It won various automotive awards and was the first SUV to win the Australian title of Wheels Car of the Year in 2004, due to its acceptable handling and child carrying capacity.

Ford introduced the Territory alongside the existing Falcon wagon, which was built on the same Broadmeadows Assembly Plant production line.

Appearance-wise, the Territory adopted styling cues from the North American Freestyle/Taurus X, which proved to be a defining factor for the support of Ford executives at the head office in Dearborn, Michigan.

Its platform was available in RWD or AWD, solely powered by the 182 kilowatts (244 hp), 380 N⋅m (280 lb⋅ft) 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six Barra petrol engine from the BA Falcon albeit slightly detuned via software, paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox.

Its key features included increased engine power 190 kW, new automatic transmission for AWD models, and as a first for an Australian-built vehicle, a reverse parking camera (optional on the TS and standard on Ghia).

[10] The first Territory TX-based limited editions emerged: The initial colour range was: Winter White, Wired, Lightning Strike, Silhouette, Mercury Silver, Kashmir, Dejavu, Icon and Indiana.

[13] FPV foreshadowed its intention to enter the SUV scene with the "P-SUV" concept car displayed at its Open Day in February 2007.

Despite this, the lack of sufficient external differentiation with the donor Territory Turbo, its high price of A$75,990 and poor fuel consumption translated into a low sales success, with a total of 251 units built.

The F6X colour range included: Ego, Winter White, Lightning Strike, Nitro, Seduce, Sensations, Silhouette and Velvet.

Depending on the exterior paint chosen, each had the option of one of two stripe packages in metallic Azure Blue, Pewter or Silver and matte Black.

The SY II series was a facelift revealed at the 2009 Australian International Motor Show held in Melbourne and went on sale that May.

The SY II Territory range and upgrades (plus Australian retail prices at launch[17]) were: The Turbo was now available only in the latter luxury specification (for A$66,420).

At launch, the colour range included: Silhouette, Lightning Strike, Velvet, Harmony, Sensations, Steel, Ego, Seduce, Mystic, Winter White and Kashmir.

[20] In line with Ford's internationally adopted Kinetic Design, the car features a large lower air intake and thin upper grille.

On the inside, courtesy of the FG Falcon upgrades, the higher-range Territory models also inherited an eight-inch colour touch screen, which is central to the "SYNC" in-car entertainment and control system.

[22] New safety features include a driver's knee airbag and updated stability control system, now version 9.0 by Bosch incorporating an anti-roll-over function.

[23] Mechanically, the SZ series introduced for the first time in Ford Australia's locally made vehicles, a diesel powerplant (whose cost and development in previous editions was postponed in favour of the turbo petrol variant of 2006).

The SZ range and key features or upgrades (plus Australian retail prices at launch[28]) were as follows: The Titanium model has proven to be the most popular variant and the SZ series led Ford Australia to reach a significant manufacturing milestone by building 150,000th Territory (a white TX TDCi RWD model) in 2012.

The colour range included: Havana, Vanish, Lightning Strike, Winter White, Edge, Chill, Smoke, Emperor and Silhouette.

The SZ II began production alongside the FG X Falcon on 20 October 2014[30] and went on sale in the Australian market in December 2014.

Its model range remains unchanged relative to the SZ series but, externally, it features subtle styling revisions consisting of a new fascia and alloy wheels, with the Territory losing out its LED "position lights" in favour of more traditional foglights.

[31] Inside, new trims colours feature along with an updated "SYNC2" touchscreen in-car entertainment and control system with voice command, Wi-Fi connectivity, DAB+ radio, and emergency call functionality.

[41] Concerns were raised that the Thai export program Ford Australia participated in could collapse due to high taxes imposed on imported vehicles.