Ford Territory Problems

The two most likely culprits are diff bushes or shocks, and as you've replaced the bushes it comes down to the shock absorbers. Have Pedders check them.

A design flaw in the front suspension is the cause of the wear in the Territory ball joints, one that was fixed with the new suspension in the updated Series II model. You would hope that the revised control arms Ford released for the early Territory eliminates the wear issue, but they don’t address the fundamental design problem with the suspension that causes the ball joints to wear. In your case it seems the revised arms didn’t do the job, and I would press Ford to come to the party to replace the ball joints on your car at its expense.

The Avenso Versis is a good all-rounder in the people-mover class. Other people-movers you could consider are the Honda Odyssey, Kia Grand Carnival, or VW Caddy Life, you could consider SUVs like the Ford Territory or Nissan Dualis.

The XC90 is a very old design and one at that price might be a bit doubtful. Your best choice would be a Kia or Hyundai, which are far better than you might think and may even have some factory warranty at your budget.

It’s not a recall situation, recalls are mostly about safety and a broken hinge does not constitute a safety concern. It is a 10-year-old car and sometimes things fail on old cars. I would take the dealer’s advice and have a panel shop quote on repairing it.

It seems like another case of perfect preparation preventing poor performance.

If you like the Territory it would be a good move on a tight second-hand budget, but ensure it has had the necessary suspension updates and be wary of the fuel economy.

I can well understand why you would want to get out of the BMW and into something more reliable. I would urge you to avoid the Territory; the early models have problems with suspensions that will be ongoing for the life of the vehicle. I would certainly go for the Falcon, but would again urge you to go for a BF Series II, which is a much better car than the BF. If you wanted another car to look at I would suggest a Subaru Liberty wagon.

Definitely not the Captiva. The Kluger will cost more because of the Toyota badge. I'd favour a Territory — but make sure it's had necessary upgrades to the ball joints. As an alternative, a Hyundai Santa Fe would be a good choice.

The Territory was good at first but has been completely overtaken by a range of rivals. Your decision to buy Australian is great but you're in a very small minority and the Territory is no longer a CarsGuide choice for quality or long-term ownership.