2012 Ford Falcon Reviews

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2015 Ford Falcon as a used buy. In October 2016 the last Ford Falcon left the assemble line, not long after its 56th birthday in Australia. What does this mean on the used-car scene for the period being examined here, 2002 - 2016? At this stage the answer is we

Ford's sporty six kept up the performance image but had a thrftier LPG variant. New Having dropped its V8 in the 1980s, Ford went looking for a suitable model on which to hang its performance credentials. The answer was the XR6, a six-cylinder sports sedan created more in the European style than the earlier GTs that

Not a lot of new Ford Falcons are sold these days, so there's a shortage of late models on the used-car scene, but certainly no lack of offering built prior to 2010. For many years Falcon was a huge seller in Australia as the car suits the needs of many local buyers, particularly those in country areas. Built tough for Australia may sound a bit corny, but Falcon certainly answers to that description.Falcons have seating for five occupants, though four works better if they are all adults because the transmission tunnel takes up a lot of footroom in the centre-rear position. Legroom and headroom are ample for all but the largest adults in the remaining four seats. Comfort is very good and passengers can step out of a Falcon after a trip of hundreds of kilometres still feeling fresh and relaxed.The boot in the sedan is relatively shallow, but it's easy to load thanks to a good-sized opening. From the BA Falcon model onwards things are better, though the boot's still on the shallow side.Falcon station wagons are great load carriers as they are built on a longer wheelbase than the sedan so they have a long, wide, practical cargo area. The rear end of the BA is virtually identical to that of the older AU. Ford chose not to do an FG variant of the wagon. Instead, it created a Series III BF model to sell alongside the FG sedans. It wasn't a success, as SUVs were starting to make inroad in the wagon market, so it was discontinued in 2010.Handling is surprisingly good for a car of this size and mass. You wouldn't call it agile, but Falcons hold on when cornering at speeds far above those likely to be attempted by most drivers.Ford's six-cylinder engines all have a capacity of 4.0 litres but come in several formats, including one with a turbocharger. An interesting variant on the six-cylinder is a dedicated LPG engine. Very common in taxis, but less so in private cars (except in Victoria) this engine is all but indistinguishable from a petrol unit to drive. The LPG engine is thirstier than the petrol so fuel range suffers.The BA Falcon's six-cylinder engine is noticeably smoother and offers even better performance than the units it superseded. Ford fitted a 5.0-litre V8 to the AU, but it didn't have a lot more performance than the six-cylinder units and was on the thirsty side. Much better were the BA bent eights. There was a choice of two - both with a capacity of 5.4 litres. One has a single-cam cylinder head, the other a twin-cam setup.The EcoBoost Falcon has what many say is the best non-V8 engine of them all. It provides excellent performance and nimble handling, due to the lighter weight of the smaller engine. Buyers in this market segment can be on the conservative side and they stayed away from the EcoBoost in droves, so you can pick up a real bargain as a used-car.Automatics were all four-speed units until the launch of the BF, when a sophisticated six-speed ZF unit was installed. The ZF was originally only fitted in the topline variants. With the introduction of the FG range all received the six-speed auto, with the exception of the LPG powered models, which held onto the four-speed auto until the launch of the new-design LPG model in July 2011, when it received the six-speed.These are very simple cars to work on, with plenty of underbonnet and undercar spaceManual gearboxes are rare and probably best avoided in all but the sporting XR6 and XR8 because they can affect resale value. The manual was a five-speed until the BF series, when a six-speed was installed.Prices for spare parts, servicing and repairs are very reasonable and there are Ford dealers just about everywhere in Australia. Most spare parts for the Falcons covered here are readily available, although a few bits on some older cars may have to come from a wrecker.These are very simple cars to work on, with plenty of underbonnet and undercar space. We recommend having a workshop manual at your elbow before starting the work. Insurance prices are generally very reasonable and premiums for the everyday models are invariably at the lower end of the scale. It will generally cost more to cover a V8 Falcon than a straight-six, and more expensive for a turbo six.WHAT TO LOOK FORMany thousands of used Falcons will have been taxis at some time in their life. Be wary of one running on dedicated LPG; while these are quite common in Victoria, they are rare anywhere else in Australia. Signs of an ex-taxi are vinyl, rather than cloth, upholstery, severe wear both inside and out, holes where signs and a taximeter have been removed, and possibly a paint respray.Engine wear is indicated by a reluctance to start and smoke from the exhaust and/or the oil filler cap when the engine is revved after it has been idling for more than about a minute. Four-speed automatics can cause problems on hard-driven cars, especially if they have done a lot of work. Check they change gears cleanly and don't hunt up and down through the ratios.Be suspicious of any automatic that's slow at going into gear from Neutral or Park. Listen for a whining differential when driving at around 60 to 90km/h. Check the cabin for damage caused by bored kids. In station wagons have a good look at the load area for signs of commercial use.Rust is more unusual in these newer Falcons than old ones. If you do find rust the Falcon may have been poorly repaired after a crash.CAR BUYING TIPBig old used cars that have been looked after properly and driven correctly can be picked up for pretty low prices these days. Don't forget to have a professional inspection, though.

