Ford Territory

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.

Ford introduced the Territory alongside the existing Falcon wagon, which was built on the same production line.^[1] Ford Australia senior executives expected the Falcon wagon to be discontinued soon after the introduction of the Territory, surmising that Falcon wagon sales would substantially decline as fleet buyers migrated to the Territory. However, the two models co-existed because the Falcon wagon retained much of its fleet sales base and the Territory appealed mainly to private buyers.^[2]
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.

SZ (2011–present)

Known as the SZ series,^[7] Ford Australia released official photos of the 2011 facelift model on February 8, 2011. The car now features a large lower air intake and thin upper grille. Titanium models feature LED marker lights, replacing the fog lights on the mid spec TS. The rear of the car now features horizontal style tail lights, replacing the vertical lights on previous models. The update will also see the introduction of diesel power. The interior now features a large eight-inch touch screen.^[8] The diesel Territory will use a Land Rover-sourced 2.7-litre V6 combined with the six-speed 6R80 automatic transmission produced by Ford in the US.^[9] Ford's 4.0-litre petrol inline six gains the modifications received by the FG Falcon. Delivering 195 kilowatts (261 hp) of power, the six will only be available on rear-wheel drive models, with all-wheel drive reserved for the diesel.^[10] Among the new safety features are a driver's knee airbag and updated stability control system, now version 9.0 by Bosch incorporating an anti-roll-over function.^[11]

Specification levels^[12]

• TX: 17-inch alloy wheels, iPod/USB integration, Bluetooth phone connectivity and cruise control.
• TS: 18-inch alloy wheels and adds an eight-inch colour touch screen, front fog lights, dual-zone climate control, seven-seat capacity, premium audio system and reversing camera.
• Titanium: LED running lights, privacy glass, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, satellite navigation with Traffic Message Channel, 10.2-inch rear DVD entertainment system and leather seat trim.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.