- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 2 seats
- Engine
4.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
182kW, 380Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 9.5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2004 Ford Falcon Review
In 2002 Ford Australia were struggling to compete in the Australian car scene, with their main competitor being the Holden Commodore. The AU Falcon was well, to be blunt, ugly. This didn't help Ford's sales in the least..
- Body design., Powerful and reliable engine., Spacious interior., Easy to modify, and performance parts are cheap.
- High fuel usage while driving in stop, start conditions., Four speed automatic BTR gearbox is old, and extremely weak for high powered engines.
Ford needed something big to come back from the disappointment.
The BA Falcon was exactly what they needed, featuring a powerful, and extremely reliable 4.0L inline six engine, American egotistical body sculpting, and a very large variety of model variants from the basic XT, all the way up to the FPV GT (using the same chassis, and body as another BA falcon sedan, but a huge BOSS 290 5.4L V8).
My car, a 2004 XR6 falcon is one of less powerful versions, only being a 4.0L inline six (BARRA182), but don't confuse less powerful with slow, these cars standard produced 182KW, and a huge amount of torque. And yes, I know that there is a some examples of cars that are powerful and unreliable, but these are not, the BARRA182 that is in the base model (XT) and the XR6 models are extremely tough, with many examples of ex taxis being well into the high 800000 kilometers, to well, the 1000000 kilometers mark and still going strong.
As they are a large family sedan you can expect lots of room inside right? Right. They don't disappoint there, well not in the front anyway. The back seats are large and comfortable also, but the foot wells aren't so much, but Im putting that down to being 6'4" and having legs the lengths of football fields. But the foot wells would be more than ample for a average height person or children.
Technology and connectivity, well seeing as these cars were made released in 2002 you're not going to see Bluetooth or anything fancy like that in the ICC (Interior Command Center) but these cars did come out with an premium sound system option that included better speakers, and a small 8" sub woofer on the parcel shelf. But many people I know with cars have upgraded the sound system completely. And the ICC has a tissue holder spot that is more than happily removed in order to make space for a single DIN head unit. Also the large boot is able to accommodate two large sub woofers, all without compromising the space to be able to fit a full weeks worth of groceries in the back.
These cars handle amazing, whether it be in rush hour traffic, commuting to work, a spirited drive on your favorite coastal road or driving in heavy rain, you never feel like this car is going to do something unpredictable. Living in Far North Queensland I have driven this car in heavy rain and roads that normally people would consider slippery, but even not having any form of traction control I haven't felt unsafe. Even on tracks, this car has amazing handling, its grips and hugs the corners like you'd expect from a performance car, but you're still able to whip out the rear if you want to be a little tail happy which you'd expect from a rear wheel drive.
So has this review made you start to think "man, I'd really like to experience one of these cars". Well, I'd honestly recommend it. These cars are usually on the market for less than $8000 making it an ideal P Platers first car, or a reliable daily city hack. This car will always have your back, and not only is it reliable, has amazing features, and is safe, it's also a joy to drive. After all, its a Ford, what else would you expect from a company that's being making great cars since 1904.