Graham Smith road tests and reviews the used Ford Falcon G6E 2011-2012.

Ford's Falcon has slipped from the minds of many new-car buyers in recent years, resulting in the sad news that production will cease late in 2016. However, the iconic Falcon has long been a favourite with used-car buyers and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.To some extent we blame the demise of the Falcon on over adventurous styling. The radical shape of the AU was years ahead of its time when it was introduced in September 1998 and many conservative buyers didn’t like it.Facelifts to create the AU Falcon Series II in April 2000 and to the AU III in November 2001 lifted sales slightly. In September 2002 a major facelift to produce the BA Falcon started to put the Falcon back on track in new sales. The BA Falcon was upgraded to the BF Falcon in October 2005.The introduction of the rather conservative FG-series Falcon saw sales slip again, and history shows that Ford Australia never did recover after that.Falcons have seating for five adults, though four makes more sense because rear-wheel drive means the transmission tunnel takes up a lot of footroom in the centre-rear position. Legroom and headroom are ample for all but the largest adults. Some find the relatively steep slope of the roof in the AU to BF Falcons make it awkward to get in and out; naturally the back seat of the wagon doesn’t have this hassle.Comfort is very good and passengers can step out of a Falcon after a trip of hundreds of kilometres still feeling fresh and relaxed.The boot in the sedan is rather shallow in the older models and the slope of the bootlid on the AU reduces its practicality. It’s easy to load thanks to a good-sized opening. The BA Falcon is better, though still on the shallow side.Falcon station wagons are great load carriers as they are built on a longer wheelbase than the sedan so they have a long, wide, practical cargo area. The rear end of the BA is virtually identical to that of the older AU. Ford chose not to do an FG variant of the wagon. Instead, it created a Series III BF model to sell alongside the FG sedans. It wasn’t a success and was discontinued in 2010.Handling is surprisingly good for a car of this size and mass. You wouldn’t call it agile, but Falcons hold on when cornering at speeds far above those likely to be attempted by most drivers.Ford's six-cylinder engines all have a capacity of 4.0 litres but come in several formats, including one with a turbocharger. An interesting variant on the six-cylinder is a dedicated LPG engine. Very common in taxis, but less so in private cars (except in Victoria) this engine is all but indistinguishable from a petrol unit to drive. It’s quite a bit thirstier than the petrol so fuel range suffers.The standard AU six-cylinder unit is good enough, but the BA’s six-cylinder is noticeably smoother and offers even better performance.Ford fitted a 5.0-litre V8 to the AU, but it didn’t have a lot more performance than the six-cylinder units and was on the thirsty side. Much better were the BA bent eights: there was a choice of two, both with a capacity of 5.4 litres, one with a single-cam cylinder head, the other with a twin-cam setup.A powerful four-cylinder engine, tagged the EcoBoost gave us arguably the best Falcon ever, thanks to excellent performance and nimble handling, the latter due to the lighter weight of the smaller engine. Buyers in this market segment can be on the conservative side and they stayed away from the EcoBoost in droves.Automatics were all four-speed units until the launch of the BF, when a sophisticated six-speed ZF unit was installed. The ZF was originally only fitted in the topline variants, with the introduction of the FG Falcon all received the six-speed auto, with the exception of the LPG power models, which stuck with the old four-speed unit until the launch of the new-design LPG unit in July 2011.Manual gearboxes are rare and probably best avoided in all but the sporting XR6 and XR8 as they can affect resale value. The manual was a five-speed until the BF series, when a six-speed was installed.Prices for spare parts, servicing and repairs are very reasonable and there are Ford dealers just about everywhere in Australia. Most spare parts for the Falcons covered here are readily available, although a few bits on some older cars may have to come from a wrecker.These are very simple cars to work on, with plenty of underbonnet and undercar space. We recommend having a workshop manual at your elbow before starting the work.Insurance prices