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24-05-2011, 06:06 PM
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Chairman & Administrator
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New Ford SZ Territory: Enhanced Powertrains, Safety, Handling, And Refinement
March 9 2011
* New Territory's development: customer knowledge and extensive benchmarking
* Introduction of Ford Duratorq TDCi turbo-diesel V6 power
* Enhanced six-cylinder petrol engine: more power and torque, lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
* Outstanding fuel economy: RWD TDCi V6 delivers combined-cycle fuel consumption rate of 8.2l/100km3;
* Six-speed automatic transmissions across the range deliver smooth and quick shifts and contribute to excellent fuel economy on both petrol and diesel models
* Towing capacity of 2700kg2 for the AWD TDCi-powered Territory
* Territory is the only locally designed and engineered SUV built specifically for Australia's demanding condition
Melbourne1
Ford has officially released technical details about its new Territory SUV. In addition to its stunning new look this new model has undergone an exhaustive redesign incorporating enhancements and changes to its drivetrains, structure, safety, suspension, steering, technology and level of refinement.
When the Ford Territory first went on sale in April 2004 it redefined the mid-size SUV segment. Since its showroom arrival it has proved a popular choice for families and customers seeking a vehicle more adaptable to their lifestyle.
It proved so popular with customers and enthusiasts alike, it achieved the pinnacle of motoring success by taking out the coveted Wheels magazine Car of the Year award in 2004.
Since then, the Territory carpark has grown to more than 107,000 strong. In fact, its first nine months on sale saw more than 15,000 SUV buyers make Territory their first choice. Its peak sales year was 2005 when 23,454 were sold.
Despite Australia's ever-expanding SUV segment and the ongoing arrival of new competitors, last year Territory sales were up more than six per cent compared to 2009.* (according to VFACTs)
New Territory: extensive development
The new SZ Territory is part of Ford's $230 million investment in sustainability. The company's goal: improve the fuel efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of its Australian-made models. Others include the forthcoming 2.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost Falcon as well as the introduction of Liquefied Phase Injection (LPI) technology for the Falcon, the highly advanced and efficient gas injection technology which replaces its previous traditional and now-outdated LPG gas system.
The first Territory was four years in the making and Ford Australia spent $500 million on exhaustive research, design, engineering and testing to deliver an SUV Australian customers wanted.
"The success of the original-model Territory meant our development path with this new model was highly detailed and underpinned by knowing precisely what our customers wanted," said Ford Australia President and CEO, Bob Graziano.
"With the original-model Territory, we did a great job in two vital areas of vehicle development: understanding our customers' needs and benchmarking.
"We adopted this approach again with the development of this new model."
The Ford team again performed extensive research, ranging from customer clinics and focus groups to confidential drive programmes. Ford even studied on-line chat forums to learn exactly what buyers and enthusiasts liked and did not like.
"Ensuring this new-model Territory hits the customer sweet-spot means knowing precisely what local buyers want," Graziano said.
In an effort to match – and in some cases exceed – the comfort levels of rival SUVs, the designers and engineers benchmarked the new Territory's development against a number of luxury European models.
Apart from the obvious plan to fit its Duratorq TDCi turbo-diesel technology to the Territory, Ford Australia's designers and engineers set tough new goals for improving the model – among them enhancing the performance and efficiency of its proven I6 engine, improving refinement, increasing crash safety and crafting a stylish and contemporary new look that aligns with the signature styles of other Ford products.
The development path
The new Territory's road to Ford showrooms has been long and gruelling. It has involved around 800,000km of harsh testing in some of the world's toughest locations: from the NSW Snowy Mountains region to the Victorian high country and various Australian capital cities the new Territory has proved itself time and again. High-altitude testing up to 2500m was conducted in the US, as was extreme hot-weather testing in California's 50-plus-degrees Celsius Death Valley, Arizona's deserts and, naturally, the harsh Australian outback.
Other development locations included New Zealand, Sweden, and Alaska.
The effort has been worthwhile. Like its first-generation sibling, the SZ Territory has been developed to be perfectly at home in both the city and country. Its flexible interior offers versatility for up to seven-people without any compromise in either style or comfort.
Ford Australia's experience in building and designing vehicles that deliver innovative real-world customer benefits for performance, safety and economy has been further enhanced with the development of the new Territory.
"The Territory appeals to the SUV customer heartland of Australia; it's a car designed and engineered in Australia for local customers and conditions," Graziano said.
A number of important practical user-related features, many of which made Territory so popular with local customers, have been retained in the new SZ model. Many of these have been enhanced to support current-day customer needs and new technologies but an extensive number of changes have been made to improve Territory in all areas.
The amount of work done by Ford's skilled designers and engineers has been vast and includes changes to engines and transmissions, safety, suspension, refinement, and technology.
