My Final Verdict on the Ford Territory - 29th September 2009

So the Territory has gone back to it's rightful owners.
It's time for me to give my feedback.

Please keep in mind that I am only 5' tall so most of my negative points probably would not affect a normal sized person.

I loved
* how smooth this car drove. Millar and hubby always fell asleep in the car
* the reverse parking camera.
* the dual zone aircon that meant I could have my side of the car hot while hubby had his side cool.
* that I could reach Millar's aircon to adjust it while I was driving.
* the space next to the drivers seat made especially for my handbag
* that the petrol cap was tethered to the car so you cannot lose it.
* the display screen with the easy one touch trip info to check your fuel consumption and all the interesting stuff like that.
* the electric driver seat adjusty thingy including lumbar support
* the back door/boot, I could open the whole door or just the glass. very cool
* fuel economy better than expected
* the rear rubbish bin comes out completely making it easy to empty and can be put in the dishwasher.
* heaps of space in the back when the back seat are down.
* the handle that dangles down from the boot door when it's open. I'm super short so I needed this little handle otherwise that boot would still be open.

I didn't love

* the front pillar being in an annoying position creating a new blindspot
* how hard it is to access the back row because the middle seat doesn't fold up it just folds forward a bit
* that if you want to access the back row you can't put a car seat on that one seat that folds forward.
* that it was a struggle to get in and out of the car (no step on this one)
* no ipod connection
* the passenger seat did not have the nifty controls that the driver seat did
* the car was too big making it hard to park and when it was in my garage It was difficult to get groceries out of the boot.

The territory is perfect for long trips. I would love to have one to take away on weekends but keep a smaller car for the day to day stuff.

I thoroughly recommend taking one for a spin if you are looking for a new family car.

Thank you Ford and Kidspot - 28th September 2009

Thanks so much to Ford and kidspot for giving me a beautiful car to drive for four weeks. and the petrol!! It gave my little family the means to go on long road trips.
Most of you know what it's like when you have kids and pretty much just get on with it. work sleep work sleep. working really hard to be good parents and saving money for a deposit on a house and all the things a family needs. We hardly have time to talk to each other anymore. So the long road trips were fantastic for that.
 My partner and I came to Australia to travel but gave those ideas up when Millar announced his presence.
But after these four weeks we have decided to spend more time travelling and have decided to buy a tent. (quicker than buying a house! lol)
And when our car finally carks it, we will be looking at Ford. My previous experiences with Ford was only the old Ford escort which is miles away from the Territory! This experience has put Ford back on my list of cars i like.
I also lost two kilos. I don't know how but I'm sure Terri has something to do with it. Maybe I left those two kilos in one of the many compartments.
But again - thank you Ford and Kidspot
And thank you to everyone for reading my blog. It's been fun sharing this fun month with you all.

I Miss Terri - 24th September 2009

I had to give Terri back on Tuesday. so I'm now driving my 1990 Toyota Camry around again.
It's like slipping into my comfy old shoes after wearing a friend's sexy high heels for awhile. The toyota smells similar to the comfy old shoes too! Needs a bit of an air out methinks.

The toyota is super low, I feel like I'm riding a go-kart, and the air-con is a token gesture. In the terri, I would turn on the aircon and within seconds my face and arms were frozen.. I like that. In the toyota the air con is like someone breathing on you.

*sigh* It was good while it lasted Terri.

I think more mums should get the chance to test drive a car for a month. So to prove that this initiative was a roaring success, if you could all pop down to your local Ford dealership and say "I just read this blog on kidspot and would like to purchase a Ford Territory please"
that would be lovely.
Thanks

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone but I'm going to steal this car. - 20th September 2009

*sigh*

Ford emailed me the other day....

Just to remind me that it's time to give the Territory back.

I was hoping they would say “we've actually decided you can keep it”

that's reasonable right?

But apparently I have to give it back on Tuesday.

My only way out of this is to change the plates on the car, change my name, my appearance and relocate.

I've watched some tv in my time and I've learnt that one has to file off the cars serial number in order to steal it good and proper. I don't have a good file and my emery board didn't really do the trick, so any pointers from some successful criminals would be appreciated.

