Approval granted: Facelift Ford Territory ‘soon’ in South Africa

Speculated to be lined up for South Africa at some stage, Ford has officially confirmed that the facelift Territory will be arriving on local soil “in the coming weeks”.

What’s new?

Unveiled in Brazil last year, the joint-venture model between Ford and China’s JMC receives mostly cosmetic updates, with no changes under its bonnet.

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First shown in China two years ago, where it carries the Equator Sport moniker, the mid-cycle overhaul for South Africa mirrors that of the Brazilian example.

Aesthetically, these comprise a new black grille with inner chrome studding, a redesigned front bumper and lower air intake, and colour coding below the light clusters.

The latter itself is also new, as it has been styled in a boomerang fashion that cuts into the upper section of the grille below the bonnet line.

At the rear, the lights cluster receives new graphics, while the bumper has been altered. Two new colours, Cactus Grey and Oasis Green, complete the exterior.

No changes

Inside, the interior has seemingly not been changed from the Brazilian version. This also applies to the specification, which will be announced in due course.

As mentioned, the motivation for the Territory is unchanged at 138kW/310Nm from the 1.8-litre EcoBoost engine.

Drive is again routed to the front wheels through a rotary-dial selected seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Likely price

Introduced locally two years ago as the long-overdue replacement for the Kuga, the Territory has been a local market success with an average of 200 units being sold monthly.

Presently, South Africa is its only right-hand drive market as the majority of its other key markets, China, South America and the Middle East, are all left-hand drive.

At present, the soon-to-be pre-facelift range spans three derivatives priced at R594 500 for the base Ambiente, R651 500 for the mid-spec Trend and R734 000 for the flagship Dark Edition.

The arrival of the facelift, though, will come with a price premium, which is expected to raise the base model’s price above R600 000.

Based on Ford’s announcement, expect details to be made soon.

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