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I baby it, so does my wife, to try and get the best fuel economy possible (mainly to see what it can do) and at an average of 15.3L/100km it is starting to turn into a horror story.
I'd love to get 15.3l/100km. I think peoples fuel economy is just as dependent on the traffic as the driving style. If I drive around town in normal Brisbane traffic in a normal light footed way the Territory does average very close to 20l/100km. This is very predictable and stable. If the traffic drops back a bit it gets down to around 16-17 l/100km. It has never got anywhere near 13.5l/100km and I doubt it ever will.
This is a thirsty car - end of story. It uses about 50% more fuel in the same traffic and with the same driving style as my old Subaru Outback. Results may close in a bit on the highway - we'll see.
I spoke to a mate who's got an AU falcon and he says he gets about an extra 80km per tank by shifting the transmission into neutral at the lights - I'll give this a go too and see if it makes any difference.
I think any mass produced product always throws up isolated examples with glitches (Even Japanese and German ones).
You make a good point. I have a mate who is a Toyota fanatatic and can't believe I got the Terri instead of a current model Prado like his. When I was in decision mode I asked him how the Prado had been. "Great mate except for this problem where it wears front tyres really quickly and this really annoying vibration at around 80 kph. The dealer can't fix either problem." And he wonders why I didn't get one.
My wife's 6 month old Subaru has a sticking throttle from time to time that hasn't been resolved
No doubt I will get the odd problem with mine but I do think the Terri generally is suffering from the "tall poppy" syndrome. The car is so good that people can't believe it was made here by Ford and are looking for faults to pull it down. ie fuel economy or the ludicrous nonsense about ground clearance. If I wanted to do serious off roading where ground clearance mattered I would have bought the Prado. I don't intend to climb rocks in the Terri - just to get to places where the Berlina would have struggled.
I think the skeptics about Ford's ability to build a great vehicle need to accept that it has done so. I work in manufacturing (nothing to do with the car industry) and know what its like to have to shape up or close. Its an enormous motivator for the workforce and management to really get behind a new program/product to rebuild the business when you know your future depends on it. I have no doubt that is what is happening at Ford - first the BA and now the Territory.
Good article in this month's Overlander magazine (I think) where they took a Terri on a long horror road and found it survived very nicely and enjoyed zooming past "real 4wd's" who struggled.
This is a thirsty car - end of story. It uses about 50% more fuel in the same traffic and with the same driving style as my old Subaru Outback. Results may close in a bit on the highway - we'll see.
I've no doubt it is a thirsty car but I guess it gets down to expectations. Mine is a novated lease and I have costed the lease at 16 l per 100 km - hence why I'm happy with the early days 15.2. Isn't the true test of the Terri how it stacks up against the direct opposition and maybe the indirect opposition? It will undoubtedly drink more than a Kluger but the Kluger is not as comfortable in the back (second seat) - wouldn't like to squeeze 3 adults or big teenagers there for a long trip.
My comparison with a Berlina is I think a good benchmark for prospective buyers. 2-3 litres per 100 k worse. I can live with that. Maybe things get a lot worse with a lot of stop start. I have a bit of this but not to the same extent as obviously others.
Will post again on the fuel issue after I have done a few highway trips.
Well, with mine now just past 3,500 km the computer has settled into the mid 13's l/100kms which I'm quite happy with. That's better than what I expected from an AWD TS with 7 seats. The computer has been reset a few times but comes back to this figure over time. Driving has been what I'd call light-urban to open road. I certainly get my share of round abouts, school zones and stop lights but that's interspersed with 80-100kmh stretches though over relatively hilly terrain. Very little peak-hour traffic jams type stuff.
I think whether your happy or not comes down to expectation and has alot to do with driving style. I'm not being overly conservative in mine but I don't take on every SS at the traffic lights either.
Doing the sums I'd still rather be in a Territory. For example say your using say 5l/100km more than you'd like. So with fuel at $1/l (to make the calc's easy) that's a whole $5 more for each 100km you travel. Over a year (say 25,000km) that's $1,250. Call me biased but a $1,250 differential wouldn't have got me into a Kluger, Pajero, Prado or Outback in preference to the Territory.
In all fairness, a lot of people would only consider a Territory because it would seem to use a lot less fuel than a full size SUV... but the Explorer V8, Discovery3 V8, Jeep V8, Prado V6 have a similar fuel consumption to the Territory (from what I have gathered), and the decission to buy a Territory would have to be based on other factors. If i had the $60,000-80,000 i would be going for the Discovery - but i dont even have the $40,000 in my pocket for a Territory.
