Living With It – Ford Territory 1.8T Trend AT [Introduction]

Sound middle ground. So far, there’s nothing middling about the Trend-specification Territory that’s joined our long-term fleet.

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Time spent: One of six months
Distance covered: 784 km
Average fuel consumption: 8.6 L/100 km
We like: Spacious packaging; good looks; doesn’t feel lacking in Trend specification
We don’t like: Overly sensitive brake and throttle calibration

It was Benjamin Franklin who coined the now infamous “death and taxes” idiom to describe life’s less pleasant inevitabilities, but had the famed US statesman been around in the present day, he could well have added “soaring new-car prices” to that adage. It’s certainly the immutable subject in our interactions with the public; and one that’s often perpetuated by the fact that many of the cars we receive to review are range-topping models with many optional extras fitted.

It’s an understandable approach that allows firms to best showcase their products, but it often leaves us wondering whether a lesser-equipped, but more palatably priced mid-tier model would be. It was certainly the case when we reviewed the range-topping ford Territory 1.8T Titanium in the September 2024 issue of the magazine. We walked away suitably impressed with the Blue Oval’s latest SUV; noting in particular the generous interior proportions, composed road manners, and pleasing aesthetics. However, its current R721 000 price tag places it among some very capable and more established opposition, such as upper-tier models in Kia’s Sportage and Toyota’s RAV4 line-ups. This left us proposing the Trend model would be the likely sweet spot in the Territory range. So, the opportunity to run an example in our long-term test fleet to see if this is indeed the case was one we couldn’t pass up.

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The near-R75 000 gap between Titanium and Trend specification accounts for a suite of active safety features (blind spot assist, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and collision mitigation), comfort and convenience features (front PDC, electric front seats, panoramic sunroof, auto high-beam, uprated audio system and heated folding wing mirrors) and a host of cosmetic touches that include model-specific trim, leather upholstery and larger alloy wheels, among others.

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While these features are certainly appealing – and in the case of the safety technologies, potentially very helpful – their omission from the Trend has done little to dilute its appeal so far. The mid-tier model still manages to garner plenty of attention wherever it goes, has impressed rear passengers with the generous leg- and luggage room on offer during a weekend trip out of town, and the inclusion of well-considered features (keyless entry and ignition, wireless smartphone connectivity and charging, power tailgate) means the mid-tier specification doesn’t feel miserly. The only negative carryover from our time with the Titanium is the overly sensitive calibration of the brake and throttle pedals, which can make progress round town a little cumbersome at times, but with a strong start and six months’ time on its side, we’ll see whether it’s something to which we’ll gradually adjust.

Find the full feature in the October 2024 issue of CAR Magazine.

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