Yes, the Ford Territory has waltzed away with the silverware.
According to Gerard Bulmer, Wheels editor, the Territory won because it brings world-class levels of performance, handling, comfort and refinement, at a price that no imported competitor can match. It won the award from a field of 13 finalists ahead of the Volkswagen Golf Mk. V, and the Volvo S40/V50.
The Territory also took out the recreational four-wheel-drive category in the Australia's Best Cars awards presented by Australia's motoring clubs.
Ford is on quite a roll, after its Falcon, on which the Territory is partially based also won a previous Wheels Car of the Year award.
The engine seen above for those not familiar with it is:
Despite being laboured with a 4 speed automatic, it does very well. Moves Falcons along with considerable ease. If the rumoured 6 speed automatic transmission arrives soon, it'll make Falcon (and its derivatives) even quicker than they are already.
lewi
02-03-2005, 04:06 AM
Cool :)
Im a little suprised personally (despite being a Ford fan). I thought something else mighta grabbed it....I dunno what, but I thought it would be somethin else!
Lewi
chris
02-03-2005, 04:19 AM
Nice to see the local manufacturers doing well too. And Wheels isn't known to go soft on cars just because they are locally made. (witness the drubbing the Holden Adventra got in the last COTY).
Surprising also to find the Volvo S40/V50 coming in 3rd. That's a welcome change for Volvo considering past efforts. They've previously always been well engined, well designed and practical easy to live with things, but they always came up short on driving enjoyment.
And when they did try and do fast cars, like S60R, or the old 850R, or the even older 850 T5R, or the C70 T5, they were always brutes. Often they were turbocharged monsters with more power and torque than really suitable for the chassis.
If I'm not mistaken, 2nd place is VW's best result in many years too.
VQ
02-04-2005, 02:20 AM
They even used the Adventura? They wouldn't let the Vy in because it wasn't updated enough.
VW's Golf won COTY many years ago.
But considering ford spent a billion dollars on the BA and this thing, I'd be worried if they didn't get it right.
chris
02-04-2005, 04:56 AM
I can't even remember which model it was. It must have been the Mk I. And if it was, then it shouldn't have been, because local assembly of Golfs was done very poorly.
The Passat of the day still ran rings around the ultra conservative and disappointing Japanese rivals even years after its release.
The Adventra did enter COTY last year, but it never stood a chance of winning. Although admittedly, it had some high class company on the COTY exit list, notably VW Touareg, Audi A8, Jaguar XJ, etc. It was the turn of the Japanese, with the RX-8 winning last year, and the impressive Toyota Prius coming 2nd.
I should put the complete list of COTY winners, and I think I will do that:
1963: Renault R8
1964: Morris 1100
1965: Ford Falcon (XP model)
1966: Ford Falcon (XR model)
1967: Chrysler Valiant
1968: Holden Monaro
1969: Holden Torana
1970: Renault R12
1971: Chrysler Charger
1972: AWARD WITHHELD
1973: Leyland P76 V8
1974: Volkswagen Passat
1975: Holden Gemini
1976: Volkswagen Golf
1977: Honda Accord
1978: Holden Commodore
1979: AWARD WITHHELD
1980: Mazda 323
1981: Mercedes Benz S-Class
1982: Holden Camira
1983: Mazda 626/Ford Telstar (both identical)
1984: Mitsubishi Nimbus
1985: Mitsubishi Magna
1986: AWARD WITHHELD
1987: Honda Prelude
1988: Holden Commodore
1989: Mazda MX-5
1990: Lexus LS400
1991: Honda NSX and Nissan Pulsar
1992: Mazda 626/Ford Telstar (both identical)
1993: Holden Commodore
1994: Subaru Legacy
1995: Honda Odyssey
1996: Mitsubishi Magna
1997: Holden Commodore
1998: Subaru Legacy
1999: Mercedes Benz S-Class
2000: Subaru Impreza
2001: Holden Barina (aka Opel Corsa)
2002: Ford Falcon
2003: Mazda RX-8
2004: Ford Territory
Notes:
- 1991 was a tied result, with both the sensational Honda NSX, and the Nissan Pulsar small car winning - a result of equal number of judges voting for both.
- In some years, the award was withheld because the judges thought no car was worthy of the award!
- Mazda 626 and Ford Telstar where listed were both identical, but with different badges, and both won the award on those occasions.
- Honda NSX runs a close second to the 1999 Mercedes Benz S-Class as the most expensive car to win the award.
- 1973 remains one of the most controversial awards. The P76 range was asthmatic 6 cylinder chalk, and 8 cylinder cheese. Wheels chose to give the award exclusively to the 8 cylinder model, despite the rest of the range generally being considered to be poor.
VQ
02-04-2005, 05:43 PM
The P76 was a nice car, as I've gone through before, I love them, the V8 is a awsome little motor.