are generally very reasonable and premiums for the everyday models are invariably at the lower end of the scale. It will generally cost more to cover a V8 Falcon than a straight-six, and more expensive for a turbo six.WHAT TO LOOK FORRust is far less of a problem in these newer Falcons than old ones. To be on the safe side, check the door lower corners, door sill panels, mudguards and bootlid. If you do find serious rust the car may have been badly repaired after a crash.Many thousands of used Falcons will have been taxis at some time in their life. Be wary of one running on dedicated LPG; while these are quite common in Victoria, they are rare anywhere else in Australia. Signs of an ex-taxi are vinyl, rather than cloth, upholstery, severe wear both inside and out, holes where signs and a taximeter have been removed, and possibly a paint respray.Engine wear is indicated by a reluctance to start and by smoke from the exhaust and/or oil filler cap when the engine is revved.Four-speed automatics can cause problems on hard-driven cars, especially the older models. Check they change gears cleanly and don't hunt up and down through the ratios. Be suspicious of any automatic that’s slow at going into gear from Neutral or Park.Listen for a whining differential when driving at around 60 to 90km/h.Check the cabin for damage caused by wild kids. In station wagons have a good look at the load area for signs of commercial useCAR BUYING TIPBeware ex-taxis: they are run hard and often not driven in a sympathetic manner. 

Dropping a smaller engine under the bonnet was never going to save the Ford Falcon. It’s an unpalatable fact of life for our local carmakers that big sedan sales are slumping everywhere from Germany to Geraldton as buyers scale down and step up.What the EcoBoost mill does prove is just how good Ford’s new generation of engines are. Ironically, that’s one of the reasons why the Focus will supplant the Falcon as the Blue Oval’s biggest seller this year. But for those who can’t fit in a Focus, the Falcon’s ride and handling makes it a better option than an SUV.A proven chassis with a responsive, hi-tech engine … what’s not to like? The Falcon can carry five adults in comfort and the boot will swallow more than Matt Preston. It costs the same as the six-cylinder engine - $37,235 in XT guise, rising to $40,835 for the mid-spec G6, with the promise of better fuel use. Carsguide averaged just on 9L/100km in mainly city driving. Space aside, the EcoBoost Falcon will be shopped against everything from the Kia Optima and Mazda6 to the Skoda Superb.The Falcon is showing its age in terms of driving aids and software. The touchscreen is good but there’s no satnav or reversing camera for the XT, though it does have rear parking sensors. Operating the driver’s info displays requires taking the hands off the wheel to reach the buttons mounted either side of the instrument cluster. The rumoured 2014 facelift will bring the interior on a par with the latest Fords, so expect voice-operated control of the sound system and the latest Bluetooth connectivity.This is where the Falcon suffers. It doesn’t look as sporty as its traditional rival, the Commodore. In the past that wasn’t a huge issue, given private buyers would go for the XR models and fleets would take the conservative look. But fleets - and governments - aren’t buying big cars, locally built or otherwise. The cabin needs some highlights to offset what is large area of grey plastics … but that’s what the facelift is for.Size matters in a crash, making the Falcon one of the safer cars to run up against. It has a five-star ANCAP rating and comes with six airbags and ABS with traction and stability control and electronic brakeforce distribution.The EcoBoost makes the six-cylinder redundant, unless buyers need the extra towing capacity - 2300kg against 1600kg. The four-cylinder prefers premium leaded, in which case sub-seven second times to 100km/h are easily within reach. More impressive is the mid-range acceleration and the way the six-speed auto has been calibrated to bring out the EcoBoost’s best.It lopes along at under 2000rpm at 100km/h and a quick dab of the pedal provides instant overtaking response. It's the same at 60 and 80km/h and at any speed this car turns-in better than bigger-engined Falcons, courtesy of the 60kg weight cut over the front wheels. The ride is also near XR levels of firmness but never feels unsettled. the seats need upgrading though - bolstering support is marginal at the cornering speeds the EcoBoost is capable of.

