Exploring the Territory Dark: a family SUV that redefines style

SPECIAL edition vehicles have always been a hit in the South African market, with Ford having launched a number of them successfully over the years, particularly with their double-cab bakkie Rangers and have now added the Territory Dark Edition to the mix.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

The family-oriented SUV, launched last year, has been a welcome addition to the Ford stable while also providing a boost to their monthly sales.

The Territory focuses its attention on being a family-friendly SUV with a comfortable and spacious interior.

The Dark Edition aims to capitalise on that by adding interior and exterior additions to make it stand out from the crowd.

It's now on top of the Territory pyramid, replacing the Titanium model.

Exterior

On first glance at the launch drive, it certainly looks like Ford has done a good job, making it far more eye-catching than the outgoing Titanium.

The front gets a satin black grille, the front skidplate receives high-gloss black treatment, and additionally, there are fog lamp accents and mirror caps.

It stands on 19-inch Ebony Black alloy wheels, obviously, the roof gets the same high-gloss black finish as do the integrated roof rails, lower guard trim strip, window trim and the black “Territory” badge at the rear.

It's available in Star White, Lustrous Grey, Panther Black and Ruby Red.

Interior

Inside, there's been a metamorphosis over the standard interior, and the impression we got was that it looked and felt a lot more premium.

The headliner and pillars are charcoal black, as are the leather perforated seats with Cyber Orange stitching, which is also present on the door trims, steering wheel and instrument panel inserts.

A black painted strip frames the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen that's wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible.

There's loads of room for rear passengers while 448 litres of luggage space (1 422 litres with the rear seats folded) will swallow a lot of holiday baggage.

Power