Territory and Falcon go their own way until 2010

Holding off buying a Territory waiting for the new FG's new 195kW six or 270kW Turbo?  You could be disappointed -- and mistaken.

While most pundits have already assumed that the Territory will gain the FG Falcon's upgraded engines and five-speed automatic transmission as a matter of course, it now seems increasingly likely Ford's locally built SUV will soldier on with its existing powertrain through to 2010.

Ford executives quietly hosed down expectations of a powered-up FG-ised Territory during the new Falcon's launch this week saying that the competitive pressures facing Territory are very different from the Falcon.

This is "Fordspeak" for: If it doesn't need to be updated, don't spend money that you don't have to.

The reality is that the Territory will require a major upgrade for the 2010 switch to Ford's imported V6 engines and transmissions, whether it needs it or not. That means that any freshen-up in 2009 can only be current for one year.

If the revised FG Falcon six-cylinder engines and transmissions were fitted to the Territory at this point, they would also require the FG's new electronic systems as well as changes to the structure of the vehicle to accommodate the different transmission [Ed: and engine mounting points]. This will in turn dictate new and costly stability control calibrations that will be obsolete within a year.

Ford also claims that priorities for Territory buyers are different when safety, economy, price and cabin equipment can be more important in its family transport role than a power increase. For example, adding the rear view camera as standard across the range might be a bigger bonus for family buyers than the FG's extra 5kW.

Piecing together these scenarios, the outlook for Territory starts to emerge.

In early 2009, therefore, again in time for the Melbourne motor show, expect a minor facelift with more aggressive new front styling that brings the Territory range in line with the Mondeo and FG Falcon.

The cabin will be freshened-up with some of the more contemporary elements of the FG's new cabin, but to contain costs, the six-cylinder petrol engines will continue in today's specification until the 2010 changeover to the imported V6.

In this context, FPV's new F6X suddenly makes much more sense as a longer-term model. Its 270kW power output (which has since been matched by the new XR6 Turbo) is no longer under threat from an upgraded Territory Turbo fitted with Ford's new 270kW engine if the Territory range retains the existing petrol engines.

As for the current mild FPV body tweaks, these will remain current for at least 12 months.

In early 2009, FPV will be forced to use the first major Territory freshen-up to increase the FPV DNA but the mechanical package should stay the same -- some consolation for today's F6 X buyers.