Canny motorists are facing a shopping bonanza as car makers start slashing prices to make way for new models. But it's not only outgoing models going cheap - look out for end-of-year sales as well.Any time a carmaker trumpets a new model, these shoppers are there ready to make a financial killing by buying up the old model. Look for sales at particular times of the year. June is traditionally a strong month for squeezing extra savings out of a dealer though, with a buoyant car market and fierce competition, anytime towards the end of any month can deliver a bonus.End of year sales are popular. Dealers always want to sell but the months of November and December provide a chance to discount cars built in the current year. Fighting this are car buyers who want a car built in the new year to preserve resale value. Here's some deals but be prepared for more as the calendar year draws to a close.HOLDENDeep Purple is no longer a rock band - it's Holden's new colour that is available on a range of cut-price “Z-Series” Commodore sedans, utes and wagons. The new colour is the same as Holden's iconic show car, the Efijy. Different models in the Z-Series line-up get different equipment levels but, as an example, the base Omega automatic is $41,990 but the Z-Series edition costs $39,990.The bonus is that the Z includes a heap of extras within that price, including leather upholstery, 18-inch wheels, rear camera and sensors, leather steering wheel and chrome door frames. The SV6 ute adds 19-inch alloys, carpet mats and leather seats for $38,490, down $1000 on the plane-Jane SV6.The discounts on the VE Holden Commodore range precede the launch early next year of the VF Commodore models. Holden is also running out the Barina five-door manual hatch at $16,490, a saving of $500.TOYOTAYou'll have to do some legwork here. The new Corolla is on sale and some dealers still have stocks of the old model. Officially, there's no discount on the outgoing model though some dealers - predominantly NSW and Victoria - have extra stock and have advertised a $18,990 price, $1000 off the list price. Note that the cheapest 2013 Corolla is also $19,990. Toyota WA says customers should discuss pricing direct with their dealer.It's not only the Corolla that may offer savings. The RAV4 gets updated early next year and though there's no official price, dealers will consider offers. On top of that, Toyota has zero per cent finance on Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion until the end of the year.HYUNDAIThere's a lot of previous-model stock available from Hyundai and buyers can make big savings if they're not chasing the latest car. These include old-stock i30 hatchbacks with $2000 off the normal price and previous Santa Fe SUVs for up to $3000 off.But there are also current models. The big one is the $13,990 drive-away price on the i20 three door which saves $2500. A similar discount is on the five-door i20. The i40 wagon is now from $29,990 driveaway, a saving of about $3000, and the sedan model with automatic transmission is also from $29,990, saving about $2500.Hyundai's popular baby SUV, the ix35, is now from $27,990 driveaway for the Active version, a saving of $1120, while other ix35 variants have been reduced by $500.MITSUBISHIThe new Outlander SUV arrives November 18 so Mitsubishi is sweeping out current stock. The "Enhancement Pack" model is an LS version with leather seats, heated front seats and an electric-adjust driver's seat. It has Bluetooth, 18-inch alloys with a full-size alloy spare, six airbags for the front-wheel drive version (up from two) and a cabin styling pack with bright trim to the door handles, console panel and rear door trim.Prices start at $28,990 drive away for the LS front-wheel drive model with five-speed manual transmission. The normal price is $29,340 plus on-road costs so the saving is about $4500. But for buyers who want the new model, register on Mitsubishi's website and there's the chance to win a $1000 Westfield shopping voucher and 15 per cent off accessories for the new Outlander. If that's not tempting, Mitsubishi also has 0.9 per cent finance until the end of this month.SUBARUThe 2012 run out has just started for Subaru which has chopped up to $5000 off three models. It replaces its Liberty and Outback in early 2013 as a mid-life makeover