WATCH: Ford Territory returning in 2024 as new Tiguan rival

Ford Motor Company South Africa has reserved its biggest surprise at its 100^th anniversary celebration in Pretoria on Wednesday (8 November) for the announcement of the Territory nameplate returning next year as the long awaited replacement for the Kuga.

Watch the revived Territory below

Ford Territory to return to SA in mid 2024. Here's the model shown at the official announcement in Silverton today @FordSouthAfrica @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/beFBPb2YQz

— Jaco van der Merwe (@jacovanderm) November 8, 2023

Penned-in for a second quarter reveal with pricing to be revealed then, the Territory returns after a comparatively short three year production from 2005 to a before mid-life refresh in 2009 that saw it being replaced by the smaller Kuga, which departed from the local line-up in 2021.

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Unlike the original sourced from Australia based on the same platform as the Falcon, the new Territory is spun-off of the Ford Equator Sport made as part of a joint venture between Dearborn and Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC) in China.

Itself derived from the normal Equator that debuted in 2021 with seven-seats, the Sport provides seating for five and will make landfall on the back of the discovery of a trademark application in Australia for the moniker last year.

What to expect

The replacement for the previous Chinese-market Territory based on the Yusheng S330, which caused controversy after its reveal in 2018 for being an almost direct copy of the Range Rover Evoque, the Equator Sport measures 4 630 mm long, 1 935 mm wide and 1 706 mm high in the People’s Republic while riding on a wheelbase of 2 726 mm.

Unlikely to differ much from the model sold in Brazil and the Middle East when it comes to South Africa badged as the Territory, final specification remains to be confirmed, however, both the 12.3-inch infotainment system and digital instrument cluster of the same size have been approved, along with LED headlights and a panoramic glass roof.

In the Middle East, where three trim level are offered; Ambiente, Trend and Titanium, the Territory comes equipped as standard with amongst others 18 or 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, a six or eight-speaker sound system, electric front seats, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist.

New EcoBoost heart

Up front, the Falcon-sourced 4.0-litre straight-six engines from the previous generation have been swapped for a brand-new 1.8 EcoBoost sold only in the Middle East and South America.

The sole option for South Africa as the smaller 1.5-litre unit from the Equator Sport has been opted against, the unit develops the same 140kW/320Nm as in the latter markets, delivered to the front wheels only through a rotary dial seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

As is stands, neither four-wheel-drive nor all-wheel-drive are offered regardless of whether the Equator Sport or Territory names are used.

Wait is on

Offering a choice of seven colours in the Middle East; Lustrous Grey, Panther Black, Star White Metallic, Autumn Brown Metallic, Ruby Red Metallic, True Blue Metallic and Crystal White Pearl Metallic, the Territory will slot-in between the Puma and Everest in the Ford’s local line-up, with pricing to be announced closer to the local launch date.

As such, expect local market pricing to commence around the R650 000 to R700 00 mark based on the top-spec Puma ST-Line Vignale’s R613 900 sticker and entry-level two-wheel-drive Everest XLT’s R848 300 asking price.

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