Ford Territory: Stability set for debut

FORD appears to have taken the honours from Holden in the battle of the all-wheel drive systems, confirming next year’s Territory cross-over wagon will be offered with stability control.

The Ford is equipped with the latest Bosch 8.0 stability control system, while the Holden Adventra wagon uses the Bosch 5.3 traction control system that was first released in the mid-1990s.

Both Bosch systems have been adapted by Ford and Holden engineers for use in their locally-manufactured vehicles.

Holden’s system was developed first by GM for the Hummer H2, while this is the first time in the Ford world that 8.0 has been used.

It also the first time stability control has been employed on a locally-built car.

The differences in the electronics systems and their calibration will be critical to the performance of the first two local cross-overs, which have fundamentally similar hardware, transferring power to the front and rear wheels via three open diffs.

The Ford splits torque roughly 50:50 front to rear while Holden’s Cross Trac system is set at 38:62.

Stability control will be standard on the all-wheel drive Territory, but will not be offered with the two-wheel drive version, which will make do with traction control.

The stability control system employs anti-lock braking and traction control and is designed to maintain stability when the vehicle approaches its physical limits, through programmed intervention in the braking system and powertrain or a combination of both.

The stability control system keeps tabs on the car’s behaviour via a steering wheel angle sensor, a lateral accelerations sensor and a rotational yaw rate sensor, all in addition to the traction control hardware.

Holden’s Cross Trac works on brake applications and torque redistribution but does not cut engine power.

Also wrapped into the Ford stability package will be optional descent control, which is engaged by a dash-mounted switch and applies the brakes if a hill is detected, controlling the vehicle’s descent speed.

Development of Ford’s stability system began in 2000 and involved close co-operation between Ford Australia and Bosch engineers, with more than 1.1 million kilometres of testing conducted in Australia and Europe.