Ford Territory 2014 News

Ford has issued a recall on the Ford Territory for a defective impact sensor. The recall on the Ford SZ Territory is to fix a problem with the vehicle's left-hand C-pillar side impact sensor.The recall notice says there is a possibility that a sensor that forms part of the vehicle's supplemental restraint system may not have been secured.This could mean that in the event of a side collision, the side curtain airbag may not operate correctly, possibly resulting in serious injury to the occupant.Ford says only a small number of the vehicles are affected. The problem occurred in 134 Territorys built between 29 March  - 26 April 2012.

A new cylinder head and intake manifold help the petrol mill to a claimed fuel figure of 10.6 litres/100km for both the five and seven-seaters.  The petrol engine is good for 195kW (up from 190kW) and 391Nm (up from 383Nm) while the diesel puts out 140kW/440Nm. The rear-drive diesel has a claimed fuel use of 8.2 litres/100km; the all-wheel drive model uses 8.8 litres/100km.  All models now come with a six-speed automatic transmission as standard. NVH Making the car quieter for front-to-rear seat conversations was a key priority for the noise, vibration and handling team.  New seals around the rear tailgate, more attention to aerodynamics - hence the new side mirrors - and better insulation in the bulkhead and beneath the floor all contribute to trimming decibels from the SZ range. The team even looked at a double bulkhead to cut interior noise but instead opted for a plastic layer sandwiched in the regular sound-deadening material that achieves 95 per cent of the insulation for none of the weight or manufacturing cost. NVH head Michael Stellamanns says interior quietness is a key trigger for customer satisfaction. That's why the diesel was tested in the most demanding conditions - a drive-through restaurant with the window down, car idling and sound bouncing off the bitumen and wall - to ensure the diesel "cackle" wasn't intrusive. DYNAMICS Anyone who drives an SZ Territory will pick the difference in steering, says Ford's vehicle dynamics manager Alex de Vluyt.  Put that down to a new electronic power-assisted steering system and revised front suspension geometry intended to make the new Territory less responsive to wheel inputs at high speeds. Conversely, better responsiveness in parking situations was another target and one de Vlugt says will make the SZ model stand out.  Keeping the big SUV flat while cornering, accelerating or braking was another focus and to achieve the "roll agility of a Mondeo" the front anti-roll bar has been stiffened by 30 per cent, the front springs are 35 per cent stiffer and the rear springs have been beefed up by 10 per cent.

Anderson loves eye-balling unsuspecting Melbourne drivers who are talking illegally on their mobile phones when she is in the Rush-mobile Ford Territory.She stars now as Senior Constable Shannon Henry but is best known for her work on Seven’s now-defunct drama series All Saints and for her vocal talents, after she and singing partner David Campbell went on to win 'It Takes Two' in 2007.These says she enjoys ripping through hand-brake spin turns and other stunts on Rush, but admits Melbourne's trams are still scary for a girl from the NSW country town of Kempsey."Given the nature of the action on Rush, we have a wonderful stunt co-ordinator on the show called Mitch Deans. He teaches us all our various motoring skills," Anderson says."Obviously when there are quite heavy, dangerous stunts to be done, we do have stunt drivers, but we do most of our own driving stunts. Anything from a 'hand-brakey' – that’s a technical term – where you pull the handbrake and do a 180 degree turn. I love doing those – especially on dirt roads – they are fun. I may or may not have pulled out a 'hand-brakey' on unsuspecting passengers away from the set. In a safely-controlled environment, of course. I find doing them much easier than driving on Melbourne roads with trams!""When I joined the Rush cast last year we went to an area outside of Sydney to practice our stunts, learn how to hit our marks, what speeds to come into the stunts at, that sort of thing, which was a lot of fun. While most people are heading off to work for the day, we were out there doing 'doughnuts. It was so much fun."Safety is paramount and we wouldn’t do anything unless we felt 100 per cent safe. Our stunt co-ordinator wouldn’t let us do anything if they felt it would jeopardize our lives or someone else's. Our stunt co-ordinator sits in the passenger seat for rehearsals so he knows you’re 110 per cent clear on what you’re doing. If you’re ever in doubt, we just call 'Cut'. "I have been doing a bit of motorbike riding with the stunt co-ordinators too and I am now really keen to get my motorbike licence.""For me, my scariest stunts are anything where I have to do it around trams in Melbourne. Stunts are fine – I just do not cope with trams. I am clearly a NSW girl.""On the show, we drive Ford Territorys – which are the same cars the police in Victoria actually do drive. Sometimes we get mistaken for the real police. It’s funny when we drive past people talking on their mobile phones whilst they’re driving; if you look at them, they’ll slowly drop their phone. It’s pretty funny.""My first car was an Astra which I bought after I went overseas. I bought it outright after saving all my money. I was 23.""I love road trips because I like singing in my car. I like driving solo and I just put my iPod on shuffle and see what comes up. You can always hit skip if it’s not a great song.""Any drive up the east coast of Australia is pretty special, especially up around where I live on the mid-north coast of NSW – it’s absolutely stunning. Last year I experienced quite a scary road trip. I drove to Melbourne by myself through the bushfires. That was full-on. I kept calling Vic Roads to see if I was going to get through. It was really very frightening. I don’t want to ever do that again."