Ford crosses into new Territory

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

It's shorter and rides higher than the Ford Falcon, but isn't as wide. It shares many Falcon components, including engines, gearboxes and independent rear suspension. The front suspension comes from Ford's global parts bin, the four-wheel-drive system from Ford-owned Land Rover.

It's the new Ford Territory and it will go on sale in New Zealand next year, priced from roughly $45,000.

The Territory is a seven-seater "cross-over" vehicle designed to lure mainstream buyers away from heavyweight four-wheel-drives such as the Toyota Prado, Nissan Pathfinder and Mitsubishi Pajero.

It's sort of a people's version of the Audi Allroad, riding higher for buyers who want extra ground clearance but with two extra seats in the rear.

It's the result of a worldwide trend towards such designs, vehicles which combine the best aspects of sedans, people-movers and four-wheel-drives.

The Territory is critical to the future of Falcon. Ford needed it in the product line-up to justify the $550 million it spent on the BA Falcon facelift and to prolong the life of the Falcon programme.

Ford Australia president Geoff Polites said the Territory would carve out its own niche in the Australian and New Zealand market.

"It represents an exciting new phase of our development as a vehicle designer and manufacturer," Polites said.

"We've done more than three years of market research into this vehicle.

"We talked to large-car owners, owners of large four-wheel-drives and owners of people-movers and we found that although each of these owners was reasonably happy with their current vehicles, they could all identify areas where their vehicle didn't match their needs and wants."

Research showed that the Territory had to be versatile and have the right image.

Polites said the business case for the vehicle was sound. "It allows us to make better use of our plant capacity and will also attract new people to the brand, specifically younger buyers and women."

The Territory is based on the concept R7 unveiled at last year's Melbourne motor show.

It will be built on the Falcon assembly line in Melbourne and is likely to be powered by the BA Falcon's 4-litre straight-six engine in standard and turbo form. There will probably be a 5.4-litre V8, too.

The entry-level model Territory is expected to be a rear-drive, based on research that showed buyers wanted a choice of drivetrains.