2007 Ford Territory Reviews

Ford Territory is arguably the best vehicle ever designed by Ford Australia. Indeed some even say it may be the best automotive design in Australia bar none. Territory is based on the Ford Falcon and shares some of its mechanical components, particularly in the powertrain, but many parts are unique to the big wagon.

Ford Territory is unique in being an Australian-designed and built SUV. Every other vehicle in this market segment is an imported design that may or may not have been adapted to suit Australia driving conditions.Launched way back in May 2004, with a major makeover in May 2011, the Ford Territory showcases the immense talent of Australian automotive engineering.While it’s getting on in years, it looks to have some life left in it yet. Older models are holding their values well, particularly with smart buyers who are more interested in Aussie practicality than in Euro prestige.The Territory SUV is based on the Ford Falcon and shares some of its mechanical components, particularly in the powertrain, but quite a few other parts are unique to the wagon.Seating in Ford Territory is for five or seven people according to the number of rows of seats installed. The third row of seats isn’t too bad for adults, with good head and reasonable legroom.However, a more realistic passenger load is four adults and three children. Luggage space with all seven seats in place isn’t expansive, but the Territory is hardly on its own in this regard.Fascinatingly, the Territory SUV isn’t nearly as large as it appears, being significantly shorter than a Falcon station wagon. Indeed, it surprises many who learn that it’s not even as long as a Falcon sedan. Thus the Territory is easier to drive and park than many expect. Good handling and ride comfort are major features of the Territory, it’s well-suited to Australian roads and also meets the tough needs of keen Aussie drivers. The big Ford has precise handling for a big wagon and rides better than many European 4WDs that cost far more.Ford Territory uses major components from Falcon’s six-cylinder drivetrain, including a turbocharged variant of the engine from July 2006. There's no V8 option as Ford feels the big sixes have been developed to the stage where they virtually replace the eight. Territory with a petrol engine isn't the most economical of vehicles, though things have improved over the years due to advances in engine technology. The six-speed autos are noticeably better than the four-speeds.Automatic transmissions are used on all models. The auto had four forward speeds on all models until October 2005, when a six-speed was introduced on the upmarket models. The automatic six is the only transmission installed in the turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel Territory.The big news in the face lifted territory was the long-overdue option of a turbo-diesel engine. The diesel is a 2.7-litre V6 diesel and runs a single turbocharger. It uses the latest thinking in variable-vane turbines, as well as high-pressure injection to produce maximum power of 140 kilowatts. Torque of 440 Newton metres is produced between 1900 and 2500 revs.Interestingly, Jaguar and Land Rover use diesels from the same engine family as the Territory unit.Territory is sold with two-wheel-drive or all-wheel drive (AWD). The sales split has generally been in the region of 60/40 in favour of the 2WD model, proving that most buyers of 4WDs are in reality looking for a practical wagon, not an off-road vehicle.Electronic aids improve traction off-road in the Ford Territory 4WD variants so they can handle virtually anything the adventurous family demands. In particular, there are hill-start and hill-descent assistance features and these take much of the scariness out of extreme slopes.Though there's good under-bonnet and under-vehicle access, this is a modern vehicle that’s complex in its mechanical components. So unless you are an expert it’s best to leave all but the simplest of repairs and maintenance to the professionals. Spare parts for the Territory are generally favourably priced and we haven’t heard of any recurring complaints about availability.Virtually every town of any significance has a Ford dealership, and many private garages will have a mechanic or two who was trained in a Ford workshop. Insurance is usually towards the bottom end of the scale, but some companies may take exception to turbocharged engines so ask around before settling for one insurer or the other.WHAT TO LOOK FORThe big Ford wagon is built to a reasonably high standard in Ford's Australian factory at Geelong. We do see the occasional problems so be sure to get a professional inspection.Check the engine starts up easily and idles smoothly and quietly.Make sure the automatic transmission works quietly and doesn’t hold onto gears, or change gears too often when it really should be holding the one ratio.Ensure that the brakes work properly with the ABS system pulling the Territory up in a straight line.Possible leaks at front brake hoses were the subject of a voluntary recall in March 2009. Check with a Ford dealer or the company's head office to see if the work has been done.Take the wagon for a run on rough roads to see if there are any rattles or squeaks as cabin parts move. Even the rear-drive models are sometimes used to explore bush tracks and the like.Look at the condition of the body, especially on an AWD in case one has been taken into off-road territory. Signs of the latter damage are generally at the bumper corners, the underneath of the door sills and on the underbody. Also look for tiny scratches in the body side where it has been squeezed through bushes and the like.Visually check the condition of the interior as kids can do a lot of damage when they get bored.CAR BUYING TIPPeople movers suffer more severe interior use and abuse than just about anything this side of sanitary collection vehicles. Check the condition of all areas inside a Territory carefully.

