Our family's new ride is a favourite

"WHAT a lovely-looking car!" was my first thought on seeing the Ford Territory that had been delivered while I was out.

- LOUANNE CHAMBERLAIN

First impressions were very good; a once-over glance showed a generous cabin size in the back, a well-sized boot, and, in general, the car looked modern yet still suitable for more mature drivers as well as families with children and pets.

So who am I? I am a wife and mom with teenagers still in the home, I run and administrate a business or two, and have a little side hustle that requires loading gazebos, tables, chairs and merchandise on random weekends.

I am by no means a petrol head, so all the amazing specs on the car will have to be found elsewhere. This is my opinion of the vehicle that I had the pleasure of driving for a week.

Driving

During our time with the Ford Territory, we used it for suburban errands, including the twice-daily school run, various extracurricular activities, and grocery shopping for our large family.

We did two highway runs from the southernmost area of Centurion (I know, I had to go and prove it to Johannesburg Water at their Giskey office many years ago), once to Colbyn, Pretoria North, and then to Elspark, Germiston.

In both suburban driving and on the highway, the car handled smoothly, steering was light and responsive, fuel consumption was great, and once I got a handle on the alarms that occasionally sounded (mostly for being too close to another vehicle on initiating an overtake), my driving experience was one to remember.

Acceleration and braking were good and handled as one expects them to.

What did we really love about the car, you ask?

What we didn't like

Well, let me first tell you the one thing we did not like, and the two things that were not dealbreakers, but which we noticed.