Ford wants a wagon in the new Falcon line-up.
Ford remains committed to a new Falcon wagon as an integral part of the Orion line-up.
Unlike Holden, which has moved away from a traditional load-carrying wagon with its new Commodore Sportswagon, the next-generation Ford wagon is expected to carry over as a true load-lugger.
Though some Ford staff confirm that a wagon will follow the sedan and ute, Ford president Tom Gorman is cryptic about what form the new wagon is likely to take.
“Our plan is to continue to sell Falcons and we're evaluating what the future looks like for us,” Gorman says. “When we launched Territory in 2004 a lot of people thought it was going to substitute for the Falcon wagon, but it didn't work out that way.”
Gorman says “99.9 per cent of wagon sales” are to fleets. “It's very much a tool-of-trade product so it is about cost of ownership and it's heavily skewed to E-Gas,” he says.
Gorman is unconcerned about the arrival of the new Mondeo, which is close in size to the Orion, although he acknowledges it will be a challenge to sell both.
“It's always going to be a challenge,” he says.
“But the vehicles are quite different. The Falcon has a six and an eight, LPG and it's rear-wheel-drive.”
Gorman says the Falcon will still attract traditional buyers — large corporate fleets and government agencies. “We are not going to walk away from those segments,” he says.
Orion details remain sketchy, but Carsguide can confirm the interior has moved upmarket, with two-tone trims and an alloy-look dashboard on premium models with high-set audio controls and a deep-set LCD monitor.
The rear doors have been replaced with wide opening doors.
The side window line is shallower, to show off the car's wedge-shape design and improve side-impact crash characteristics.
Apart from an Orion front and updated rear end, the changes to the ute are minimal, with a hockey-stick style rear window behind the doors and the Orion front-end design.
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