A crossover SUV that was developed and built by Ford Australia and first released in 2004, the Ford Territory has quickly become a best seller for the Ford Company. The original Ford Territory was based on the EA169 platform of the Ford BA Falcon but has since changed in both style and specifications. Winner of the 2004 Wheels' "Car of the Year" award, drivers noticed the practicality of the SUV as well as its car-like handling.
The first models were the Ford Territory SX models. Aesthetically, the SX resembled the North American-sold Ford Taurus X, but under the hood the SX carried 182 kilowatts of power with a 4.0-litre engine. The actual engine was a DOHC straight-six Barra taken from the Falcon. It was immediately popular with Australian drivers as it had some added features such as flexible cup holders and on the side of the car was a handbag holder geared toward female drivers. An all-wheel drive monster off-road, the Territory remained essentially the same through 2005.
In 2005, the Ford Territory SY was released. An increase to 190 kilowatts in power was the first change, along with AWD models, and a ZF six-speed automatic transmission. The SY was also the first Australian made vehicle with a rear parking camera. In 2006 and 2008, the release of the turbo-charged models FPV F6 and FPV F6X respectively occurred. Both were much faster than the original at 245 kW for the '06 model and 270 kW for the '08 model.
The Ford Territory SY11 was released in 2009 but with few changes from earlier models. There were some minor interior changes made as well as moderate front-end changes. However, it did come with more specification models including the TX, TS and Ghia versions.
The SZ is the newest model of the Ford Territory to be released. A thin upper grille and large lower air intake are included. LED marker lights are included in the Titanium model. It also comes with diesel power and a slew of newer additions that make it a competitive vehicle in the SUV market.