I've already managed to disguise the car in other ways. The exterior is now a nice shade of Werribee dust. And the interior is still the original beige but with flecks and specks of wiggles biscuits, sultanas, crackers, tissues, pepsi cans and dirt. It is really almost unrecognisable. It's just that darn serial number that will trip me up I reckon.

Is this the best playground in the Universe?- 14th September

Today we drove to the Mornington Peninsula. It is such a beautiful place! Thanks to the Ford Territory we have finally been discovering this place we've lived in for two and a half years.
We left at 10am and drove up the Nepean Highway, most of which is almost costal. And what a beautiful day to do it too.

We found what is possibly the best playground in the entire universe at Sorrento. It is wooden (and teenagers don't seem to burn it down like my local park). It is so intricate with stuff everywhere and nooks and crannies and steps and slides and narrow passageways. I can't really describe it so here's some pics

 
Check out the ocean views!!!

We are definitely going back here!! We thought we might spend a weekend here next year sometime - probably in the summer.
All the costal suburbs we drove through have their own little charm and so many playgrounds! There are heaps of camping grounds right near the beach and cute little beach shacks or cabins on the foreshore.

It only took us two hours to get here from Werribee so it's not bad, and in the Territory it didn't seem that long at all. The boys slept on the way home as usual, this car is too smooth sometimes. Damn I'm going to miss this car.

Peace, love and Mung Beans - 7th September 2009

So I'm driving around in the Ford Territory SUV and I'm starting to feel bad about my carbon footprint.  Maybe I'd feel better if I had 7 other people in the car to fill the seats. I look at people at the bus stops and wonder if I should pick them up. But that's crazy. If it was raining it might be a nice gesture.. maybe.

When hubby and I first arrived in Melbourne we didn't have a car.  We used public transport or walked everywhere. We did this for 18 months which includes my entire pregnancy and the first 9 months of Millar's life. We were on our high horse about how carbon neutral we were. And we had recently given up smoking and hanging out in bars so we were extra specially smug about how awesome we were.So maybe I'm in carbon credit from all that time on my high horse.
So I can drive this beast around and rev it at the lights and not care. I use cloth nappies... most the time... and I recycle, I have 3 minute showers and I have thought about getting a worm farm and planting my own vegie garden, ... and it's the thought that counts right? So I'm probably ok with mother earth.
Who am I kidding? I'm not the hippy I wanted to be. I'm not even the hippy I try to convince others I am. I'm probably not even the hippy I tell myself I am. I don't even like mung beans!!!

But the Ford is sooooo nice. It drives beautifully and smoothly. Millar and hubby both fell asleep during a drive to Ocean Grove yesterday. And regarding fuel consumption it is pretty good. I get an average of 13L/100k. That's normal everyday driving. I would thoroughly recommend this car to anyone with more than two kids. There is plenty of space for them and all their stuff and the reverse camera means you will never reverse over a tricycle.
So I can still be a hippy in this car. The fuel consumption is ok and there is plenty of space on the body of the car to paint flowers and peace signs. I bet the Ford is WAY greener than the VW combi ever was! So There!

Peace, Love and .... eww no, I still can't do the mung beans, two out three ain't bad...

Road Trip - 4th September 2009

As some of you may know, my Mum is visiting from New Zealand, which is nice.

And I have an awesome car to drive around as much as I like, which is very nice

The situation is crying out for a road trip... in fact it would be rude not to do a road trip.

However, if you have a toddler and a partner that works and a mum that has a flight on Monday you know that your road trip is not going to the be the cross country adventure that movies are made of, but more of a quick weekend getaway.

Do you remember quick weekend getaways before you had children? There wasn't a need for maps or luggage. You could just jump in the car and go. Now you need to take EVERYTHING.

This is where the Ford Territory comes into it's own.... We had 3 adults and one toddler all with our own bedding (duvets and a porta cot). We also took most of our own food to save on the health risks of eating drive thru cuisine for every meal. So the back of the car was CHOCKA.

but we fitted in the essentials

We left at 12.18pm on Saturday afternoon, after naps and lunch. According to Google maps it was only going to take 1hr and 57 minutes to get to our accommodation in Healesville.

That was my first mistake. I should really just buy a proper map drawn and written by someone that lives here. Google maps told me to take the Northern Ring road.......... There is no Northern Ring road, there is a Western Ring road and then a Metropolitan Ring Road.

