I hate overly positive reviews – telling people only the good about anything doesn’t help. A real review has to give you the niggling little problems that you’re going to experience once you’ve bought the product, otherwise you haven’t really gained anything from reading it. I mean, no one sets out to make a bad product so you have to assume that 90% of what’s in it is going to be good and then weigh up whether the remaining problems are ones you can live with. Which brings me to my problem… Where’s the negatives in the new Ford Territory TS AWD?

I had the opportunity to take this car for five working days and a weekend where I went 2 1/2 hours south east of Melbourne, so it got the whole treatment. The Territory I had was the seven seater and we filled the seats with big guys for lunch on the second day I had it (making sure that the guy who’s just shy of 7 foot was in the third row). We all fit – I’m not saying that the guys in the third row were reclining and stretching out their legs or anything but we fit and getting in and out was pretty standard.

This was the 2.7L V6 Common Rail Turbo Diesel engine. Something I only learnt after driving for a few hours – it doesn’t have the normal lag in the engine that you get with most diesels and there’s no issues with power. I’m sure the petrol might have had a little more pick up but it wasn’t anything I’d miss by owning the diesel.

The new front grille and slightly adjusted shape give it a look like it has slightly lower clearance and a shorter body but you don’t feel it when you’re driving.

I guess for me the real test is whether I would actually own a certain car. Of the ones I’ve test driven, there’s been some that I liked but wouldn’t own, some that I’ve down right hated and others that, although completely impractical, I would buy in a second. This sits somewhere else, practical, affordable and beautiful to drive. I would buy this in a heartbeat. Full price list below.

Territory TS RWD petrol: $46,990
Territory Titanium RWD petrol: $54,990
Territory TS RWD diesel: $50,240
Territory TS AWD diesel: $55,240
Territory Titanium RWD diesel: $58,240
Territory Titanium AWD diesel: $63,240