[quote=chevypower]In all fairness, a lot of people would only consider a Territory because it would seem to use a lot less fuel than a full size SUV... QUOTE]
Can't let you get away with that one Chevypower. At the risk of sounding like a Ford ad, I think the reason people chose the Terri is because its priced reasonably, drives and is equipped like a luxury car, has unequalled functionality and offers a reasonable degree of off road capability (that will probably never be used by the majority of buyers). In a nutshell all those suburban drivers who have flocked to buy Pajeros and Prados but never go off road are going to find it very hard to resist a Terri.
I don't think fuel consumption comes into it.
[quote=johnydep]Fuel consumption does come into it.
Some people do like the Terri but will not purchase it because of the fuel consumption.QUOTE]
That's a diffent angle and I agree with you. However, my point was that potential drivers of real fuel guzzlers (Explorer V8, Discovery3 V8, Jeep V8),are hardly likely to be attracted to a Terri just because they're looking for superior fuel consumption. They will be attracted by all of the other reasons I mentioned. I also doubt that too many of these buyers would be interested in the Terri in any case. I reckon they're far more likely to be attracted to a "real 4wd" such as a Prado or a Pajero.
Sorry Ouzo, i did mention that the Territory was only $40,000 and i did mention "other reasons for buying the Territory" i did not specify what they were, based on my own experience only. Everyone will still have their own personal oppinions, and it may seem like the others struggle in their on-road performance compared to the Territory. I can't say, i havent driven the Territory, but I have driven Range Rovers, Discovery IIs, X5s, a Touareg, XC90, Honda MDX, and i really gotta say... the real 4X4s are very civilized these days -so while some people will buy the Territory based on how civilized it is, and i would forgive them for that, i would suggest people to give the others a shot too. EG, a Discovery II with ACE cornering enhancement is able to do a hairpin turn at 60km/h with no worries at all... theres a lot of cars that struggle to do that.... having said that, i still think the Territory has its pros and if people like the car for what it is then that's ok with me. But i wouldnt suggest it as a people mover over a Discovery III or Explorer or Prado based on fuel consumption alone, as they are very similar. You would have to look at what you personally like about the vehicle. Me? I like the Territory, but i am too much of an off-road fan, and as i said having driven the others, if upfront money wasnt part of the equation i would go the Discovery3 V8 HSE.... incidentally, one major bonus with the Territory vs the others is the servicing and spare parts costs... Can you verify this?
Good post Ouzo. Until recently I was very skeptical of Ford products although I’ve owned a few in my time. I’ve had Peugeots, Holden’s, Nissans and Toyotas from new and a host of other makes and models second hand so I have no predisposition towards blowing the trumpet for Ford.
However - Ford has done brilliantly with the Territory, I was not in the market for either a Ford or SUV style vehicle but the combination of qualities and the price of the Territory changed my buying decision. Because of its flexibility, inevitably folks are making comparisons against vehicles in various categories, pointing out where they perceive the Territory falls short but I don’t believe there is any other vehicle out there at present that melds value for money, functionality and road manners so practically and a lot of car buyers seem to be casting their votes accordingly in Ford showrooms.
My experiences with the Territory to date have been all good, (plus thanks to an earlier thread in this forum I applied for and just received my $1,000 voucher – yee ha). My Territory is a 2Wd 7 seater TX that has now covered 2700km, my business partner has the same spec Territory and he has covered about 2500km, both vehicles have had no dramas and remain tight as drums.
Fuel consumption seems to be a major point of contention. I use premium fuel and my fuel consumption has averaged between 12.4 to 12.7 litres per 100k, my manual calculations at the last three fill ups have been within 0.2 litres per 100k of the computer. I do 90% urban driving though I usually manage to avoid rush hour traffic. I have had her up to 150kph with no dramas and don’t hesitate to nail it at intersections if there’s a gap in the traffic, while I don’t drive like a spotty youth with a backward facing baseball cap, I haven’t ‘babied’ it either.
The only two niggles I can report are no fault of the vehicle. One morning this week I found the right rear tyre was totally flat, the side wall had two hefty punctures in it, I don’t recall hitting any kerbs etc and the Tyre man tells me it doesn’t look like vandalism so a bit of a mystery there – it was beyond repair so cost me $290 for a replacement, they didn’t have that size tyre on their computer yet and tracked one down for delivery the next day.
My dog has successfully chewed the right rear seatbelt for the optional seats so God knows what a replacement seatbelt will set me back.
The only reservation I have now, due to some comments in earlier threads, is what sort of service I will get from my Ford dealer, this will determine the likelihood of a repeat purchase as much as my experiences with the car.
As for future versions I hope Ford don’t depart too radically from a sound platform, the turn in seems quite sharp, another gear or two and some weight reduction would have obvious benefits but evolution rather than revolution would see me trading in for a later model Territory in two or three years time. If I had a magic wand I would turn it into a Porsche Boxster or my beloved but departed Peugeot Gti6 for those weekend runs on tight twisty roads but in the meantime the Territory is a very enjoyable vehicle for such a practical two tonne monster.
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