We had a Mk1 Passat, a 81 model, GLD, that little motor made a lot of noise and not much power, I loved it, I remeber spending hours watching dad work on it, and I'm gonna be getting a MK1 GLD of similar age soon enough, because I want a frugal car and Dad knows how the motor works and all, and finding a GLD passat is incredibly hard, and if I got one I'd look for Dad's old car.
blackice111288
02-12-2005, 08:47 PM
is the territory the same as the newly released AWD Freestyle?
chris
02-12-2005, 09:51 PM
Not the same.
VQ
02-13-2005, 12:59 AM
Ford spent 500 million on redesigning the BA from a AU, Holden spent less designing the VT, and ford took parts from other parts of ford and they STILL couldn't design the horrible roof shape, I always hit my head on the rear doors, Dad hates it too, being taller then me and using them at work.
They then spent another 500 million taking a BA and then making a new body from the front quarter panels back, because the front end is the same as a BA, but apparantly it can't fit a V8, and it's like most American 4x4's it copied (namely the explorer which loks similar to this but not as soft) it had RWD and AWD versions, and as a resul they are phasing out the low riding Falcon Wagon, because they never bothered to update that thing, with the rear end in that dating back to the XM falcon, albeit with a Watts linkage in it.
Whereas the Adventra is a Comodore station wagon, with a wider trac and AWD which is 62% drive to the rear and 38% to the front, to make it more RWDish, which is what the HSV Coupe 4 using ti's running gear from, albeit lowered. Also, there is now a one tonner AWD model too, not sure if it's both V8 and V6, but it's there, I know that there is a Cross6 though.
If I wanted a 7 seater, I'd still go out and buy a VW Carravelle, cos that can carry 8 comfortably with LOTS of space behind the rear set of seats for space, unlike most any other car on earth.
chris
02-13-2005, 01:17 AM
Ford spent 500 million on redesigning the BA from a AU, Holden spent less designing the VT, and ford took parts from other parts of ford and they STILL couldn't design the horrible roof shape, I always hit my head on the rear doors, Dad hates it too, being taller then me and using them at work.
So? Maybe everyone here can pitch in enough money so we can purchase you lot a Benz S600 "Royale" from Cloer International. If your heads near the roof in that thing, consider joining the NBA in America!
They then spent another 500 million taking a BA and then making a new body from the front quarter panels back, because the front end is the same as a BA, but apparantly it can't fit a V8, and it's like most American 4x4's it copied (namely the explorer which loks similar to this but not as soft) it had RWD and AWD versions, and as a resul they are phasing out the low riding Falcon Wagon, because they never bothered to update that thing, with the rear end in that dating back to the XM falcon, albeit with a Watts linkage in it.
So what is the point of your generic anti-Ford bashing? It wasn't called for.
Can you not see that this is why 2 people so far have tried playing pranks on you. (I stopped one of them).
VQ
02-13-2005, 02:40 AM
The roof thing is a biggie for me, because I can fit in most every other car without hitting my head getting in, once I'm in it is fine Chris, that's not the problem, actually the shape of the roof causes me to have to lean down so i can't hav my back straignt, but i don't expect that in the SWB model, the Fairlane has a sqaure roof which means I can do it.
Ok, it wasn't really bashing, I just don't see the big deal with the car, I don't like the idea of the Adventra much either myself, because it's a 4x4 in a sense, I don't know, just, I'd say it's out of spite for the fact that Ford is winning all the time according to reviewers. Main point in that was the fact they are killing off the wagon, I prefer a low riding wagon to a 4x4 height vehicle, and Ford are ignoring that market now, considering that once the Falcon wagon is gone, it will just be the Magna wagon and Commodore wagon, with the Magna wagon most likely going on the new model too, it means there will only be the Commodore wagon and the Ford Territory is not a low riding wagon, it's a 4x4 style wagon, which comes in rwd as well.
It's mainly my hate for 4x4's because owners of these cars are the opposite of Volvo driver stereotype, 95% of them are never driven off road in their whole life, they are more aggressive on the road, they get the things int he first place because they perceive the cars beign safer to them to protect them better in an accident, while injuring the cars they hit moreso, which is wrong in my book.
DCsplash
02-13-2005, 11:03 AM
It's mainly my hate for 4x4's because owners of these cars are the opposite of Volvo driver stereotype, 95% of them are never driven off road in their whole life,
So, do you also hate owners of M3's, WRX's (4x4 ;) ) etc, 99% of them are never taken to a track? Large saloons, not all are owned by "executives" ;) ? Owners of pick ups, who never pick anything up? Seven seater's owned by people that only have two kids? Hate them all do ya. :)
VQ
02-13-2005, 03:03 PM
No, because those cars at least are passanger cars and in an accident are more freindly to the other car then a 4x4.