New Falcon Ute pricing revealed

FORD has continued its BA Falcon sedan and wagon trend by raising prices for its Ute range that goes on sale October 16.

Prices are up as much as $1260 and as little as $180 for the range which has had the 240kW XR6 turbo added to it - reflecting the sedan line-up - but predictably had a whole range of value pack editions chopped with the changeover from AUIII.

The base model XL cab chassis has the steepest price rise, from $24,330 to $25,590 - or 5.2 per cent - while the XLS Styleside goes up only $180 from $29,200 to $29,380 - or 0.6 per cent.

Overall, the price rise is a modest 2.5 per cent. This compares with Holden's price changes on its VY ute range, which rose two per cent for the base model, seven per cent for the S which added air-conditioning and ABS anti-lock braking, and 1.5 per cent for the SS.

The XL Styleside is now $1000 more expensive than the Commodore Ute, although the XLS still undercuts the Holden S 3.8-litre V6, while the XR6 is more than $2000 under S 5.7-litre V8, although the new Turbo is $335 more expensive than the Holden's Ute hero-car, the SS V8.

The missing piece of the jigsaw is the XR8 utility, which will not appear along with the sedan until early 2003. Pricing is tipped to start somewhere between $41,000 and $43,000.

Of course, the Falcon ute is in a different position to its sedan counterpart because it is actually a bigger seller than its Holden counterpart.

But all that might change once Holden launches it cab-chassis range - tipped for the Sydney show this month - and its two-wheel and four-wheel drive range of crew cab Cross8s next year.

The BA Falcon ute inherits many - but not all - of the improvements the BA sedan accrued from Ford's massive $500 million investment program.

The exterior forward of the windscreen and the interior have been thoroughly restyled and all five new or updated engines flow across, along with the optional sports shift auto. The standard powerplant is the Barra 182 4.0-litre I6, with the Boss 220 three-valve 5.4-litre V8 a $5000 option.

But from the A-pillar back much of the BA ute is carry-over from AU, including the old live rear axle rather than the new Control Blade rear suspension.

That's no problem for the workhorse models but with up to 260kW and 500Nm pumping through the rear wheels of the sports versions, things could get interesting.

In terms of equipment, air-conditioning is still a $2250 option on XL and XLS, matching the base Holden Ute, while ABS will set you back $930 and a passenger airbag $470.

PRICING:

AUIII Ute	BA Ute	Holden Ute
XL Chassis Cab $24,330	XL Chassis Cab $25,590	-
XL Styleside $25,230	XL Styleside $26,190	Ute V6 $25,190
XLS Chassis Cab $28,180	XLS Chassis Cab $28,580	-
XLS Styleside $29,200	XLS Styleside $29,380	S V6 $31,950
XR6 VCT Styleside $33,870	XR6 Styleside $34,205	S V8 $36,650
XR8 Styleside $38,560	XR6 Turbo $39,675	SS V8 $39,340

Options/Accessories

	AUIII	BA	VY
V8 engine	$4227	$5000	$4700 (m) $4230 (a)
LPG	$798	$1100	$2925
Sports shift Auto	n/a	$920	n/a
4-spd Auto	$662	$770 (column)	$770
Leather trim	$798	$1015	$1015
Air-conditioning	$2250	$2250 (XL, XLS)	$2250 (Ute)
LSD	$470	$470	$360
1600kg towpack	$258	$345	$346.50
Passenger airbag	$479	$495	$495 (S) or $3780 (as pack on Ute with a-c and ABS)