Ford heads into diesel Territory

We're finally getting a new Ford Territory - and the big news is that it comes with a choice of diesel power.

We're finally getting a new Ford Territory - and the big news is that it comes with a choice of diesel power. Rob Maetzig heads to Canberra for the big launch.

FORD TERRITORY POWER PLANT: 2.7-litre V6 common-rail turbo diesel engine, 140 kW at 4000 rpm, 440 Nm at 1900 rpm. 4.0-litre in-line six cylinder DOHC petrol engine, 195 kW at 6000 rpm, 391 Nm at 3250 rpm. RUNNING GEAR: All petrol models are rear-wheel drive, while diesel models offer choice of all- wheel drive and rear-wheel drive. Six-speed automatic transmission. Virtual pivot control link front suspension, control blade independent rear setup. HOW BIG: Length 4883mm, width 1898mm, height 1716mm, wheelbase 2843mm. HOW MUCH: No prices yet. Territory will be available in TX, TS and Titanium levels of specification, and all models will come standard with seven seats. WHAT'S GOOD: Very refined and quiet drive. Love the diesel version. WHAT'S NOT: Rear look perhaps not different enough from the pre- facelift version. OUR VERDICT: Hopefully the arrival of this latest Territory is not too late for the model, because as a uniquely Australasian SUV it deserves success. But there's now a lot of competition out there.

It was almost as if the cavalry had come to the rescue, with beleaguered Ford Australia staff breathing a collective sigh of relief as over the hill came a fleet of facelifted and re-engined Territory SUVs.
Maybe that's why the Australasian media launch of this Ford was held at the nation's headquarters, Canberra.
In fact, the press conference was held inside Parliament House, which required the New Zealand motoring media to get their laptops out and undergo no fewer than three security checks to get there - at Auckland airport, Melbourne airport, and at Parliament itself - before being escorted by security guards into a conference room somewhere inside the innards of this imposing bureaucratic complex.
All for a vehicle launch.
Presumably it was because someone in the Ford Australia PR department thought it a bright idea to reveal the 2011 Territory in the state of Australian Capital Territory. Get it?
But then again, maybe launching this vehicle in the nation's capital was a good idea, because the facelifted Territory is a unique vehicle that is vitally important to the ongoing viability of Ford Australia.

It is unique because it a wholly- Australian developed SUV that is sold only in Australia and New Zealand. And it is important because the new version shoulders a heavy responsibility to regain sales that have slowly declined over the unusually long seven years the first-generation version has been on the market.
So is it fair to describe the Ford Australia staff beleaguered? In the case of the Territory, yes.
When it was first launched in 2004, it proved such an immediate success that for the first two years one in every three SUVs sold in Australia was a Territory. But, as the years have gone by, that market share has more than halved.
There have been some solid reasons for this. First, seven years has been a long time for any vehicle to remain on the market without at least a substantial facelift.
Secondly, whereas when Territory was first launched it was very much an only child in the car-based SUV market, it is now very crowded with lots of new players competing for their share of sales. And thirdly, Territory hasn't been available with diesel power - and diesel now commands close to 50 per cent of the SUV segment.
But all that is now set to change. That's because not only will this new Territory enter the market as a significant improvement on the old - and that's saying something, considering the first-generation model was good enough to be named New Zealand Car of the Year and twice win the prestigious AA Motoring Excellence Awards - but it will also now be available as a diesel.
The only thing missing at this stage is price. At last week's media event the Australian journalists got to know the Aussie prices, but apparently Ford New Zealand hasn't quite settled ours. That's probably due to the soaring value of the Australian dollar against the Kiwi, which must make it very difficult to confirm pricing. However it is expected some time this week.
During that security- surrounded media briefing within Parliament House, Ford Australia's Falcon and Territory vehicle line director Russell Christophers recalled that during market research prior to development of the first- generation Territory, the company discovered there was pent-up demand for a vehicle that didn't exist - one that would ride like a large car, offer the packing of a 4x4 but not be truck-tough, and which could seat up to seven people.
"We spent 18 months developing Territory so it could hit those sweet spots, and we succeeded," he said.
"So it wasn't rocket science to figure out that we should carry over those features that helped make Territory so popular, such as the reversing camera, split tailgate, rear parcel shelf, the area in the back to carry wet stuff, rear power source, the third row of seats and the ability to fold the second and third rows flat, and the rear DVD player with wireless headphone."
All of those features continue to be in the new model, Christophers said. What is new includes the fresh exterior appearance, the availability of 2.7-litre turbo-diesel power across the range, higher level of specification, and a much improved level of refinement.
A drive programme out of ACT and to the New South Wales coastal settlement of Batemans Bay quickly showed this latest Territory to be impressive product that offers a level of driving refinement and quiet that is on par with considerably more expensive luxury European SUV product.
I'm particularly impressed with the diesel versions. The Ford- designed Duratorq TDCi 2.7-litre turbocharged V6 engine is already familiar to many New Zealanders, having already been seen under the bonnet of various Peugeots, Land Rovers and Jaguars that are sold here.
But under the bonnet of the heavily sound-insulated Territory it seems to be just that much better. My driving partner and I delighted in being able to cruise through the countryside with only a light touch on the accelerator required to keep the big Ford at pace, and the on-board computer telling us our fuel consumption was heading down below 7 litres per 100 kilometres.
I believe the Ford people when they say that, thanks to the Territory diesel's 75-litre fuel tank, it has a potential range of more than 1000 kilometres.
All the all-wheel-drive versions of the Territory are powered by this diesel engine, with the FG Falcon's 4.0-litre in-line petrol six only available in rear-drive models. It's an improved engine compared to that aboard the outgoing Territory, offering slightly more power and torque but better fuel economy, and like the diesel version it benefits from being mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
On the road, the new Territory feels nice. It's quieter than before, with wind noise estimated to be lowered by 30 per cent, and the SUV benefits from a complete re- engineering of the suspension system that has included new springs, dampers and stabilisers.
Territory also now has the same speed-sensitive electric power- steering system as that aboard the new Mustang in North America.
While, from the rear, the exterior view of the Territory doesn't appear to have changed much, the front view is now a lot different thanks to a slim-line grille that to me looks quite Volkswagen.
The interior features a brand- new instrument panel that, for the first time, includes an eight-inch touch screen in the top models. There's also a very advanced system Ford calls the Interior Command Centre, which allows impressive use of such things as full iPod integration, USB connectivity, Bluetooth mobile phone integration including audio streaming, satellite navigation and reversing camera.
Interestingly, at last week's media briefing, the Ford Australia people spent a lot of time detailing what the new-age ICC is all about, but just barely mentioned the fact the Territory now has turbo-diesel power, which is the big news about this facelift.
Maybe they were a bit embarrassed that it's taken such a long time for this to happen. Whatever the reason, I would have thought they would have been shouting from the rooftops that this very good SUV now has a diesel under the bonnet.
Oh - and one other piece of news about the Territory. The pre- facelifted model was the last Ford in this part of the world to use the Ghia badge to denote the top model, and with the new version this name has now disappeared and has been replaced with Titanium.
It's all part of a theory that Ghia was getting a bit old and dreary, while Titanium denotes new-age and exciting. Actually it could be said that was exactly the situation with the Territory anyway.
- Taranaki Daily News