THREE years ago Ford turned its ailing AU Falcon into the $500 million BA with a revamp so complete it was essentially an all new sedan. And while sales and the brand image improved significantly, it was the quality and depth of the BA's engineering that earned this Falcon its highest praise since the 1966 XR. Now comes the BF model, with changes almost completely invisible to the eye but very obvious to the driver in terms of performance, driveability, economy and refinement. So scratch that surface because, believe it or not, the BF is another decisive step forwards for the Ford family cars.
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BA Falcon
Released: September 2002
Ended: September 2005
Family Tree: FalconARGUABLY the most changed Falcon in the model's five-decade history despite carrying over key AU model body panels, the BA Falcon was the model's coming-of-age, with engineering-led upgrades like sophisticated independent rear suspension for the sedan, redesigned steering, a completely new interior and fresh engines across the board. The base XT produced 182kW of power from a 4.0 six-cylinder unit, while a turbo variant for the increasingly popular XR6 boasted 240kW. Two Canadian-made 5.4 V8s (220kW and Boss 260kW for the XR8) rounded out the range, while Ford's HSV-rivalling FPV GT sedans upped the ante to 290kW. While four-speed auto and five-speed manuals were the norm, the BA Mark-II from October 2004 introduced six-speed manual gearboxes in higher-end models.
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