2005 Ford Territory Ghia 4.0 litre petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A good family wagon

Faults:

The ACS intermittently goes on and stays on until the engine is switched off.

The cruise control intermittently switches off and cannot be switched back on.

General Comments:

Having just switched from a 1992 Holden Commodore wagon to the 2005 Ford Territory Ghia, these are my initial impressions, and hopefully they will be useful to anyone else considering a similar upgrade.

Motor is a gem. Very smooth and well matched to the car.

Handling is good for a SUV but car-like, it is not.

Fuel economy is on a par with the old Commodore wagon. Just travelled Ohakune to Wellington, 11.6l/100km 5 fully loaded (=24mpg).

Interior is spacious and very comfortable.

Sound system is great.

Rear visibility is acceptable, but the parking sensors are very useful.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th October, 2008

29th Jun 2014, 09:43

Just wondering if you ever found a way to correct the cruise control turning itself off? Have just bought a used Territory, and it is doing the same thing!

Thank you.

In reply to 29th Jun 2014, 09:43

12th Sep 2014, 10:36

Ford Territorys have very touchy brake light switches; a slight bump in the right section of the road will cause my Territory to disengage cruise control. I haven't looked into a more permanent fix, other than tapping the pedal up with the top of my left foot and reengaging the cruise control.

2005 Ford Territory tx 4.0L from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Must have, would like to upgrade to a ghia

Faults:

It has a water problem in the drivers side headlight and remote side mirrors have stopped working, has to be taken back to dealer.

General Comments:

A pleasure to drive, comfortable, plus plenty of drink holders {10} if you are the thirsty type.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2006

2005 Ford Territory Ghia AWD 4.0L petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

In all a well finished car which more than suits my needs

Faults:

AccuTrack Stability control activating intermittently.

Driver's window jamming down - sinced fixed with some form of modification.

Rear hatch leak.

Exhaust came loose at the manifold.

General Comments:

My biggest gripe with this vehicle is the performance of the AccuTrack stability control. This will activate randomly when in right hand sweeping corners - without braking, or excessive speed. The result is that the car lurches to the left as stability control kicks in - very alarming when it occurs. I solve this by disabling the AccuTrack when on long journeys (achieved by pressing the dash button for one second). I understand that this problem will be fixed by loading "de-sensitised" software and a modified gyroscope sensor. Ford will advise once the fix is available.

I am one of four Territory drivers based in Napier, NZ who are complaining of this problem.

Since taking delivery of the vehicle in March 2005, I have driven 40,000km and find it a comfortable vehicle to travel the long journeys that I take.

The fuel consumption on 91 octane is around 14 litres / 100 km. I suppose that's the price you pay for driving a heavy and large vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th December, 2005

19th Feb 2006, 14:57

Hello again,

An update on the performance of this vehicle:

Drivers-side window has jammed down a second time (despite Ford's modifications being fitted on the first occasion!)

Exhaust has come loose at the manifold on two separate occasions... sounds like a tractor when this occurs!

One year down the track, I am still waiting on the AccuTrak modification. The local Ford agents advise that the vehicles which have this problem are being being addressed on an exchange basis. I.e. a kit is being dispatched with new sensors and desensitised software - apparently they only have a handful of kits to go around, hence the delays in addressing all of the cars with this problem.

The most recent problem is some pretty serious "clunking" going on in the back end when travelling at low speed and transiting from coasting to acceleration.

This car is rapidly loosing it's appeal, given the repeated visits to the service agents for problems (two of which have occurred twice!)

My previous 3 cars have been Holden Commodores & whilst there were some problems, nothing on the scale of this vehicle.