Ford Territory Problems

Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do about it, the car is 10 years old and well beyond the warranty. It's even stretching the limit where you might expect goodwill. You bought an old car without inspecting it, took the salesman's word, and bought a model with known issues.

Replace the ignition lock.

You're not the only one and Ford is not the only brand. Ford Australia's customer service boss, Steve Kruk, replies: "The price for the SZ is $195 and it's $295 for the SX from 2004-2011. The reason our Ford map upgrades are more expensive is that we need to build a unique map system for the integrated Ford Sat Nav. The NavMan  and Garmin are generic and they can spread the cost over millions more customers – but it is not integrated with the vehicle".

Definitely not the Journey; the Territory is solid and good value; but my current favourite in the class is the Kia Sorento. It gets The Tick and is well worth the extra, even though the starting price of $40,990 is well beyond the $33,500 base of the Journey.

The three cars you name all have merit, none has any major issue to be concerned about and all fit your needs, but you will have to shop around to find them within your age and budget limits.

It's an interesting put-down of the Mercedes-Benz. The Territory is an all-round good car that has been developed for Australian roads, it might be more comfortable than the 'Benz, but I wouldn't say it was of a better quality. You could also look at a Toyota Kluger or a Kia Sorento, both of which would handle the roads well, be comfortable and are of a decent quality.

I would keep the Territory going as it should still have plenty of life left in it. Most of the three-tonne tow-mobiles are quite costly, even dual-cab utes.

Both are very good cars, they're well designed, well built and reliable. The Outback is the more fuel-efficient of the two, but it has a CVT auto where as the Sportage has a conventional automatic. You should drive the Outback to see if you like the CVT before making your final decision. Clearly the more frequent servicing of the Subaru means its running costs are slightly higher, and the shorter warranty could have an impact later on. It's a line-ball decision, but for mine I would probably go for the Kia.

It sounds as if you want a sporty SUV and, with that budget, I’d be advising a late-model BMW X5.