Ford Courier News

Hot on the heels of the Australian government's mandatory Takata airbag recall, Ford, Audi and Tesla have joined the list of carmakers to detail which of it's models are affected.

Ford's marketing people would love to be able to offer a dual-fuel Courier ute, but say the company's engineers tell them it's too hard.Fortunately for Courier V6 owners suffering meltdown under the pressure of spiralling petrol prices, aftermarket LPG specialists like Sprintgas have come to the rescue with their own dual-fuel system.Sprintgas has developed a system based around Italian OMVL hardware that bolts on to the 4.0-litre V6-powered Courier ute in a way that is virtually invisible.The only clues the Sprintgas system is fitted to the Courier are the red stickers on the rego plates. Apart from that you could be excused for thinking the Sprintgas-equipped ute is the same as other Courier.The LPG tank is hidden out of sight under the cab and the filler is tucked away with the petrol filler behind the fuel filler flap on the side of the trayInside there's the gauge that tells you how much LPG is in the tank and whether the ute is running on LPG or petrol. A close look under the bonnet would also reveal some of the LPG system hardware. But even then the installation is so neat you wouldn't know it wasn't done by the Ford factory.On one side of the engine bay there's the mixer, on the other the extra computer containing the LPG fuel map.The rest — the injectors and fuel rails — is hidden under the engine cover. The installation is as neat as a pin and that's how it runs.The Sprintgas system is a sequential gas injection model that injects the LPG close to the intake valve in the amount determined by the LPG fuel map in the computer.Because it injects the LPG, there is very little chance of the backfires that can plague older dual-fuel systems.With the Sprintgas system the engine always starts on petrol so there are no long periods of cranking before the engine fires, as can be the case when starting on LPG. The Courier then switches to LPG once a number of temperature and LPG pressure protocols are met.It will then run on LPG unless the driver switches over to petrol or the level of LPG runs low. The switch is seamless.Similarly there is no perceptible degradation in idle quality, driving, or performance, the 4.0-litre V6 appears to run just as well on LPG as it does on petrol.On CARSguide's brief Sprintgas Courier drive evaluation it consumed LPG at a rate of 17.4 litres/100km, about 14 per cent more than the regular Courier V6 when we last tested one.Installing the Sprintgas system costs around $3500, meaning it would take about 12,000km to recoup the installation cost after you factor in the government's $2000 rebate.

Both, if confirmed for the 10-day show at Brisbane's Convention Centre, are expected to be dual cabs and neither are far from the production lines.For the motoring world has discovered, rediscovered in some cases, the versatility of the four-door ute with either two- or four-wheel-drive. The big differences in the 21st century interpretations of the dual cab (aka crew cab or double cab) are the attention to a family's comforts plus a little more performance for the weekend jollies.The first dual cabs, back into the days of Nissan's Bluebird utes, were basic affairs and more for the local mob of railway fettlers than mum and the kids. These were hose-out machines, plenty of vinyl and painted steel panels inside.They were neither fast nor furious machines, but pluggers with some torque for lugging loads. Engine noise and differential howls determined top speeds.Today there is a growing band of stylish, more comfortable dual cabs which manage to retain a work ethic. These are two- and four-wheel-drive utes, Japanese-designed and often Thai-built.There's the ageing Ford Courier, Mazda Bravo and Mitsubishi Triton. There is the middle-aged Holden Rodeo plus the newer Toyota HiLux and Nissan Navara.All now arrive with a petrol V6 engine option.In the case of the Holden, around since 2003, there is now a new V6 — the 3.6 litre Alloytec engine as found in the Commodore. The move adds some fresh appeal to the Rodeo mob.Here it is tailored for commercial applications, delivering 157kW at 5300rpm (10kW more than the old 3.5 litre V6) and 313Nm at 2800rpm. There is flatter torque curve than in the passenger cars, plus the option of an upgraded four-speed automatic or new five-speed manual transmission..Top of the heap is the LT crew cab machine, driven here with new V6 and four-speed automatic. In black, the Holden Rodeo is certainly a handsome machine, even if it is not quite as radical in styling as some rivals which have arrived since 2003; setting off the paintwork here is a new alloy wheel design.It is a nice, flexible ute with good road manners and a modern, comfortable interior with six-stack CD player bonus.There remains some rear end bounce without a load and sometimes the Holden feels a little narrow-tracked but it holds itself well among the current crop.There are indications fuel consumption should be better than the outgoing engine, and the Alloytec V6 is never found wanting in day-to-day conditions.The automatic transmission is smooth but there are some questions about the indistinct gate on the shift lever; reverse was sometimes hard to place and, moving off, this driver often grabbed third rather than drive.But for $36,490 this is a stylish and useful machine, even while there remains that workhorse rear end.