that includes upgrades to trim specifications. There is an all-new Forester also due about February. So the deals are now on the table.The Outback 2.5i manual is usually $37,490 plus on-road costs (say, $5000) but is being rolled out the showroom door for $35,990 including all on-road costs. The same axe has lobbed on the Forester X which is now $32,990 drive-away including leather-faced seats, alloy wheels and fog lights.The normal retail price is $30,990 without the extras and without on-road costs. Subaru is selling the Liberty 2.5i sedan manual for $31,990 drive away with leather seats, electric driver's seat and reverse camera. The car normally sells for $32,990 plus on-road costs.FORDKuga Trend $35,490 drive away (normally $38,990 plus on-road costs) and the upmarket Titanium is now $41,490 drive away, previously $44,990 plus all on the road charges. The Kuga is to be replaced with a new model in early 2013.Focus Ambiente hatch now $19,990 drive away (normally $20,290 plus costs). The Mondeo Zetec hatch is $33,990 with all costs (usually $37,740 plus on-road fees) and Falcon's XR6 Turbo is down from $46,235 plus costs, to $43,490 drive away.KIAThere's a new Sorento SUV so the outgoing model has a $2000 gift voucher attached to its normal retail price.VOLKSWAGENIs running out stocks of the current Golf VI to make way for the Golf VII due early next year. Volkswagen Australia has set the price of the current Golf 77TSI manual at $20,990 including metallic paint and all drive-away costs. This is a saving of about $5000.The Golf Wagon 90TSI with DSG auto, metallic paint and all drive-away costs is now $29,990, saving about $3500. Note that for small-car wagon buyers, Volkswagen has not confirmed a wagon version of the new Golf. If you want this shape, this could be your last chance.VOLVOThe Swede is clearing out its 2012 stock by adding value rather than chopping the price tag. The S60 and V60 entry-level models now come with the upmarket Teknik pack valued at about $4500. But if you specify the Teknik model, Volvo will automatically give you the R-Design pack (valued at $3000) for free.The same deal applies to the XC60 SUV. There's also a deal on S60 or V60 from the dealer's existing stock. Volvo will include free scheduled servicing for three years or 100,000km.

Ford's Falcon is a rugged family car that copes well with rough and ready Australian bush roads so are very popular out there. They can be on the large side for close city work but have good outward visibility and a reasonably tight turning circle so aren’t too hard to drive in confined spaces.The radical styling of the AU was years ahead of its time when it was introduced in September 1998 and many conservative buyers didn’t like it. Facelifts to create the AU Falcon Series II in April 2000 and to the AU III in November 2001 helped a bit. However, it wasn’t until September 2002 that a major facelift to produce the BA Falcon started to put the Falcon back into buyers’ minds again.The BA Falcon was further upgraded to the BF Falcon in October 2005. Visual differences are minor, but there were significant changes to the transmissions at this time – more about them later. The introduction of the new FG series Falcon in May 2008 lifted awareness, but its shape was on the conservative side (it’s hard to please people…) and sales didn’t return to the record levels Falcon had enjoyed in the past.Falcons have seating for five adults, though four makes more sense because the use of rear-wheel drive means the transmission tunnel takes up a lot of foot room in the centre-rear position. Legroom and headroom are ample for all but the largest adults.Some find the relatively steep slope of the roof in the AU to BF series makes it awkward to get into the car. This applies to both front and back seats in sedans, naturally the back seat of the wagon doesn’t have this hassle. Comfort is very good and passengers can step out of a Falcon after a trip of hundreds of kilometres still feeling fresh and relaxed.The boot in the sedan is rather shallow in the older models and the slope of the bootlid on the AU reduces its practicality. It’s easy to load thanks to a good-sized opening. The BA is noticeably better, though still on the shallow side. Falcon station wagons are great load carriers as they are built on a longer wheelbase