Австралиялық Ford Territory кроссовері

Australian mid size crossover SUV
the Australian made Ford SUV

The Ford Territory is a mid size crossover SUV built by Ford Australia that was introduced in April 2004 and produced until 7 October 2016. It was the only SUV built in Australia and Ford's first large three row crossover SUV. It was originally based on the EA169 platform introduced by the EA Falcon and its internal project codename was E265. It won various automotive awards and was the first SUV to win the Australian title of Wheels Car of the Year in 2004, due to its acceptable handling and child carrying capacity. Ford Australia reportedly spent A$500 million on developing this vehicle over a four year period. Many Australian toolmakers were lauded for their cost competitiveness in keeping this cost so low, not as cheap as the Japanese, but much lower than Detroit based cars. Apart from being the first and only Australian made SUV, it was also the first local vehicle to feature electronic stability control.

Both rear wheel drive (RWD) and all wheel drive (AWD) configurations were available for the Australian market. AWD models had an optional anti lock braking system to control the car's motion downhill. Reflecting its SUV design, seating capacity in the Territory was for either five (two rows) or seven (three rows) passengers, making it excellent for large families with children. All seating rows were arranged in a "theatre style", whereby the first row was the lowest and the last row was the highest. The middle and back rows folded flat into the floor to maximise cargo volume. Ford introduced the Territory alongside the existing Falcon wagon, which was built on the same Broadmeadows Assembly Plant production line. Ford Australia senior executives had 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, this did not happen because the Falcon wagon retained much of its fleet sales base and the Territory appealed mainly to large families. The production of the Falcon station wagon was terminated in September 2010. The
Territory was never a serious replacement for it due to higher fuel consumption and increased weight.

The Territory was sold in New Zealand, with 12,000 units sold there. The TX and Ghia AWD/RWD models were sold there. Prior to its debut, a Territory was sent to South Africa in 2004 for assessment by Ford's South African branch. Around 2,300 Territorys were exported.

Exports of the Territory to Thailand was announced to go on sale in April 2006 with the Ghia 4WD model. Prior to that, the SY Territory appeared at the 2005 Bangkok Motor Show. A Thailand Australia Free Trade Agreement was also in place at the time the exports started after 2005. Around 100 Territorys were sold to Thailand in August 2012 after Ford Australia showed interest in a diesel powered version at the 2012 Bangkok Motor Show held in March 2012. Concerns were raised that the Thai export program Ford Australia participated in could collapse due to high taxes imposed on imported vehicles.

The Ford territory had safety features such as driver or passenger airbag, ABS and seat belt.