Comments on: 2008 Ford Falcon XT Wagon Review

By: John

John — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:45:49 +0000

I’ve just waded thru 2 years worth of reviews for this vehicle and have quietly decided that buying one is still the best bet for my family.
We are on a tight budget so buying a used fleet vehicle from a dealership is the way I’ll go.
I used to be a used car salesman and humbly consider the falcons to be a superior vehicle to the commodores in many ways and the BF3 wagon, although aimed at fleet buyers is going to be the best possible option for our needs and budget.
Sure I’d love a Territory which is aimed squarely at the type of buyer I am but there’s no way I’ll get one of a similar age and mileage for the money I’ll get a falcon wagon for.

By: Skeeter

Skeeter — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 01:30:16 +0000

I really like how the wagon looks. If I had the money I’d buy one, and first thing I’d do is drop a v8 in and xr8 front end.

By: Dave Collins

Dave Collins — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 04:05:24 +0000

I just bought a 2007 BF MKII Futura wagon with dedicated gas (ex fleet vehicle). I paid $16500 for it.
Apart from the spare in the back (because of the gas tank) which is a bit of a pain, I think it is a pretty good wagon (especially since mine has only done 56000 kms).
The car will do about 600k’s off a full tank and it has all the modern accessories you would expect (except side airbags – which quite frankly are overrated in my opinion anyway – if something hits me hard enough in the side I’m going to be screwed regardless of a couple of pollows). It doesn’t have the power of its petrol cousin but it still has plenty of torque under the hood and will easily tow a full load up a steep hill… the semiauto shifter helps too.
People will undoubtably bag it out but I think it is a great family wagon with plenty of space and comfort for a very reasonable price.
You get what you pay for.

By: George

George — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:18:52 +0000

The Falcon Station Wagon shows its real worth when we going on Holidays.
Space, economy, effortless cruising

I drive an AU II SW, just done over 200k.
It is a unique 6 seater, column shift auto.
On Holidays fully loaded with kitchen sink 5 people on board it can do 1000 km’s on the open road (standard unleaded). My friends couldn’t believe it until they travelled with us to Port Stephens (from Melbourne)

By: Becca

Becca — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:26:22 +0000

I didn’t read all the posts, seemed to me like a whole lot of comments from people who don’t believe there are others with different opinions. All the chatter about private families not buying this or not buying that or wanting something else, how many of these people have families, how many families do they know?
I raised 4 kids, for the most part of it, travelling around in Falcon wagons. Raising a family, you have to be budget conscious and you consider things like cargo space, rear leg room, passenger safety, ongoing repair costs and the like; I’ve always owned Falcon wagons because they tick all the boxes. A family holiday, towing a caravan and piled high in the back with luggage, the dog on the floor at the feet of the kids and a bench seat in front to accomodate the 4th child, was always a cinch. With so many Falcons around, there was never a problem getting affordable spares, so ongoing mantenance was always cheap. The fact that a well maintained taxi can do a million km without too much trouble was always a good point for me to not mind buying an ex-fleet car with 300K or so on it. Budget conscious families who can’t afford or justify spending $30K to $50K on a family car, but need the room, will buy ex-fleet or ex-cab because they’re cheap and generally have a very good service history. I’ve owned a lot of other vehicles as second cars, European, Jap, American, even Korean, with people movers the front seats are up over the front axle and engine, with your legs in the crumple zone; the rear seats are back behind the rear axle, with your head in the crumple zone, not exactly what I consider safe for my family. 4WD’s and the like have more things to go wrong and cost more money to fix, plus they’re not safe for pedestrians if the worst was to happen. Other wagons are too busy looking pretty and having fancy features, with little thought for the 3 teenage kids that might be cramped into the back with no leg room and nowhere to put the dog and very little luggage space. I only have 1 teen at home now, but I still have a Falcon Wagon (BAII bought new, now that I have less kids and more money). The next new car I would buy would be another Falcon Wagon, if they’re still making them when I decide to update. If not, then I’ll make some mods to my BA and keep it for the long term, she’s still got another 800K in her if I look after her. While I have and will always own other cars; right now a Peugeot 19, a Nissan Urvan and a Fairmont sedan (yeah I just love cars); The Falcon wagon will always be my favourite.

