It’s not often that we get a chance for a quick weekend getaway and when we do, it’s normally camping, so when an offer to spend two nights glamping at Sibani Lodge in the Mount Savannah Game Reserve in the Cradle of Humankind came up, I jumped at the opportunity.
It was also in the week that I had the Ford Territory on test so the combination of some gravel roads, a game drive and a luxury tent couldn’t be ignored.
The Territory is a Ford but not so much a true blue oval but rather the result of a joint venture between Jiangling Motors Co (JMC) in Nanchang and Ford.
Ford needed more than Rangers, Everests and Mustangs on their showroom floor and the Territory is a welcome addition with a couple of hundred sales a month since its introduction in April this year.
We were behind the wheel of the top of the range Titanium which looks exactly the same from the outside as the entry level Ambiente and mid-specced trend.
There are no obvious Ford design cues and it’s not a wow-looking SUV (are there really any?) but it’s easy on the eye with what Ford calls its Progressive Energy in Strength design philosophy and in Titanium spec stands on 19-inch alloys.
It’s powered by a new 1.8-litre four cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost petrol engine delivering 138kW and 318Nm coupled to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission driving the front wheels.
The first thing you notice when you get in is how roomy and spacious the interior is, probably the best in its category.
At just over 6 feet tall in the old language, I had more leg and headroom than I needed and just for good measure I put my leather “cowboy” hat on and there was room for that too.
With the driver’s seat set all the way back I still had oodles of space for my legs which is not something you find often in cars today.
With 448 litres of luggage space our weekend bags were easily swallowed and with the rear seats folded there’s 1 422 litres to throw in everything you need and then some for an extended holiday for the two of you.
It has a double-tier centre console and the storage space underneath easily fits a handbag and a couple of packets of crisps with space to spare.
It’s nothing like we’ve become accustomed to when it comes to Ford’s interior design apart from the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch landscape infotainment system with crisp graphics that’s fairly easy to use.
Like most cars with a Chinese DNA most settings are managed from the touchscreen but Ford have ensured that there’s a rotary dial for volume and some air conditioning settings but if you want to set different temperatures you need to do that on the screen.
The cabin is well-appointed though and nothing feels cheap or out of place with decent build quality. Our test unit had just over 9 000km on the clock and for a car that’s been through a number of journalists and content creators there wasn’t a rattle or a squeak.
Gears are selected from a rotary selector on the centre console and you can swipe to Eco, Sport and Mountain on the Easy Swipe function on the touchscreen.
I had forgotten how sensitive the brakes were and almost put us through the windscreen when we left my partner’s complex. It can be quite frightening in traffic and It’s something you have to get used to for everyday driving.
Something you also have to get used to is the gearing calibration. It’s not half as bad as other Chinese brands but not as perfect as we’ve become accustomed to in the rest of Ford’s offerings.
Still, once you’ve adjusted to the foibles it’s a very pleasant car to drive, that’s easy to manoeuvre with light and direct steering, pretty much as you would expect from a midsize SUV.
We placed one of our phones on the charging pad, hooked up the music and pressed the pin they had sent to us, set the adaptive cruise control and headed towards Krugersdorp.
I’ve had erratic experiences with some Chinese adaptive cruise controls but it’s certainly not the case in the Territory.
It keeps a steady distance and when it picks up speed again, gear changes are smooth without revving too high or hunting to find the correct gear.
To get to Sibani Lodge reception there’s a relatively steep hill that’s a little corrugated with some washaways but with 190mm of ground clearance it made short work of the imperfections.
We even had to wait for a double cab bakkie driving, in my opinion anyway, far too cautiously in front of us.
Our tents were about five kilometres from reception along a decent gravel road which is what most owners will be driving.
Meals were also served at the main reception so we spent a fair amount of time on the dusty gravel roads and while not in the same class as its Ranger siblings It copes easily and the raised driving height allows you to easily spot game along the way.
Driving back to our tent at night the LED headlights lit up the way perfectly and while we didn’t spot any nocturnal animals, there was one rabbit running like a, well.. hare in the headlights.
We took a long drive back through the Hartbeespoort area where some of the tar roads are a lot worse than the gravel we had come from. We were suitably impressed by how it handled the potholes, rumble strips and speed bumps.
When we climbed out at the Jasmyn shopping and fair complex, a gentleman, his wife and two young children enquired about the Territory.
He was cautious about buying a Chinese brand and was looking to buy more local.
Having seen the space and how neat the interior looked he seemed impressed and I hope he’s made an appointment at a Ford dealership.
When I gave the car back fuel consumption stood at 7.8l/100km, not bad for a week’s driving.
A couple of days prior to our weekend I had the mid-spec Trend for a couple of days in Cape Town.
It has the same engine but performs slightly better at sea level and comes with a few less trimmings like blind spot assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation and some convenience features but at R75 000 less it’s a very good buy.
There’s tough competition for the Ford Territory most notably from the Asian newcomers.
However, while its origins may stem from there, there’s much to be said from buying a car that has a long local history, a proven track record, a national dealer network and a well-stocked parts warehouse.