Long-term Update: ‘Lekker by die see’ as Ford Territory makes a breeze of long distance cruising

After two busy months of tackling the highways and byways of Gauteng, December finally brought an opportunity for our long-term Ford Territory 1.8T Titanium to stretch its legs.

Opting for an early family visit to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast just before the mid-month long weekend proved to be a wise move, given the insane traffic volumes and tragic carnage seen on the N3 route later in December and in early January.

Thankfully traffic was on the tolerable side of things, and the Territory’s excellent noise insulation, comfortable seating and good ride quality meant we arrived at our destination surprisingly refreshed, even after taking a few detours on the R103 through the KZN Midlands to keep things interesting.

One little nitpick though, I didn’t enjoy the artificial feel of the electric power steering system through tighter bends, but in all fairness, this isn’t something that matters much to modern SUV owners and if you’re judging it as a long-distance cruiser this relatively minor flaw is far outweighed by the aforementioned upsides.

The Titanium range-topper is also fitted with a glut of driver assist features to make your journey safer and easier, including Blind Spot Information System, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control, with the latter having been used extensively on our journey to the coast. The 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine, with 138kW and 318Nm on tap, also provided comfortable performance.

The relaxed drive home allowed for a quick stop at the Little Church Tea Garden, which has a charming old-world feel and views to die for. Here we also caught up with the equally charming and selfless paramedic Philip Hull of the Road Safety Foundation, who spends many holidays and long weekends volunteering his time to save lives on this treacherous stretch of road.

For the final haul back to Roodepoort, and despite my insistence that I didn’t feel tired, my wife insisted on taking over the wheel.

Having driven the Territory for a few days the previous month, she has come to appreciate its safe and luxurious feel, and particularly the Titanium’s eight-speaker sound system, which boasts excellent sound quality.

All versions of the Territory come with a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, which also incorporates the climate controls. Thankfully some climate functions, such as fan speed and demisting, can also be operated via a touchbar below the screen, which activates the climate screen when touched.

The Territory also has a large rotary volume control on the centre console between the seats, which is surrounded by shortcut buttons for the central screen. Although the Territory is certainly more digital than analogue, in our book it is relatively user-friendly in most respects.

A wireless phone charger and dual-zone climate control are fitted from the midrange Trend upwards, while the Titanium also comes with a twin-panel panoramic moonroof and LED ambient lighting. 

The flagship version as well-speced as you could expect from the price, which was listed at R721,000 in January 2025, and the only thing I really feel it’s missing is a surround-view monitor, which would make parking this substantially sized vehicle a bit easier.

Speaking of its size, the Territory has ample room for rear seat occupants to sit comfortably and stretch out, while the boot feels somewhat bigger than its possibly-erroneously-stated 448 litre capacity suggests. 

It swallowed loads of luggage with ease, both on the KZN trip and a later mini-breakaway to the Hartbeespoort area over New Year's, to get our dogs away from those big bangs that seem to easily amuse the small-minded among us despite abundant evidence of the trauma it creates for animals.

Here we also got to experience the Territory on some dirt road sections, which it tackled like a smooth operator with no unwanted rattles or creaks.

Efficiency, though, is not the Territory’s strongest attribute. According to the on-board readout, our car consumed 8.1 litres per 100km on our trip to the coast. Overall consumption, since we took delivery in October, stands at 9.2 l/100km. 

That is perhaps understandable for a relatively large and comfortable family vehicle. But with rising fuel prices, it is something you'll need to take into consideration when purchasing a family SUV.

IOL