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Driving impressions
It is good to see users of this forum doing posts after some experience of driving the Territory to compare notes on how they shape up. My own 4000 km is paltry by comparison to the couple of good posts on outback trips but here goes.
Mainly Sydney suburban driving and one long trip down the NSW south coast so far in my TX RWD. Selling dealer (Power Ford at Castle Hill) has been excellent. Only grumble was a poorly fitted weathershield which they’ve rectified. Roof carry bars have taken a long time to deliver - a supply problem rather than the dealer. Haven’t have any problems with window tinting/door trim nor with electricals thank goodness (why they can't do the window tinting in the glass at factory stage beats me). Had the tow bar factory fitted and rear bumper appears to have been manufactured with proper cutouts, so if dealers are getting to work with a hacksaw for after market fits I’d take them to task for that. And don’t adjust the lock on the tailgate - it’s a measure of the excellent dust sealing - just leave another window or door open to let out the air pressure and it will shut easily. Generally car is all tight and well built - maybe we were lucky getting an early production model when they had their eye on the ball. A weak handbrake, a little occasional creak in the rear suspension and a couple of plastic bits knocked off the drivers seat (all followed up at the 3k service), that’s about all.
Fuel consumption started at about 15 when new but has improved as the car runs in. Suburban driving (no peak hours) now about 13.5 to at worst 14.5, country as good as 11.5. (The trip computer is pretty close to my manual calculations.) Incredibly sexy car to drive for an SUV, handles almost like a Mini on bends and like a Bentley on the straight, brakes beautifully. Traction control has only come in once, on a winding uphill rough dirt track. Absolutely nothing fazes it - this is driving at its best.
Love the opening top section of the tailgate which we use most of the time in conjunction with the cargo swing net. Got the rear shelf as an extra even though we have 7 seats. Get the impression Ford intended the shelf for the 5 seaters because it gets a bit fiddly closing it past the rear seatbelts - maybe a little cutout each side of the shelf would solve this. Would also be clever to design the shelf to store within the car if you suddenly need to use the third row seats without warning. (Normally you need to think ahead and take the shelf out and leave it in the garage.) Ford also needs to give a little more thought to the space behind the third row taking larger strollers and prams to give it that extra edge over the people movers. It would also be useful to have a little removable caddy in the alcove on the RH side of the cargo area for those nicknacks like torch, rope etc that one carries in the boot. Presently we use the wet bin for that but it gets a bit crowded with the third row down. The pen holder in the centre console is a great idea but it would help if it retained its grip on the pen when the lid slams instead of releasing it into the dark depths of the mess at the bottom of the console bin. The business card holder mentioned in the handbook but which is not in the console would also be a great idea! The optional sunshades for the 2nd row windows are good in principle but not really compatible with the windows being opened and shut. The top tabs often get jammed in the window when you close it and you have to fiddle with them to get the window to close completely.
Only thing I’m having trouble coming to terms with is the motive power. I read one review that commented that the Territory doesn’t like hills and this is my experience. I mean it all works OK when you plant your foot (keeping your eyes averted from the instantaneous fuel consumption reading!) and with very vigorous pedalling you can even challenge the boy racers on the Mt Ousley Road. But I don’t feel comfortable with the way it loses momentum and starts hunting for the right gear as soon as you hit an upslope - and responds too slowly to kickdowns. Maybe its what I’ve become used to but its been a while since I owned a car where I’ve had to floor the throttle and charge at hills. Perhaps as a NSW driver with the Great Dividing Range to traverse regularly it’s a more noticeable issue here than on the flatlands of Broadmeadows. I can understand the practical marketing and technical reasons for using the Falcon engine - and it is generally strong enough - but I keep thinking that the Rover V8 would have been a good engine for this car. The Terri’s 4 litre 6 doesn’t seem to move 2 tonnes as well as the 3.5 litre V8 moved my 2.5 tonne Rangie. Overall, apart from having a diesel version I think the Terri’s present power train generally needs a revisit. If there is a V8 offered it should be an economical one - or at least a more suitable 6. Either way, more oomph (but economical oomph) would be good.
The long trip - no problems and very comfortable. The car is so good there is almost a boring lack of anything to report! Love the way it automatically drops gear for engine braking going downhill, love the little aircraft type interior spotlights and the sense of theatre in the interior (tiered seats, dimming lights, orange backlighting - all it needs is a big movie screen across the windscreen), love the way it tells you about everything except when you need to go to the toilet (and I’m sure Ford are working on that) - overall so much thought has gone into so much detail. Full marks to Ford for allowing the great talent that has always been in the Australian car industry to express itself.
I hope they do let the Terri go overseas as well to show the world what we can do here. I do get a bit concerned however reading some of the feedback from other users on their problems and I hope Ford keeps its eye on the quality ball as production surges. I’ve always felt that Ford (and some of its dealers, I gather) are a bit of a blunt instrument which is why our family hasn’t owned one since the 1930s! With the Terri I can see they’ve combined a lot of local talent with some Rover/Land Rover/Jaguar input from their European empire to produce a very sophisticated car, but I wonder whether in Australia they are geared up or have the right attitude to follow through on that sophistication. Is it a BMW produced by Freds Bush Mechanical Services? Fingers crossed!
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