than the sedan so they have a long, wide, practical cargo area.The rear end of the BA is virtually identical to that of the older AU. Ford chose not to do an FG variant of the wagon. Instead, it created a Series III BF model to sell alongside the FG sedans. It wasn’t a success and was discontinued in 2010. Handling is surprisingly good for a car of this size and mass. You wouldn’t call it agile, but Falcons hold on when cornering at speeds far above those likely to be attempted by most drivers.Ford's six-cylinder engines all have a capacity of 4.0 litres but come in several formats, including one with a turbocharger. An interesting variant on the six-cylinder is a dedicated LPG engine. These are very common in taxis, but less so in private cars, with the exception of Victoria, and the engine is all but indistinguishable from a petrol unit to drive. It’s quite a bit thirstier than the petrol, so fuel range suffers.The standard AU six-cylinder unit is good enough, but the BA’s six-cylinder is noticeably smoother and offers even better performance. Ford fitted a 5.0-litre V8 to the AU, but it didn’t have a lot more performance than the six-cylinder units and was on the thirsty side. Much better were the BA bent eights: there was a choice of two, each with a capacity of 5.4 litres, one with a single-cam cylinder head, the other with a twin-cam setup.An impressive four-cylinder turbocharged engine was introduced midway through 2012. It has plenty of power and torque and lower fuel consumption than the big engines. The four’s lighter weight gives the big car a nicely nimble feel during cornering. Automatics were all four-speed units until the launch of the BF, when a sophisticated six-speed ZF unit was installedlpgThe ZF was originally only fitted in the topline variants, with the rest of the range using the four-speed. With the introduction of the FG Falcon in May 2008 all received the six-speed auto, with the exception of the LPG power models, which stuck with the old four-speed unit. A six-speed auto was finally installed behind the new design of LPG engine in July 2011.Manual gearboxes are rare and probably best avoided in all but the sporting XR6 and XR8 as they can affect resale value. The manual was a five-speed until the October 2005 BF series, when a six-speed was installed. Prices for spare parts, servicing and repairs are very reasonable and there are Ford dealers just about everywhere in Australia.Most spare parts for the Falcons covered here are readily available, although a few bits on some older cars may have to come from a wrecker. These are very simple cars to work on, with plenty of underbonnet and undercar space. We recommend having a workshop manual at your elbow before starting the work.Insurance prices are generally very reasonable and premiums for the everyday models are invariably at the lower end of the scale. It will generally cost more to cover a V8 Falcon than a straight-six, and be dearer again for a turbo six.WHAT TO LOOK FORRust is far less of a problem in these newer Falcons than old ones. To be on the safe side, check the door lower corners, door sill panels, mudguards and bootlid. If you do find serious rust the car may have been badly repaired after a crash.Many thousands of used Falcons will have been taxis at some time in their life. Be wary of one running on dedicated LPG, while these are quite common in Victoria, they are rare anywhere else in Australia. Signs of an ex-taxi are vinyl, rather than cloth, upholstery, severe wear both inside and out, holes where signs and a taximeter have been removed, and possibly a paint respray.Engine wear is indicated by a reluctance to start and by smoke from the exhaust and/or oil filler cap when the engine is revved. Four-speed automatics can cause problems on hard driven cars, especially the older models. Check they change gears cleanly and don't hunt up and down through the ratios. Be suspicious of any automatic that’s slow at going into gear from Neutral or Park.Listen for a whining differential when driving at around 60 to 90km/h. Check the cabin for damage caused by wild kids. In station wagons have a good look at the load area for signs of commercial use.CAR BUYING TIPNo matter how good a car looks on the surface it may have problems under the skin, never buy without a full inspection. 

