FEW models last more than five years without some kind of significant redesign or facelift. The Ford Territory is getting on in age and is due for a significant upgrade late this year or early next, but the latest SYII refresh will hold the fort until the facelift comes. Based heavily on the original 2004 SX series, the latest Territory proves that not being the latest thing is not necessarily a bad thing.

SY Territory
Released: October 2005
Ended: May 2009
Family Tree: TerritoryFORD Australia’s turnaround from the also-rans of the local new car market five years ago to a progressive and dynamic player might have started with the 2002 BA Falcon, but the SY Territory three years later refined it with an SUV with impressive dynamics, refinement and versatility. Both all-wheel and (cheaper, lighter and more fuel-efficient) rear-wheel drive variants brought world-class family car motoring in a 21st century package that can hold its head up high even in the company of the much-vaunted BMW X5. But high fuel consumption from the 190kW 4.0-litre twin-cam in-line six-cylinder engine married to an old-fashioned four-speed automatic gearbox held the RWD Territory back, while the AWD models gained the ZF six-speed auto.
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