In the past decade, Ford Falcon sales have slid from around 60,000 to more like 30,000 and that's mainly because fleet buyers these days want smaller more efficient cars. So, is there still a place for main steam Falcons? Let's find out. Here's Car Advice road tester, Paul Maric. Paul, Falcon sales are on a slide, aren't they?
Yeah, it looks pretty bleak doesn't it, but I still think there's a future for the Falcon in Australia, and people just kinda get behind it.
Okay whose gonna buy a Falcon and what model should they buy?
Well, it doesn't really say much need for it, but they'e coming out with new technology such as Eco-boost and liquid injected LPG which I think will really revive the range and offer you even better fuel economy in a big size, large car.
You know, LPG and LPG have to be Ford's biggest secret. Why don't more people buy LPG Falcons?
I think it's a great technology. I think up until now, the only thing that's been limiting people buying it is that the Falcon loses 40 kilowatts to the LPG system and that's simply because it's ancient technology. Liquid Injected LPG on the other hand and will give it the performance boost but still let it use natural gas.
Okay, but how far away is liquid LPG injection? It's in the coming months be here and I think that will be a massive set for the Falcon, including the EcoBoost technology which will give it a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Give it a bit of a sporty drive and great fuel economy savings. Now the Falcon wagon is dead, that's not gonna help sales either?
No, the Falcon wagon is long gone. I think they're hoping to shift all of those sales to the territory which is receiving a face-lift and a diesel engine, so I think what they're really doing is shifting those sales for the Kluger. Unfortunately it looks that way, doesn't it? The territory has been So long in the tooth now in terms of the design it really need a bit of a kick in the pants to get moving again.
What would it take to make you buy a Falcon? Well, look I think, gonna head upwards in the price range. An XT really doesn't cut it anymore. When you look at stuff like the J6, the J6 seen even the J68 Turbo, thats to be the performance wagon of the century at 59,000 dollars. In our racing large car comparison, we cocked it on a 0 to 100 at 4.9 seconds seconds.
I mean, that is just phenomenally fast, I guess the other reason people buy Falcons is, their teen age kids grow up and they Ford 11 tall, and I just don't fit in anything else, did I? That's right, and there's so much leg room in the back of these. The boot is massive. And it's great for towing, if you ever need tie the boat caravan you can't go past a Falcon its got a plenty of torque and great fuel economy now with six speed ZF cross the range and for those who don't know ZF gearbox is, it's a German gearbox that's seen in the likes of BMW, Maserati, I mean the best use it and it's fitted to the Falcon.
Now this happened because the four-speed automatic provider Drive Chain Systems International, they went bankrupt during the global financial crisis, so there wasn't a viable option, right? Yeah, that's right and I'm glad to see that they've spent a bit of extra money and made the six-speed I could have gone with any other gear box out there and really given the Falcon a kick that it didn't deserve, but this is certainly a great move for the Falcon and if people haven't driven a car with a 6 speed Zed-F yet they need to get on to it, because it really transforms it.
The elephant in the room here is Commodore versus Falcon it's the great Australian divide. But if you're in the market for a Falcon, shouldn't you go and test drive a Commadore. Look, they match of a match test, and that's the problem people. Oh no really. The fans the fan boys and all that sort of stuff will go for one of the other and I think it's just what they brought up with.
And they really just need to give the other brand a bit of a shot. You know, you've got to try something new. And I think Holden fans would be really surprised with the Falcon, as would Ford fans with the Commodore. So it's a bit like changing your religion, but if you're thinking about buying a Falcon, do you have to go and test drive a Commodore as well?
Yeah, you've got to just to know that you've you're getting the best car. There's no point sticking to your allegiance if there's something better just down the road. And while we're talking test drives, is there any value in downsizing to a Mondeo That's the other elephant in the room, the Mondeo.
It's sticking around and I think Ford was a bit worried about cannibalizing their sales. And so they should be because of the fantastic so, look, if you do want something a little bit smaller and you're happy to sacrifice the power that you get with the Falcon, the Mondeo's a great option. The Falcon's designed and built here in Australia?
either one will be pretty good at coping with our conditions.
It's fantastic, anything you throw at it, it sucks it up. Even when you move up the range into the performance Falcon's they handle really well and can still carry plenty of people, so you don't lose any ride quality simply because it's Australian engineered.
Thanks, Paul. That was Paul Maric, and maybe it's not time for the last rides for the Australian Falcon. You can read a host of Falcon reviews online, download the specifications, add your comments, even get a quote from a Ford dealer. Just follow the links on this page.
