Ford Falcon G6 Limited Edition announced

The model will go on sale this month and incorporates almost $4000 worth of additional equipment into a vehicle selling for a drive-away price of $36,490.

Ford says that when on-road and other costs are rolled into the deal the added value is almost $13,000.

The pricing represents a bargain for buyers as the entry-level Falcon XT, the mainstay of fleets, has a manufacturer's list price of $39,290.

On the opposition front, Holden’s new base model the Commodore Omega with the 3.0-litre Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) is priced at $39,990.

Ford President and CEO Marin Burela told CarAdvice that while the Falcon range was selling strongly in general and models such as the XR6, XR6 Turbo and the G6E Turbo were “going great guns” the G6 had become a little lost amongst its stronger-selling siblings.

At a media briefing in Melbourne Mr Burela said that Ford had order books on popular models of the Falcon that stretched out to December or November.

He said XR6 models were currently making up about 43 per cent of all Falcon sales while the base XT model had reduced to 15 per cent, which left the balance to the G-Series, the most popular of which has proved to be the range-topping G6E Turbo.

While the new version of the G6 is called a Limited Edition, Mr Burela refused to be drawn on just how limited it would be, although CarAdvice understands the model will be offered until the end of this year.

He said that as G6 had so far only sold in relatively small numbers he did not expect the drive-away pricing to have any significant impact of residuals for cars already sold.

“We believe the G6 Limited Edition will drive sales to this area of out model range and will enhance the G6 and G6E proposition for many buyers,” Mr Burela said.

He also intimated that Ford might look at a simplification of its model range, possibly rolling the G6 and G6E into one model as a result of “lessons that can be learnt from this exercise.”

Mr Burela said there had been strong dealer interest in the G6 Limited Edition and he expected the model to sell strongly over the coming weeks.

Ford says the exterior of the G6 Limited Edition is enhanced with stylish 18-inch G Series alloy wheels, unique colour accent treatments on the upper and lower grilles, fog lamp bezels and rear bumper insert, and a 'Limited Edition' badge.

Inside there is an impressive list of new appointments, including side curtain airbags, leather-detailed seat trim, leather-wrapped sports steering wheel with satin alloy audio and cruise control buttons, iPod integration and Bluetooth mobile phone integration.

The G6 Limited Edition will also be available with the optional E-Gas dedicated LPG engine and accompanying four-speed automatic transmission.

When optioned with E-Gas, the vehicle will also be fitted with unique 17-inch sports alloy wheels to differentiate it from the petrol G6 Limited Edition model.

The dedicated LPG E-Gas powertrain is available as a $2000 option, while a $2000 government grant from the LPG Vehicle Scheme is available to eligible customers.