Greetings,
Just wondering if anyone has comparisons to offer between the current Outback and the Ford Territory AWD (available in Australia, not sure about the US and elsewhere).
The local media is lapping it up (see
It is known as the Ford Freestyle in Canada and the US and is not as enthusiasically embraced here where there are many, many choices.
It appears to be a Johnnny-come-lately to the crossover SUV market, IMHO. The Subaru Outback is, however getting rave reviews.
Ron
It looks like most overweight top heavy road tanks. I would pick the subaru
Totally different vehicle. The Aussie Territory is based on the rear drive Falcon and has the dohc 4 litre straight six.
My father has a Falcon station wagon with the 4L engine, much the same as the Territory. And he's thinking of getting either a Territory or the new Holden thingie.
His Falcon is a couple of seconds slower to 100 km/h than my 2.5L Legacy wagon, handles worse, and uses 50% more fuel on the open road and nearly
100% more in the city. It can't even tow more. The only advantage is it can seat three people comfortably in the back seat whereas that's a squash in the Subaru.Traditionally, the Holdens and Fords have stood up to constant use on the bad roads in farming areas in NZ better than Japanese cars, but the Subaru is pretty good at that too (especially the Outback).
Still, dad likes the Aussie cars, so maybe I'll get a chance to report on a Territory sometime...
CVT transmission = Constant Vehicle TSBs
R U sure? The Freestyle is based on the Ford 500 which is based on a Volvo platform.
Ron
The Territory is wholly an Australian design and is based on the Falcon platform. It is not based on any Volvo.
This "crossover SUV" market appears to me to be a revival of the station wagon, with an emphasis on awd.
Next th>Dam>> Greetings,
I've been saying this for years, that wagons would have a revival once fuel prices increased and people realized that SUVs handled like crap. First there was the Ford Explorer/Firestone extravaganza, and now with US gas prices rising, people are rethinking the idea of SUV = cool image.
Turns out I was half right. Rather than the return of vehicles like the Vista Cruiser or Country Squire wagons, the newer SUVs are simply becoming more carlike, in essence wagons under a different name. Most of them are taller than the grocery getters of old, but still wagons when compared to an old school SUV like an old Land Cruiser.
-Matt
I did a little research and you are right Losiho. Though they are very similar in concept and style they are indeed different vehicles. My apologies.
Ron
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