Graham Smith reviews the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Ford Territory as a used buy.

Hill descent control is one of those electronic driver aids, increasingly common on SUVs, designed to take the guesswork out of off-roading. Judicious use of the brakes or low-range gears are needed to stop a vehicle running away dangerously on a steep slope. Hill descent systems do the braking for you.Every four-wheel drive is different, though, and the first time I nudge one to the point of no return on a challenging descent, HDC button pressed, I instinctively hover one foot over the brake pedal just in case.At the launch of the new Toyota Kluger at a 4WD park in Victoria early this week, I need not have worried. The second version for Australia of this mid-size SUV handled the rocky declines just as easily as it climbed the muddy inclines. Philosophically, it's from the soccer mum end of the market, but gizmos engaged, nerves were rapidly calmed.The Ford Territory is another SUV designed very much with school runs in mind and it also offers hill descent control.However, an electronic system isn't much use when you're careering down a sales slope. Since its brief heyday in 2005, the Territory has been suffering. Last year, as rising fuel prices scared buyers away from large vehicles, sales fell 22 per cent. Since then, the mid-size SUV segment has recovered strongly but the Territory has not. To the end of July it's down a further 7 per cent.The Ford SUV has clung onto segment leadership while losing sales to new entrants like the Holden Captiva. But the Kluger, backed by the impressive marketing might of Toyota, it has the potential to accelerate the Territory's descent and steal its crown. This week's presentations were explicit about Toyota's intention to take on the locally built Ford. “We have a very simple goal,” said sales and marketing chief David Buttner, “to maximise sales in the medium SUV market.”At $39,990 the Kluger range begins with a price disadvantage of $2000 against the cheapest Territory, but the Toyota product has been aimed with extreme accuracy at its target market. The Kluger can match the seven-seat capacity of the Territory and has an equipment list calibrated like a telescopic sight.Toyota has done its homework and knows the importance of safety features on the school run, so the Kluger has lots of them, all standard. It even introduces something I was surprised to learn had yet to appear in a Toyota; active headrests to prevent whiplash.Toyota knows that fuel thirst is a Territory weakness and so the Kluger is more economical to run, by more than one litre per 100km. It also comes with three years of fixed-price servicing.Needless to add, the new Kluger is bigger, more powerful and better equipped than the previous model. It lacks a diesel engine in the range, but so does the Ford.If you want one of those, then Toyota has the Prado, a more expensive, traditional mid-size off-roader.But all the sales action these days is in crossovers and the most significant move by Toyota is to borrow Ford's approach in making four-wheel drive an option on an SUV. The standard Kluger, like the standard Territory, puts power to the tarmac via only two of its wheels.Toyota expects the availability of a 2WD version to bring plenty of extra buyers to the badge. One executive forecast volumes at least quadruple the current running rate of 300 a month. At that level, the Kluger is edging into Territory territory. And you know when Toyota is willing to talk numbers, then its expectations are higher. The mid-size SUV segment is one of the few it doesn't lead.Toyota describes the Kluger as effectively an Aurion wagon, referring to the company's locally built large car. Although the two vehicles don't share any sheet metal, they both employ the same platform engineering and 3.5-litre V6 engine. With Toyota's global bodyline production system, the Kluger could be built on the same assembly lines in Melbourne which make Aurion and Camry.Although Toyota denies it, the possibility that the Kluger could be built at its Melbourne plant must figure in its thinking. At the moment, the Kluger is mainly a US market car, built in right-hand drive solely for Australia.Making it here would help fulfil many of Toyota Australia's production goals and its belief it needs a third model to secure its future. Supplying untapped right-hand drive export markets from Australia could make Kluger volumes viable.Right now though, it threatens to take sales from the Ford Territory just when Ford needs them more than ever to keep its Melbourne plant busy. The Territory is struggling at the showroom, but Ford's locally built Falcon, Fairlane and Ute are hurting even more.Success for the Kluger and the chance to build it here could come at the price of yet more pain for Ford.