By: ford owner

ford owner — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:56:38 +0000

no you wouldn’t buy an sv6 sportswagon the room in them is beyond crap. it is a comadore hatch … waste of time. i know 5 other families and i have this car because they have kids and travel and can tow and has heaps of room and power and practicality and they are basically as good as if not better then the falcon

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:17:19 +0000

I currently drive a 2009 Ford FG Falcon G6E and right now im in the market for a new family wagon for my wife to drive the kids and all their junk around in.

IM LOOKING NO FURTHER than A 2010 Ford Falcon Wagon MkIII!!!!!

Its soooo understated and meets all our essential requirements, however if a higher spec model was availible we would have taken it.

So gues where Im going next week? The local Ford dealer of course.

By: ron

ron — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:37:42 +0000

some would say my BF this and that, my FG this and that. Some would say “i have a dual independent VCT” this and that, but in fact both BA and BF have identical engines. While the BF only has a different EDIT that makes its DOHC work independently when on idle or when you turn the car on for the 1st time, once you revve it above 1000rpm they both synchronize just like on that 1st BA Barra182 motor.Both cars in fact make 190kW, whether its BA182 or BF190 , it is the same, if you run a Barra182 on RON95 you get 190kW at slightly higher 5250rpm versus 5000rpm, and you get just a little more torque 3Nm extra and yet at lower RPM.
And why lower RPM? , that is because higher octane fuels burn faster, therefore more power and torque will occur at lower RPM, while it wont be felt as much at the certain point in the mid–range, most is felt at low RPM and above 5000rpm.
So basically a BF is just a software revised BA, both making same power/torque, while the BF is tested a lot more on premium fuels, hence the reason why it appears to make 8kW more. But there is more to this story, some claim that Ford used old testing equipment, so 182kW was just an estimate, some claim that car makes 180kW and 390Nm and not 182 and 380Nm.So there will always be room for error, the EUROIII emission standards that BF is under have measured that Barra182 to make 190kW/383Nm, so if you’re driving a BA it basically is a BF, but the only difference is that each cam is asynchronous at idle which saves fuel, instead of sitting at 1.7l per 100k on idle, on the BF its 1.4-1.5L which saves fuel thanks to the ECU software EDIT.
Otherwise an engine is 100% identical and no special or different cam phasers are employed or different cam profiles.
Unless we compare it to an FG which is slightly different yet approx 95% identical to the fist Barra182.
So run your Barra182 on RON98 and you’ll see the figures that were never advertised, a figure of something like 194kW at 5000rpm and 402Nm of torque between 2500-3500rpm. Run it on RON91 regular unleaded and on a good day we are talking about 185kW/395Nm until the engine warms up and goes back to calibrated and tested 182/380 figures on RON91 on a reasonable humidity level in the air.
Its all the same, whether you sit in a BA XT or BF XT or FG XT, whether a 4 speed auto , 5 or a 6 speed ZF.
Unless we’re comparing EB Falcon and AUIII, there would be a significant difference, but when comparing say BA Fairmont 4.0L versus BF Fairmont 4.0L there will be zero difference, and if you were to compare a G6 4.0 195kW/391Nm on RON91 with BA/BF 4.0, there wont be even 1% difference on road performance, unless the FG made 220kW/440Nm so that the difference can be felt and seen as substantial or significant at least in theory.
Correct me if i am wrong. Even when testing a new FG on RON98 where it peaks at 205kW/420Nm , i see only a small, very small incremental improvement versus the BA/BF XT on the same fuel, whether in 4 speed or 6 speed guise.

By: Rudd

Rudd — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:10:48 +0000

True, totally!
I own a petrol version of a BF MkII though and i got it supercharged to 392 flywheel kilowatts.

The car hammers now, it makes 790Nm of torque and a custom re-built transplanted 6 speed ZF on a 3.91 diff does wonders, 0-100 in less than 4.5s.

i am gona get that car in a magazine , i want to show it off.

By: Kevin Of the Hills

Kevin Of the Hills — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:37:46 +0000

Just purchased a demo, 2008, MK3 Wagon, dedicated LPG, and could not be happier. Drives well, quiet, well appointed, comfortable. After having an EB2 1993 fairmont, from new, this is quite a considerable upgrade. Ford have put a lot of thought, and development into this car over the years, and produced, a quality, yet market segment orientated vehicle. I now hope ford service can keep the car running as it is today.