If the Australian large car industry is looking for a swan song as it struggles to remain viable, then Ford has a hot contender.Its four-cylinder EcoBoost Falcon is proof that a relatively small engine is no handicap in a large car. The EcoBoost engine is available on the XT, G6 and G6E at the same price as the 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine, starting at $37,235.Smooth, quiet and responsive, the 2.0-litre turbocharged, direct injection EcoBoost engine pumps out an impressive 179kW and 353Nm. While this is 16kW and 42Nm less than the Falcon's venerable 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine, it has more torque than the rival V6 Commodore and Aurion, so there is no doubt about its performance.Matched to the standard six-speed automatic transmission, fuel use is 8.1litres/100km and on tests averaged 8.6litres/100km, which makes it the most frugal large petrol-powered car made in Australia. And, while it needs 95 RON fuel to achieve this 18 per cent gain over the six-cylinder version, Ford says it will run on 91.The same engine is used by Volvo in the S60 and V60, and no one questions their performance. And the Falcon produces 2kW more power and 30Nm more torque, yet is similar in weight.The EcoBoost gets a five star ANCAP safety rating. Side curtain airbags and rear parking sensors are now standard on the XT.Turn the key and there is a different cranking sound from the auto cranking system (flick and release the key) than the six. The engine sounds more refined and the steering feels lighter. Off the line, the EcoBoost is punchy and flexible. After a slight pause as the turbo spins up, the thrust is strong, smooth and linear all the way to the red line.Driven normally, it barely raises a sweat and does most of its work well below 3000rpm -- yet when needed it will spin eagerly and smoothly to 6500rpm. Rolling response is instant and willing, and it cruises at a relaxed 1900rpm at 100km/h and easily holds the taller gear ratios in hilly terrain, pulling happily from as low as 1500rpm.It is also quieter than the six, thanks to additional noise insulation. Towing capacity drops from 2300kg to 1600kg, so there is still a role for the six. Ride, handling and steering have been tuned to match the lighter engine and the ride height is lower by 13mm on the entry-level XT. The six-speed automatic transmission is smooth, intuitive and linear in its response.There is a little more low-speed patter from the 16-inch low rolling resistance tyres, as fitted to the XT (on test), but it is minimal and overall the ride is compliant and composed on all surfaces. Handling is confident and sure-footed, with good body control, and the steering is light and direct. Official figures show the sprint to 100km/h comes up in 7.5 seconds, just a fraction of a second behind the 75kg heavier six-cylinder version.

So. This is the car that is going to save Ford's bacon?Just as Holden did with the Commodore in the early 80s, Ford has introduced a four cylinder Falcon in the name of better fuel economy. The difference is that this four is turbocharged to compensate for its smaller capacity. But is it all too little too late?It's a 2.0-litre four cylinder engine with direct injection that produces 179kW of power at 5500 revs and 353Nm of torque at 2000 revs.This compares with the good old 4.0-litre straight six that delivers 195kW and 391Nm and the the EcoLPi (liquid LPG) engine that kicks out an impressive 198kW and 409Nm.The asking price for the six and the EcoBoost four is exactly the same, making the decision easier  but the LPG model is $2500 more which has us reaching for the calculator.At the time of writing the cost of unleaded was $1.34 a litre and LPG 61 cents per litre. After doing the sums, the cheapest of the three variants to run works out to be the LPG model at $7.61 per 100km.The EcoBoost model on the other hand costs $10.93 per 100km and the six at $13.36 per 100km to fuel. But, because it cost $2500 more, it will take 75,000km before you recoup the $2500 outlay for the LPG model and it starts to pay for itself. Given that 80 per cent of Falcon sales are to fleets, they would be turning them over long before that.Fine. It's smooth, quiet and comfortable and there's no bloody great spare hogging the boot as with the LPG model. It doesn't have the same urgent feel as the six, but it's certainly no slouch and if you've never had it you're not going to miss it. After about 500km we were getting 8.3 litres/100km which is pretty close to the manufacturer's claim.But apart from the promise of better fuel economy what does the car have to offer? The Commodore in all guises looks sporty, but the Falcon sadly does not.Nothing has changed much apart from the centre computer screen which is larger and has been relocated to the top of the dash. Our test car was the G6 priced from $40,835 which is one step up the ladder from the base XT and as such is better equipped.But the Commodore can't really be considered its primary competitor any longer and the Falcon is starting to look pretty ordinary compared to the competition. The big touchscreen is in truth a waste of space without satnav or a reversing camera.And the steering wheel controls for cruise and audio need to be backlit because they're invisible in the dark. The driver's window is not even auto up.