we're slotting into the 'One Ford' design ethos.''

He says that while the upmarket look might get the attention of some fans of European brands, it's mainly aimed at fending off market attacks from Asia. "It could attract some people away from possibly the entry level Europeans, but it's quite clear the car is Australian competition for the imported Japanese and Korean SUVs,'' McDonald says.

"The Territory is the only Australian designed and built SUV — so we consider that a pretty strong position for the car. "You have to remember there are close to 100,000 on the road since it was launched in 2004 so that's a hefty carpark.'' Of course, it's not only the high-spec version that's getting all the attention at Ford Australia.

There are hints that extra goodies may have also been doled to the mid-range model, which is likely to come with more standard kit, including foglights and larger wheels. And there's already been confirmation of the long overdue oilburner engine — a 2.7 V6 twin turbodiesel Ford/PSA unit previously deployed in models as diverse as the Jaguar XF and Citroen's C5. The new engine brings to the hitherto thirsty, petrol-only range the low end torque and economy that increasingly makes diesel the power-source of choice for buyers of bigger SUVs. Emissions will be cut by as much as 25 percent compared to the venerable naturally-aspirated inline petrol six, output should be in the vicinity of 150kW and 440Nm.

As sales of diesel SUVs go ever north, it just what the two-tonne Australian SUV needs. Diesel SUV sales increased by more than 50 power cent among private buyers and almost 40 per cent for fleets in 2010, action that Ford Australia needs to get a piece of. As the Falcon, which underpins the Tezza, falls further from grace, the SUV's sales of 10,699 units to the beginning of December comprise an ever more important part of the Ford's total of 88,000 year-to-date.

The Blue Oval's second best seller was slightly down in November for the same month in 2009, something the diesel edition is seen as crucial to rectifying. Ford says the SUV's new look will include a major interior update and boast a number of technology highlights.

Approximately 85 per cent of the entire Ford Australia new-model catalogue will be replaced or updated in the coming year. This includes the updated MC Mondeo and newly Thai-sourced WT Fiesta hatch and sedan — both recently launched — and in 2011 the Territory, Focus, Falcon (with four-cylinder engine and optional liquid-inject LPG) and Ranger ute.

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