Living With The Ford Territory- 2 Months In, The Picture Gets Clearer

Revisiting driving feel: handling and steering

I mentioned that my first time driving the Territory was for a week, where I picked up that its front-wheel system is not ideal for wet conditions. This judgement seems a bit unfair now in hindsight. An all-wheel-drive car will always tug to the road a lot better than a front-wheel-drive car.

What I should have said at the time, and in my previous review, is that the handling from the steering wheel is not the most reassuring — meaning there’s a looseness to it that I’m not 100% a fan of. Like with everything else, however, the more you use it, the less you notice it.

Essentially, what I’m saying is that this is one of the negatives I’ve experienced with the Territory, but it’s not something to nag about or dislike the car entirely. I still feel that the Territory is a well-rounded vehicle.

Performance, gearbox and fuel consumption

Handling and steering play a part in the overall drive experience, but there’s also the suspension, power, gearbox, and fuel consumption to consider.

For the most part, all of these aspects of the Territory have been good. I did pay a bit more attention to the fuel consumption this past month to see if I could get better fuel efficiency.

I’ve continued to use the Territory as my vehicle of choice for drop-offs and pick-ups of family members in the Cape Town area. Occasionally I’m confronted with the city’s infamous bumper-to-bumper traffic, but other than that, the usual driving routes don’t require the Territory to expand its wings fully.

The upshot is that I get to see how heavy the Territory feels when it spends a lot of its time in lower gears. I’ve previously reported a figure of between 9l and 10l per 100km. In the driving conditions I’ve just mentioned, the figures were similar — but I also achieved 8l per 100km on more than one occasion in its Eco drive mode.

For more context to the unacquainted, I’m driving the Titanium model, which sits at the top of the Territory range. The Ford Territory Titanium employs a 1.8l four-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost petrol engine mated to a seven-speed DCT gearbox. The Territory can churn out 138kW and 318Nm of torque.

Family comfort and cabin experience

The in-vehicle experience has continued to impress me over the past month. As I’ve mentioned before, the Territory’s spacious cabin is one of its biggest selling points for me — especially with my wife and kids regularly filling up the passenger seats.

However, after a period of time, I’ve noticed that the gloss black finishes are prone to making dirt marks stand out more. Not a dealbreaker, but an occasional eyesore to someone who tries to keep a car squeaky clean on the inside.

A feature I’ve found useful that I haven’t touched on yet is the double-deck console that makes the most of the space it takes up. What it does is allow for objects to be placed at the bottom part of the console, which my wife has used to safely store her makeup after doing her usual morning routine in the car on the way to work.

The quality of the switchgear and panels in the Territory is something I’ll focus on later down the line as I’d like to see how the materials hold up after a longer period of time.

Another point I’d like to make about the interior is the Peacock Blue and Domino full leather trim in the Territory Titanium model. To be honest, I didn’t even notice the dual-colour setup at first — probably because the contrast isn’t that bold. That's not to say it looks bad, though. With the panoramic moonroof fully open and the sun glistening into the cabin, I was finally able to appreciate the colour contrast.

I look forward to spending another month with the Ford Territory. It’s said that attachment is the root cause of all unhappiness. Well, now I’m attached.

Stay tuned for my next review…