Territory pricing revealed

Pricing for Ford's SZ Territory has been leaked to the Carsales Network ahead of the new SUVs' launch next month. And as the cliché goes, there's good news and bad news...

The good news is that the entry-level Territory TX has been held to a price increase of no more than $100, but it appears that opting for seven-seat capacity will raise that price by $2000.

If buyers can do without the third-row seat, the Territory TX RWD adds substantial value, starting with an upgrade from four-speed automatic to the ZF six-speeder as standard... not to mention the wave of improvements across the whole range, naturally applying to the Territory TX as well. These include factory-fitted Bluetooth, iPod integration, a USB port and new safety features such as Rollover Mitigation, Emergency Brake Assist, a kneebag for the driver and reverse-parking sensors.

The mid-range Territory TS in petrol-engined rear-wheel drive configuration has risen in price by $2500 over its SY series II counterpart, but it gains everything new that the TX model does. On the downside, it loses the SY II's six-disc CD audio system, in favour of a single-disc head unit. Ford appears to expect that this mid-range model will be in the greatest demand.

Territory Titanium, which replaces the Ghia level of trim in SY II is $2100 more expensive and comes with everything already mentioned plus standard satellite navigation.

With the launch of the SZ model imminent, and the 2.7-litre turbodiesel V6 comprising the big news, Ford has chosen to drop the petrol all-wheel drive variants from the new range. The diesel engine will power both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive variants, but the inline petrol six is now reserved for rear-wheel drive cars.

So the question that most will want answered is this: How much more expensive will the diesel Territory be, relative to the petrol versions?

The answer is 'a fair bit', but the operative word there is 'fair'. Punters who were expecting that the diesel engine would add $4000 to the price of the Territory may be relieved to find that the price premium for diesel over petrol is $3250.

What also has to be taken into account, of course, is that buyers are already paying over $2000 more for TX and Titanium RWD petrol variants than they were for the SY II equivalents, so replacing SY II petrol/RWD Territory models in the higher grades with SZ equivalents -- but diesel-powered -- will cost over $5000 more.