Summary:
In all a well finished car which more than suits my needs
Faults:
AccuTrack Stability control activating intermittently.
Driver's window jamming down - sinced fixed with some form of modification.
Rear hatch leak.
Exhaust came loose at the manifold.
General Comments:
My biggest gripe with this vehicle is the performance of the AccuTrack stability control. This will activate randomly when in right hand sweeping corners - without braking, or excessive speed. The result is that the car lurches to the left as stability control kicks in - very alarming when it occurs. I solve this by disabling the AccuTrack when on long journeys (achieved by pressing the dash button for one second). I understand that this problem will be fixed by loading "de-sensitised" software and a modified gyroscope sensor. Ford will advise once the fix is available.
I am one of four Territory drivers based in Napier, NZ who are complaining of this problem.
Since taking delivery of the vehicle in March 2005, I have driven 40,000km and find it a comfortable vehicle to travel the long journeys that I take.
The fuel consumption on 91 octane is around 14 litres / 100 km. I suppose that's the price you pay for driving a heavy and large vehicle.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th December, 2005
19th Feb 2006, 14:57
Hello again,
An update on the performance of this vehicle:
Drivers-side window has jammed down a second time (despite Ford's modifications being fitted on the first occasion!)
Exhaust has come loose at the manifold on two separate occasions... sounds like a tractor when this occurs!
One year down the track, I am still waiting on the AccuTrak modification. The local Ford agents advise that the vehicles which have this problem are being being addressed on an exchange basis. I.e. a kit is being dispatched with new sensors and desensitised software - apparently they only have a handful of kits to go around, hence the delays in addressing all of the cars with this problem.
The most recent problem is some pretty serious "clunking" going on in the back end when travelling at low speed and transiting from coasting to acceleration.
This car is rapidly loosing it's appeal, given the repeated visits to the service agents for problems (two of which have occurred twice!)
My previous 3 cars have been Holden Commodores & whilst there were some problems, nothing on the scale of this vehicle.