Engines and transmissions
Both petrol and common-rail turbo-diesel engines are available in the new Territory.
NEW: Duratorq TDCi turbo-diesel V6 engine (rear and all-wheel drive)
Headlining new Territory's drivetrain enhancements is the introduction of a turbo-diesel V6 engine, available in both rear- and all-wheel drive. The addition of this torque-rich, high-efficiency power unit alongside its proven petrol six-cylinder sibling takes the popular Territory to new levels of performance, capability and refinement.
Its numbers are impressive: a maximum power rating of 140kW, peak torque of 440Nm from 1900RPM and a combined-cycle fuel consumption rate of only 8.2-litres per 100km (rear-wheel drive)3. In fact, the new TDCi-powered Territory's rate of fuel use for the highway cycle is an outstanding 6.5-litres per 100km1, giving customers a potential range during highway driving of more than 1000km from a single tank (75-litres) of diesel fuel.
The TDCi power unit is an intercooled single-turbo 60-degree V6. The engine has a Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) cylinder block which is an important element for strength and for good NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) properties.
It also has alloy cylinder heads in a double-overhead camshaft design with four valves per cylinder. Induction is via common-rail high-pressure diesel injection with Piezo injectors, including the single variable geometry turbocharger (VGT).
Ford Australia engineers have made several improvements to the TDCi engine in the areas of its fuel system, engine oil sump, induction system and transfer case in AWD models.
The TDCi engine is one of a host of exciting new features on the SZ Territory; helping cement the SUV's hard-won reputation as the country's only locally designed and engineered SUV.
Petrol six-cylinder engine (rear-wheel drive only)
Territory's proven 4.0-litre I6 petrol engine has been massaged to provide more power and torque but lower fuel consumption. This power unit is now only available in rear-wheel drive.
The petrol Territory develops a maximum power level of 195kW at 6000RPM, an increase of 5kW with peak torque now 391Nm at 3250RPM, an increase of 8Nm.
Achieving these improvements was the result of using FG Falcon-level I6 engine technology in the new Territory. This means the new-model Territory benefits from FG's fast-burn cylinder head design, new light-weight dual-resonance intake manifold, new electronic throttle body and new fuel rail system.
Calibration work for both the I6 and all-new TDCi V6 engines was done in Australia for local conditions.
Six-speed automatic transmissions: standard equipment
The new Territory range comes fitted with six-speed automatic transmissions across rear- and all-wheel-drive models.
New Territory models powered by the improved six-cylinder petrol engine (rear-wheel drive only) are partnered with the ZF 6HP26 six-speed automatic transmission. All TDCi turbo-diesel models (rear- and all-wheel drive) will be fitted with Ford's ZF-based 6R80 gearbox.
Active transfer case
Introducing the new Duratorq TDCi V6 engine to the new Territory required a number of important technical changes. To ensure all required product attribute targets were met Ford went to significant lengths. One example was re-engineering the front differential to be mounted on the engine sump in all-wheel drive models, as opposed to mounting it to the chassis which was the method used on the outgoing model.
This new diff-on-sump architecture provides a number of excellent attributes, including the management of any driveline imbalance-related NVH effects. This is achieved in a simple but clever manner.
When the driver is stationary in DRIVE and has their foot on the brake while the engine is idling, a clutch mechanism within the active transfer case decouples any driving forces applied to the front drive shafts to cancel out this structure-borne path.
These invisible forces can have a noticeable impact on a vehicle's refinement, so Ford has ensured that even when sitting at a set of traffic lights our customers enjoyed the best possible ride.
Fuel economy
One of the top priorities in the development programme for the new Territory was delivering excellent fuel economy for customers.
In the case of the all-new TDCi V6 a combined-cycle fuel consumption rate of 8.2-litres per 100km3 was achieved (TDCi-powered rear-wheel drive models). Impressively, the new Territory returns an outstanding 6.5-litres per 100km1 on the highway cycle, giving customers exceptional driving range from the new TDCi Territory's 75-litre tank (TDCi-powered rear-wheel drive models). All-wheel drive models of the new TDCi-powered Territory return combined-cycle fuel consumption rates of only 8.8-litres (TX and TS) and 9.0-litres (Titanium) per 100km3.
Enhancements to the petrol I6 engine in the new Territory have resulted in fuel consumption reductions. The new model now uses 10.6-litres per 100km3, a reduction of one litre compared to the previous model.
Safety
New Territory benefits from the latest-generation safety features. This includes an advanced Bosch-developed Generation 9 Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system – now fitted with Roll Over Mitigation (ROM) – Traction Control System and Anti-lock Braking System, a new front crash structure and a new driver's-side knee airbag, a first for Territory.
ROM acts by constantly monitoring the vehicle's behaviour and inducing additional understeer when it detects an increased propensity of rollover during extreme handling manoeuvres.
