I hear you; I am also 185 cm / 75 kgs. I recently traveled in the back of relatively new Falcon (only for a short distance thankfully) and it wasn’t easy. Yet I can get into and out of the back of the R36 no problems at all.

I have a close friend that is a one-eyed Ford person (He thought the AU was a styling masterpiece, true!!!), and on occasion I have had to try and get into the back seat of his various Falcons from AU to BA.

I still can’t get into the back without difficulty because the damn door is so small, and I’m only 185cm and 80kgs, so I’m not a blob. Yet I have no trouble climbing into the back of my Golf, even though I’m rarely in the back, but my family are all the same height as me and hence don’t complain when they have to ride in the GTI.

There’s another everyday reason why Falcon is a poor choice. The Commodores are MUCH easier to get into the back seat.

XA-Mont: the Aust built Fords just don’t cut it on spec, price or quality. I wouldn’t swap my R36 for any of Ford Australia’s current products.

The born and bred Aussie in me said, “get an XR6 in metallic orange or purple, YEEEEEEEAH!!!!” and, even now, seeing a near new VE SS in metallic Morpheous still cracks a smile. They’re great cars made for our country.

In the end, I realised I couldn’t get into a BF Falcon without crouching and I couldn’t get comfortable without doing unmentionable things to its wheel and seat settings. At 6’2″, I had to find a way of seeing under the Falcon’s curved windscreen header rail where it met the A pillar, you see.

The Golf’s a great car made for the whole world and is without doubt the most useful and excellent car I’ve ever owned. It’s the right size for me and choosing diesel in late 2005 to early 2006 seemed to be a future-proof decision, which was partly right, and may well be in the near future. Even if it’s not, I still love the diesel’s drive characteristics.

My next choice will once again be between Falcon, Commodore with intelligent VF drivetrain upgrades and Golf Mk6. Maybe Pug 308, too. Golf could win. Curious combatants, same as before.

Does that answer your question as to how people think?

Not hundreds, but I see at least a couple every time I’m on the road now. Depends where you’re looking I guess…this is around Sydney’s inner west and eastern suburbs mostly. Hardly surprising giving Volkswagen’s target markets.

IRC my FG has 3 materials (apart from little bits of bling and whatnot) on the door trims, the soft plastic at the top the leather in the middle and the hard plastic at the bottom.

how many materials do the euros have? Another question to be posed here is, do the interiors suit the aussie climate? personally i have no idea if it would be a problem or not, jsut something to consider.

And the box is a ZF box from the jags i believe.

Hiring a current model Fairlane Ghia I counted some crazy number (around the 10 mark) of different materials used to make the door trim.

Also travelling at high speeds wind noise was very noticeable from what appeared to be the exterior mirrors and largeish gaps between the cars panel works. It was otherwise a well insulated ride.

I however was very impressed with the way it drove with an excellent auto box (I believe it’s the same ZF box stolen from the E60/1 5 Series?) and a truly superb suspension setup. I definately was very impressed with the suspension setup having experienced stuff from Lexus, BMW and Merc (S-Class might I add).

I guess Aussie cars (suspension) really are built for Aussie roads.

This all plays a big part when you’re deciding where to put down your hard earned cash on a car you may very well keep for many years, so it has to be easy to live with and rattles, whistling wind and too many materials can (leave a bad first impression when carting friends around and) really get on your nerves after a while.

I agree that the ride is not beautiful (less so in the ute due to the suspension being focused at load carrying)

I cant comment on the steering vs. the euros because i didnt test drive any euros.

And i wont arguew with you on the cloth interior… thats why i got leather