It is amazing that under the trend of globalization and platform sharing, Ford still keeps its Australian big car Falcon independent. Since the early 1970s, Falcon has been designed, engineered and produced in Australia. It serves mostly the Australia and New Zealand market, where it topped sales chart many times. Recently, sales of this rear-drive big family car has been declining - the same goes for its arch-rival Holden Commodore - and its domination of the local market has been replaced by the more fuel-efficient Toyota Camry. Nevertheless, Aussies are still proud of Falcon, as it represents Australian automotive industry. They must be grateful that Ford keeps the new generation FG Falcon engineered and produced exclusively in Australia. The FG Falcon replaces the outgoing generation, AU / BA / BF Falcon which had been around for 10 years. From engineering point of view, FG is not exactly a big leap from the old car, because the latter had already got a major re-engineering in 2003 (such as new independent rear suspensions and new multi-valve engines) thus was considered to be modern enough. The old Falcon was also big enough, so the new car has barely grown a little (25mm longer, 4mm wider and 10mm longer wheelbase). What the old car really felt outdated were its organic exterior design and cheap interior packaging. In the new car, exterior design is updated. Although it is by no means striking, it looks comfortable to our eyes. Well, you may describe the base model XT as bland and the sporty model XR (either XR6 or XR8) as a bit too civilized, but in luxurious form G-series (G6 or G6E), with chromed mesh grilles and chromed window frames it looks every bit an European design. If not the current Mondeo grown so big (actually as big as Falcon), Ford Europe could have considered importing the G-series Falcon as the replacement of its defunct big car Scorpio !
Australian cars have been notorious for poor quality interior. This was true to the old Falcon as well as today's Holden VE Commodore. Gratefully, the new Falcon gets a much improved dashboard and instrument made of decent plastics. Although still lags behind the quality standard of Camry and Mondeo, it is no longer a complaint to most people. Not so good are the driving position (too high and adjustment range is limited) and seat comfort (not very supportive). Nevertheless, the cabin feels roomier than before, thanks to less steeply raked windscreen and rear window. Rear passengers will also find access to the cabin easier due to the larger door aperture. As before, the rear seat can genuinely accommodate 3 adults, although they won't find as much legroom and headroom as in Holden Commodore. As expected, the FG Falcon remains rear-wheel drive, which is a delight to traditional motorists. Its new chassis is stronger and safer. Though still ride on double-wishbone front suspensions and "control-blade" multi-link rear suspensions, it is not lack of improvements. For example, the control arms of the front suspensions are now made of aluminum to save 22kg of unsprung weight. The rear suspension has higher roll center to match with the front and reduce body roll. New bushings, monotube dampers and 30 mm wider tracks improve handling as well as NVH suppression. Besides, the steering rack is now mounted forward to stabilize the steering response, and variable ratio rack is used for the first time. Lastly, to tame the previous scary oversteer - something inevitable for a powerful rear-drive machine - a modern electronic stability control is finally added.
Powertrain gets plenty of improvements, too. The old 5-speed manual gearbox has been replaced by a Tremec 6-speed manual box. The old 4-speed automatic has been upgraded to a 5-speed unit built by Ford Europe. More expensive models employ ZF's 6-speed automatic, what else can you ask for ? The base engine continues to be that 4.0-liter straight-six with 24 valves, double VCT variable cam phasing and (unfortunately) the same cast-iron block. However, it gets a new composite intake manifold with resonance type variable volume function to optimize torque spread and a new cylinder head with reshaped combustion chambers to promote swirl. Max output is 261hp and 288 lb-ft, 7hp and 6 lb-ft up from last generation. Next up is turbocharged version of the straight-six. Now with 362 horsepower and 393 lb-ft of torque, it is actually on a par with the V8. Compare with the old engine, it gets a new cylinder head and a composite intake manifolds like the naturally aspirated engine (but with fixed geometry because the torque of turbocharging is so strong). A new Garrett turbocharger, accompany with shorter intake and lower exhaust back pressure, responds 30% faster to throttle. Turbo lag is reduced, torque curve is improved. 80% max torque is now available from 1250-5750 rpm, while max torque continues from 2000-4750 rpm. Bigger intercooler and higher efficiency turbocharger allows boost pressure to increase from 0.4 to 0.7 bar, resulting in 34 more horsepower. Moreover, the variable cam phasing of this engine is adaptive to driving mood - when the throttle is wide open, it switches to an aggressive valve timing to reduce turbo lag and sharpen engine response. In normal driving, the cam timing is less aggressive so that the car delivers 5% lower fuel consumption compare with the old car.
On the top of the tree is the familiar Boss 290 5.4-liter 32-valve V8, hand-assembled by FPV (Ford Performance Vehicle). It produces 389 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque, probably not enough to persuade customers to choose it instead of the turbocharged 6. Admittedly, Australia Ford is phasing out V8 engines under the pressure of high fuel price. Therefore it simply dropped the mass production 3-valve V8 and offers only the low volume Boss 290 to the new Falcon. It is reserved for the XR8 model. Expect only the traditional V8 hardcores will be interested. On the road, XR8 is the most disappointing. Wheels magazine found it is actually slower than the torquer XR6 Turbo by quite a margin. Moreover, its big V8 make it feels nose-heavy in corners and results in stronger understeer. Its exhaust noise is also too civilized for a V8 machine. In addition to the heavy fuel consumption, there is no reasons at all to purchase it instead of the XR6 Turbo, unless you are a V8 die-hard ! Both XR6 Turbo and G6E Turbo are deeply impressive. They share the same turbocharged six with the same refinement, flexible torque and the same astonishing performance: 0-60 mph take just 4.9 seconds when they are equipped with the excellent ZF 6-speed automatic ! The main difference between them is suspension tuning. The softer-riding G6E Turbo is a great high-speed cruiser while XR6 Turbo is more fun in corners. However, even the XR6 has smoother ride than rival Commodore SS-V.
All Falcons have well-sorted handling and ride. Their tuning induces slight initial understeer but could be balanced by throttle. Their steering is accurate, linear and communicative, although the rack could transmit rattle on bumpy surfaces. Overall speaking, Falcon has better chassis dynamics than VE Commodore. In addition to its stronger engines and better transmissions, it can easily steal the crown from its domestic rival. However, questions remain over the future of the Australian big car. Declining interests in big family cars and a more open domestic market means Australia and New Zealand can hardly support an independent line of vehicle. Globalization is the only way for survival in the future. GM let Holden to lead the development of Zeta platform for use in North America and China. Will Ford allow its Australian arm to do the same ? Let's hope so. |
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| The above report was last updated on 13 May 2008. All Rights Reserved. |
