Ford Territory

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Ford Territory

Production	2004–present
Assembly	Campbellfield, Victoria, Australia
Engine(s)	4.0 L Barra I6 182 kW 380 Nm (SX) 190 kW 383 Nm (SY) 245 kW 480 Nm {SY Turbo} 270 kW 550 Nm (FPV F6X 270)
Wheelbase	2,842 mm (111.9 in)
Length	4,856 mm (191.2 in)
Width	1,898 mm (74.7 in)
Height	1,714 mm (67.5 in)
Curb weight	2,015 kg (4,440 lb)-2,045 kg (4,510 lb)

The Ford Territory is a crossover SUV built by Ford Australia and based on the EA169 platform of the Ford BA Falcon. It was released in April 2004. Its code name inside Ford was E265. It won the 2004 Wheels Car of the Year award, the reviewers praising car-like handling and practicality as reasons for its win. Ford had reportedly spent A$500 million on developing the range over four years. It is built on the same production line as the Australian-made Falcon. While many suspected that it would replace the Falcon wagon, the two actually co-exist together because the Territory is bought mainly by private buyers, the Falcon wagon by fleets.

Australian and New Zealand models are slightly different visually: all models sold in New Zealand have body-colour bumpers and alloy wheels, including the base model. Front light detail resembles that of jewellery in a black box. In New Zealand, the only rear wheel drive model is the base version and all other models have all wheel drive; while in Australia, all models are available with either rear wheel drive or all wheel drive.

South African sales for the Territory began in 2005. Exports to Thailand began in 2006, with the Thai model being offered only in AWD Ghia trim.

[edit] Powertrains

The Territory is sold with two engine choices, the 4.0L inline-six engine as the standard engine, and a turbo charged six-cylinder version in the Turbo model. The base engine is available in RWD and AWD. The RWD model has a four-speed automatic gearbox, and the AWD has the ZF's six-speed auto. The turbo model only comes in AWD. In 2010 Ford will update the current 4.0L inline-six to meet strict Euro 4 emission standards. In 2011 Ford will introduce a new model with the 2.7L diesel V6 that is shared with Land Rover, Peugeot and Citroen. It will initially use the ZF's six-speed auto but eventually adopt the Powershift transmission to reduce fuel consumption. The engine will emit up to 25 percent less CO2 compared to the current 4.0L inline-six. ^[1]

[edit] SX (2004–2005)

The original model was the SX and was produced between 2004–2005. The engine was the 4.0 litre DOHC I6 Barra engine from the Falcon, developing 182 kW (244 hp).

Appearance-wise, the Territory resembles the Ford Taurus X sold in North America. Both cars have similar styling cues -- it was this that sold the Territory to Ford executives at the head office in Dearborn, Michigan. Simon Butterworth, who was behind the Ford Falcon facelift of 2003, styled the Territory but had worked with his American counterpart, J Mays, in working in the global Ford "DNA". Marcus Hotblack worked on the Territory's interior, with a Swiss army knife as a metaphor. Consequently, the car has touches such as flexible cupholders and a handbag holder to the side of the seat for female drivers, recognizing that many SUV buyers are women.

2004–2007 Ford Territory TX.

[edit] Specification levels

Both rear- and all-wheel drive configurations were offered in three trim levels. All-wheel drive models have an optional Hill Descent Control system, using the anti-lock braking system to control the car's motion downhill, inherited from Land Rover.

Options of five seats (in two rows) or seven seats (in three rows) are available. The rows of seats are arranged in a "theatre style", with the back row highest. They fold down smoothly into the floor. A DVD player is available as an option on all models.

• TX:
• TS: added side curtain airbags (optional on TX), which were a first for an Australian made car.
• Ghia:

[edit] SY (2005–2008)

2004–2007 Ford Territory Ghia AWD (with optional bull bar)

An updated SY model arrived in October 2005, bringing with it a ZF six-speed automatic transmission on all AWD models and an increase in power to 190 kW (255 hp). The model also comes with a Rear Parking Camera (optional on the TS and standard on the Ghia), another first for an Australian made vehicle.

Ford Australia introduced a turbo variant of the base engine, in mid 2006. The addition of the turbo boosted the engine performance to 245 kW (329 hp) and 480 N·m (350 ft·lbf) of torque

[edit] SY II (2009–)

The SY II facelift was revealed at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show. It consists of moderate front-end changes as well as other minor exterior changes. The interior gets upholstery changes across the range, with the old colour schemes being replaced with more modern ones.

[edit] Specification levels

• TX: receives body-coloured bumpers and alloy wheels standard over the SY.
• TS: also gains body-coloured bumpers, newly designed alloy wheels as well as third-row seats standard.
• Ghia: models get mirror mounted side indicators, new alloy wheels, privacy glass for the rear windows and third-row seats standard.

The SYII also received a revised front suspension to address a well documented weakness in the front lower balljoints. The previous design has the ball joints under constant tension (i.e. trying to pull them apart) which has resulted in some complete failures of the joint (fortunately no casualties) and premature wear requiring lower control arm replacements after as little as 50,000km. The new system has the lower balljoints under compression, eliminating the premature wear issue. The rubber mounting bushes for the differential are also known to fail earlier than would be expected - this has not been addressed in the new model.

[edit] Territory as an emergency vehicle

MICA Single Responder in Melbourne.

The Territory is used in varying roles by several emergency services in Australia. Victoria Police use the Territory as a patrol car as well as specialist departments such as the Major Collision Investigation Unit. The Territory Turbo has been used by the Traffic Management Unit for traffic patrols. Ambulance Victoria uses the Territory for Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance Single Responder units, and for similar roles in other ambulance services. It is also used by some fire brigades as a crew/equipment transport vehicle.

The Australian Federal Police and NSW Police both use the Territory Turbo as a VIP protection and escort vehicle.

[edit] FPV F6X

FPV F6X.

An enhanced version of the Ford Territory was introduced by Ford Performance Vehicles in January 2008 as the FPV F6X. It was fitted with the same 270 kW turbo-charged engine as the FPV F6^[2] and accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 5.9secs. The F6X was only available with Four-wheel drive and is equipped with the ZF 6 speed automatic gearbox as fitted to the Ford FG Falcon. The lack of sufficient differentiation from other Territory Turbo models and the significantly higher price meant it met with only limited success and it was discontinued in June 2009 when the SY II was introduced.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ford Territory

• Ford press release published at Autoweb
• Ford Australia website with information about the Territory
• Ford Thailand Territory website
• FPV website