As part of the control actions, ROM brakes individual wheels and reduces the driving torque to prevent a rollover as well as reduce vehicle speed for greater stability.
The driver's-side knee airbag will be standard across the Territory range, bringing the new model's airbag count to five (dual front airbags complemented by curtain airbags4 now partnered with the new driver's knee airbag).
Already accomplished with an Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) 5-star crash rating, the latest safety advances on the Territory are designed to enhance the vehicle's safety attributes.
Apart from its contemporary design, the Territory's new face also has an enhanced crash safety structure.
Dynamics
Several dynamic goals were set for the new Territory. In terms of handling, the objective was to enhance its dynamic driving flavour.
Here, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa's Vehicle Dynamics Manager, Alex de Vlugt, worked to improve Territory’s agility, steering, manoeuvrability and roll control.
The dynamics team sought to hit a “sweet spot” in new Territory’s suspension tune that emphasised its overall fun-to-drive nature. All of this was achieved while maintaining a compliant and comfortable ride.
On the technology front there were two important changes: to enhance Territory’s chassis control system and to introduce another Territory first: EPAS, or Electric Power-Assisted Steering.
The new EPAS was engineered in conjunction with a new chassis structure, a lighter and stronger new front sub-frame.
This important change resulted in a 14 kilogram weight saving, bringing this structural element's weight down to 30 kilograms.
Refinement
Both TDCi V6- and I6-powered Territory models benefit from a comprehensive engine sound-deadening package, enabling a reduction of in-cabin noises that originate from a variety of sources.
For the first time on a Territory, a laminated acoustic windscreen has been adopted across the range to help improve NVH.
A lot of the improvements made to the new Territory resulted from carefully managing the interaction of the TDCi engine with the bodyshell and working to eliminate any annoying sound paths.
As a result there are, for example, new engine mounts, an acoustically modified exhaust system, an optimised engine bulkhead, a revised transmission mount, and an all-new isolated cross-member at the back of the six-speed automatic transmission on the all-wheel drive models.
Towing capacity
The new Territory’s maximum towing capacities support a range of lifestyle pursuits where towing is required.
For the new Duratorq TDCi V6-powered all-wheel drive Territory the maximum towing capacity is 2700kg (braked trailer) with a maximum downward towball capacity of 270kg2. For all petrol and rear-wheel drive models the maximum towing capacity is 2300kg (braked trailer) with a maximum downward towball weight of 230kg2.
At a glance: key features of the new SZ Territory include:
Engines
* Introduction of 2.7-litre TDCi turbo-diesel V6 (available in both rear- and all-wheel drive)
* Enhanced 4.0-litre I6 petrol engine (more power and torque, reduced fuel consumption; now available only in rear-wheel drive)
Transmissions
* Six-speed automatic standard equipment for all models
* Active transfer case (TDCi AWD)
Fuel economy
* TDCi V6 RWD: combined-cycle 8.2l/100km3; extra-urban cycle only 6.5l/100km1
* 8.6 percent improvements to petrol I6 fuel economy: now (combined cycle) 10.6l/100km3 (down by 1.0l/100km)
Safety
* Introduction of driver's knee airbag brings airbag total to five (all models)
* Introduction of Roll-over Mitigation to standard-fitment Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
* Bosch Generation 9 DSC now fitted
Dynamics
* Target: enhanced agility, manoeuvrability and driving enjoyment with comfortable ride
* Changes to front-end geometry
* New suspension tune: new springs, dampers and stabiliser bars
* New driveline and suspension bushes
* Introduction of Electric Assisted Power Steering (EPAS)
* Introduction of self-adjusting parking brake
* New brake friction materials
Refinement (NVH)
* All-new engine sub-frame and engine mounts
* Isolated cross member support
* Powerful 800-watt twin engine cooling fans (TDCi engine)
* Extensive sound deadening package and Improved body sealing
* Sound-deadening dashboard bulkhead package
* Laminated acoustic windscreen
* Minimised diesel "chatter" in cabin at idle and reduced wind noise
Towing performance
* AWD TDCi V6: Maximum towing capacity of 2700kg (braked trailer) with maximum downward towball weight of 270kg2.
* All other models: Maximum towing capacity of 2300kg (braked trailer) with a maximum downward towball weight of 230kg2.
Notes:
1. Fuel consumption figure obtained from tests using ADR81/02 (extra-urban cycle).
2. Maximum towing capacity using a Genuine Ford heavy-duty tow pack with load levelling kit. To achieve maximum capacity, occupants and/or luggage may need to be restricted. For further details regarding passenger and luggage requirements please consult an authorised Ford dealer and/or refer to the Territory's owner's manual under "Trailer Towing" for further guidance. Subject to state and territory regulations.
3. Fuel consumption figure obtained from tests using ADR81/02 (combined).
4. For front and second row only.
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