After a few wrong turns and some tense words between me the driver and my partner the navigator, It took us 3 hours and 17 minutes to reach our destination.

This is our first trip in Australia since Millar was born, almost 18 months ago. So considering my partner and I moved to Australia in 2007 with a view to travel the entire country and go home after about 2 years, we are just a touch behind schedule.... google maps is NOT helping us catch up.

Anyway..... back to the actual trip.

We arrived in Healesville and checked into our Big4 holiday park in Badger Creek. Very nice, very clean.

However, the gaps between the cabins were not built with a large car in mind. It was almost impossible to park the car with enough room to get Millar out of one side and open the cabin door on the other side without scratching the car or having to get the child out of the car seat from the opposite door. (don't worry Ford, I didn't scratch it!).

We all had to enter the cabin one at a time. Close the fly screen, step to the other side of the door, open fly screen enough to squeeze into the cabin. Repeat process until all people are inside the cabin.

You can imagine how much fun it was to unpack and repack the car!

To be honest here, the Ford is too big for me. But I am only 5' tall and the largeness only annoys me in times like this and when I am getting in and out of the car..... but once I am zooming around the hills like you see on those car adverts, I am queen of the road!

The fuel economy was much better than I expected.

We filled the tank before leaving Werribee. We drove to Healesville, (the scenic route courtesy of google). Then drove to Marysville and back. Then drove to Kinglake and back to Melbourne. With a LOT of driving around in between. When we arrived back in Werribee we had only used just over half a tank. That's pretty good right?

We'll see how the fuel economy goes this week driving around like a normal mum doing the shopping and pick ups and drop offs etc.

In the meantime, here are some more photos of our trip.

I wont talk about the devastation in Marysville or Kinglake today. I might write that in another blog when I can give it the correct words. I've included some photos down the bottom that speak for themselves.

       

Koala Mum and Bub at Healesville Santuary

My Flash New Car - 28th August 2009

Ok so I know the Ford Territory isn't actually mine. But for 4 whole blissful weeks I get to pretend it is. This car looks SOOOO good in my garage. And when I pull into my driveway and push the button to open the garage door, I get this bizarre flashback of when I was a child wishing for this when I grow up. So it's like a flashback of a flash forward.... If that makes any sense. Probably not. What I'm trying to say is I feel like the person I wanted to be when I grew up.

However, it's not exactly like I dreamed. Sarah wanted us to provide her with a family photo with the car. Sure I said, easy as. My mum is here for a week so she can take the photo, I'll just throw on a fabulous outfit and me, hubby and Millar will pose in front of the car and look like one of those beautiful and happy families you see on adverts for cars or insurance.
I found this grey poncho hidden in a back room of my house and thought "I haven't seen that in a while, I love that poncho, I shall wear it with jeans, I'll look fabulous" I don't know why I forget what I look like but in my mind when I'm planning an outfit, I am about 3 dress sizes thinner and about 5 inches taller.

It turns out there is a reason why this poncho was hidden in a back room. It's hideous.

Anyway, so we drive down to the red cliffs in Werribee to take some photos. The wind is crazy and it's really cold. Millar starts crying and my mum is not the photographer extrordinaire I imagined her to be, (again, my mind made up some fantasy that she was annie lebowitz). Our camera isn't exactly the bees knees either. So we have a few windswept photos with a crying baby. None of them match the picture I had in my head. (but we have established that I am delusional).

here are some of the photos.
Check out the hideous poncho...... at least the car looks good.
   Maybe black and white will be more flattering..... then again maybe not, why am I posing like that? who do I think I am?

   
 

    
The only thing that actually looks good is the car. The colour is called Ego. It's gorgeous, it's like hematype.
The interior is a dangerously pale beige colour that my son would be able to stain just by looking at it.
There are so many compartments for stuff that I want to get more stuff to go in the compartments.
And this car drives so smoothly. I often look down to see that I am driving way over the speed limit but it feels like I'm crawling along. I need to get used to that before I get in trouble.
my other car is a 1990 Toyota Camry station wagon,..... so I'm probably easily impressed. But I like the Ford Territory very much so far.
I always have something to complain about so I'll keep driving it and I'll find something, surely!

Watch this space....