After a couple of days, little niggles appear to remind the driver they're in a tank after all.Even after close to a week's dissection, however, Ford's Territory Turbo lived up to its "car-like" tag in all aspects (except, perhaps, for fuel consumption).No matter what trickery they've used to make it steer, handle and ride so competently — and it does all that very well indeed — there's no getting past the fact that it takes a bit of juice to punt the Territory along, especially when you begin using the turbo to good effect for some enthusiastic driving.We rarely managed to achieve better than 15 litres per 100km. But that's not excessive when you consider the size of the vehicle and the fact that under the bonnet is a muscular four-litre unit borrowed from the Falcon XR6 Turbo.Tweaked to accommodate the heftier Territory, the engine develops 245kW at 5250rpm and 480Nm at a low 2000rpm.This means it manages to manipulate all that weight well enough to back up Ford's claims that this vehicle feels more like a car than a truck.The only time the Territory's size matters is when you head into a hard corner; otherwise, it pretty well shoots wherever you point it. The all-wheel-drive system, biased 38:62 to the rear, gives athletic response and great confidence in tricky conditions.Steep slopes? Intimidating road trains? No problem. Just leave them behind with a press of the urge pedal and a tap of the gearshift in sequential mode.We've salivated about the Territory's six-speed ZF transmission before, so we'll try to be a bit more restrained here.But there's no denying that the thing is really damn good. Silky, refined and so responsive. What more could you ask?Well, maybe a bit more sound deadening, because the harder you drive the Territory, the noisier the engine gets.It didn't ever reach the annoying stage, and we didn't notice it so much at first, but after a whole day in the vehicle it became a bit wearing. Mind you, we could have turned on the stereo and easily drowned it out.The Territory comes in two trim levels, both of which have 18-inch wheels, a tell-tale bonnet scoop and chromed twin exhaust tips.The equipment list includes Ford's Intelligent Safety System, dynamic stability control, traction control, grade control, driver and front passenger airbags, and ABS with electronic brake force distribution, The standard $53,990 Turbo comes with metallic and suede-look cloth upholstery, but has a leather-wrapped steering wheel, four-way power adjustment on the driver's seat, a 100-watt CD audio system, blue-lit instruments, cruise control and power windows, mirrors and pedals.It also has more than 30 storage nooks, two of which (in the door pockets) can carry oversized water bottles — a wonderful thing during a long day miles from any shops. Or even creeks.The $65,490 Ghia version has silver-stitched black leather trim plus two more adjustments, black-and-silver dash trim, a six-stacker audio system, dual-zone climate control, a reversing camera, side curtain airbags and a third row of seats.There's just about everything you could want, except maybe a diesel version, and there are hints this may surface in the not-too-distant future. It would be a great fit in the line-up.And if one of the few niggles of the Territory Turbo is its high fuel consumption, that's a problem a Territory diesel could easily fix.