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RangeMay 2008

Range

The FG Falcon line-up consisted of six variants, with some new badges signalling the death-knell for the Futura and Fairmont nameplates.The base-model XT scored a maximum five-star safety rating from ANCAP, a French-sourced five-speed automatic transmission as standard – or an even classier German-built six-speed auto from ZF - mated to Ford Australia’s trusty and torquey 4.0-litre inline six.The next level up – the G6 - aimed directly at Holden’s popular Berlina, and delivered excellent refinement and handling prowess from new steering and front suspension designs. The G6 came standard with electronic stability control, front and side airbags, cruise control, air-conditioning, a large centre information display screen, a 60/40 split-fold rear seat, 17-inch alloy wheels and a luxury sport suspension setting.The G6E was Ford Australia’s replacement for the Fairmont and the Blue Oval’s direct competitor for Holden’s Calais. It added a host of luxury items, led by a six-speed automatic transmission, leather seat trim, 18-inch alloys, wing mirror-mounted indicators, Bluetooth phone preparation, a seven-inch TFT colour central information screen, premium CD sound with subwoofer, eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, a reversing camera and side curtain airbags.The G6E Turbo added a big dose of extra comfort and refinement in FG guise, as well as the option, for the first time, of Ford’s scorching new force-fed 4.0-litre inline six-cylinder from the XR6.The flagship Falcon came standard with a six-speed automatic transmission, leather seat trim, 18-inch alloys, wing mirror-mounted indicators, Bluetooth phone preparation, a seven-inch TFT colour central information screen, premium CD sound with sub-woofer, eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, a reversing camera and side curtain airbags.The XR6 Turbo came with a reworked engine that happened to deliver the same 270kW as the previous model, but with 533Nm of torque. The big-bore turbo six was a masterstroke of Ford Australia engineering and, apart from offering a seamless surge of acceleration in both six-speed manual and even slicker six-speed automatic forms, the XR6T was also relatively frugal with an official fuel consumption average of 11.7L/100km.The FG-series XR8 (discontinued in April 2010 due to it not meeting the Euro 4 emissions standard) was the first to not be the quickest and most expensive sports variant of the Falcon model range, as well as the first to produce less peak torque than its six-cylinder XR6 Turbo sibling.The XR8’s performance and standard equipment list did’t match the SS Commodore’s, which ran to a 6.0-litre alloy V8 and side curtain airbags, but the Ford evened up with climate-control air-conditioning, while the V Series-rivalling XR8 Luxury Pack added 19-inch alloys leather trim and premium sound and climate systems.In April 2010 the FG range received an update, with the naturally-aspirated and turbocharged inline-six engines tuned to meet Euro 4 emissions standards, although there were no performance or cosmetic upgrades.Equipment and fuel efficiency gains followed the replacement of volume-selling models' five-speed automatic transmission with Ford's slick six-speed ZF auto.Side head/thorax airbags became standard in in XR6 and XR6 Turbo Ute models - but not in entry-level utes.Similarly, while head-protecting front side airbags were standard across the Falcon sedan range, curtain airbags to protect rear passengers remained optional at base level in the Falcon, unlike its locally-built large-car rivals.Bluetooth phone and iPod connectivity became standard on all FG Falcons (except utes with the optional column-shift), instead of being standard only on the G6E Turbo.In July 2011 Ford launched the LPG-powered Falcon EcoLPi featuring an all-new liquid-injection LPG system that claimed massive improvements to performance, driveability, economy and environmental friendliness.In fact, with 198kW of power at 5000rpm and 409Nm of torque at 3250rpm, the LPG Falcon was something of a performance black horse, eclipsing the standard petrol engine’s 195kW and 391Nm outputs significantly on 91 RON unleaded while equalling it for power on 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.In terms of all-important fuel consumption, the EcoLPi-equipped XT was 16.1 per cent more economical than E-Gas at 12.5 litres per 100km (or 15.4 per cent better in the heavier G6, G6E and XR6 sedans, which returned 12.6L/100km).

FG GTMay 2008

FG GT

The fast Falcon factory has come up with incredibly potent FG-based sedans and utes.Ford Performance Vehicles has wound up the wick of its V8 and turbo I6 engines which take full advantage of the chassis and body improvements that came with the FG Falcon upgrades.With Ford announcing the in-line Turbo six will be killed off when the Geelong engine plant is shut in 2010, the FG range will a last hurrah of the locally-made F6 engine.FPV gave the boosted six a full work-over which has seen power surge to 310kW while 565Nm of torque is available from just 1950rpm all the way through to 5200rpm.The GT sedan and Pursuit Utes haven’t been forgotten either with the 5.4-litre Boss V8 upgraded for 315kW and 551Nm.Both engines are available with a new six-speed manual and the existing ZF six-speed automatic.

Persona IIMay 2008

Persona II

PROTON Cars revived the Persona nameplate for its second-generation small car in 2008. Based on the WRM44 (Wira Replacement Model) Gen.2 five-door hatch, the WRM41 Persona was launched wearing a headline $16,990 price tag – which is at least about $2000 below expectations.This placed the Proton closer to baby sedans like the Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent and Holden Barina – even though this is a full-sized five-seater small car with a 430 litre boot.Only one GX-specification model is imported from Malaysia for now, boasting anti-lock brakes with EBD Electronic Brake-force Distribution, dual front airbags, rear parking sensors, climate-control air-conditioning, power windows, electric mirrors, remote central locking with boot release, five lap/sash seatbelts, CD/MP3/radio audio with remote controls, ally wheels, a trip computer with digital clock and… the glovebox that Gen.2 owners miss out on.Proton says the Persona is much more than a boot bolted on to the back of the existing Gen.2’s posterior.Beyond the fresh three-box silhouette (pencilled at the same time as the Gen.2 hatch was), the Persona departs from the Gen.2 with larger rear-door apertures for easier entry and egress, a comprehensively revamped cabin with measurably more rear-seat headroom, more flexible engine performance, revised automatic gearbox tuning and improved overall refinement.Or, in other words, Proton has tackled most of the faults of the existing Gen.2 in order to create a more rounded, consumer-friendly small-car sedan that can better compete against the aforementioned rivals, as well as the Nissan Tiida, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Cerato, Holden Viva, Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer and Toyota Corolla.The Gen.2 will also receive many of these upgrades as part of the facelift due in September, and will be rebadged as the Persona hatch.Many body panels are exclusive to the Persona sedan.Moving back from the restyled grille, there is a redesigned roof panel that is not as coupe-like in profile as the hatch, along with all-new side panels, back window, rear doors and alloy wheels.Another area where Proton has tackled a Gen.2 weakness is driveability.While on paper the Lotus co-engineered 1.6-litre CamPro four-cylinder petrol engine’s 82kW of power at 6000rpm and 148Nm of torque at 4000rpm seems identical to the existing Gen.2’s outputs, Proton says it has remapped the software for performance that takes in the Persona’s less-favourable power-to-weight ratio. In a nutshell, there is more torque available further down the rev range than before, as well as a less peaky power delivery around the 6000rpm-plus mark.Smoother acceleration, better low-speed pick-up and improved electronically controlled four-speed automatic gearbox harmonisation with the CamPro engine’s power characteristics are claimed.

Fleets to reward dieselsApr 2008

Fleets to reward diesels

Fleet chief says first local diesel car will be richly rewarded but jury remains out

Beijing show: Ford gets sporty with FiestaApr 2008

Beijing show: Ford gets sporty with Fiesta

Ford applies the sports S-pack treatment to its forthcoming Fiesta at Beijing

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