In the beginning, it spent thousands of words to describe the styling as "New Edge" design. Don't fool me ! Except the headlamps, the new Falcon strictly follows the Taurus School's curvy-is-beautiful philosophy. Yes, in many ways it looks like the American Taurus - long and big, curvy, with steeply-tilted windscreen and rear window, and lack of aggression. As usual, this school has little compassion to the space efficiency : while the roof has been raised for 20 mm, the rear head room gains just 2.5 mm. Anyway, at least the smooth body helps improving the aerodynamic drag to 0.30.  

Then, the press release spent another thousand words to describe how superior the independent rear suspension is. (Oddly, Australian still used to call this as IRS, while European and Asian have long forgotten this short write because it has been standardized in there for one and a half decade.) As last year's Holden Commodore VT introduced IRS, Ford follows by installing double wishbones suspensions to all corners in the higher-spec Falcon, and makes it optional to most other versions. However, since Falcon will continue to be offered as taxi, a low-cost, highly reliable non-independent live-axle rear suspension (with Watts link) will continue to serve the bottom of the range.  

In the past, there's die-hard Falcon lovers defended the car's non-IRS by saying that IRS cannot cope with Australian rough roads. As both Commodore and Falcon have switched to IRS, it's time to shut up.  

There's some very minor modifications to the 4-litres single-cam in-line 6 and the pushrod 5-litre V8. However, since I'm not Ford's salesman so I'm not going to discuss more about these trivial bits. The only new item worths mentioning is the adoption of variable cam timing (VCT) to Falcon XR6's in-line 6, raising power to 230hp at 300rpm higher than the standard engine. My memory tells me this is probably the first ever 2-valve engine equipped with VVT, and perhaps will be the last one also.  

The reason that Ford uses VCT is obvious : it wants to improve the output but couldn't afford to develop an all-new 4-valve engine. By the way, the whole development budget for Falcon is just 270 million pounds.  

Another joke from the press release is : "Overall length reduced 10mm - ease of parking." Pardon ? Reduced by how much ?  

The joke stops here. Back to the car itself, Autocar's Australian correspondent reported quite good impression. He said the huge Falcon displays better dynamic than the Taurus. Steering weight consistently and turns accurately. Good brakes. Improved body control. The abundance of torque mated with the popular automatic gearbox delivers effortless performance. 
 

BA Falcon

AU Falcon and its updated version AUII were not very successful in Australia. During their 4-5 years life, sales continuously slipped behind arch-rival Holden Commodore and now it is outsold by a ratio of 1 to 2. Therefore in middle last year, Australian Ford launched another mid-cycle makeover to the car. This US$280 million makeover is so comprehensive that Ford simply gives the car a new series name - BA.  

The biggest change lies in the rear suspensions. Base Falcons used to ride on ancient live axle suspensions. Now the new version has a Focus-style control-blade independent rear suspensions. This improves ride quality and reduce noise. The BA Falcon also works harder in suppression of NVH level from other sources, no matter from wind or from engine.  

Engine is another key area for improvement. New Falcon has 4 engines on offer. The best seller still employs a 4.0 straight-6, but it is heavily re-engineered. Twin-cam 24-valve head replaces sohc 12-valver, variable cam phasing is now continuously variable and applies to both intake and exhaust camshafts. These two measures improve top end power as well as low-speed and mid-range torque. Besides, the modified inline-6 has drive-by-wire throttle, roller finger followers (cut noise and raise rev) and hollow camshafts (also raise rev). The result is 244 horsepower at 6000rpm and 280 lbft of torque, both eclipse the 3.8 supercharged V6 of Holden Commodore.  

The second inline-6 is the turbocharged version of the above one. Boosting 322 horsepower, it gives Falcon XR6 Turbo very strong performance. 

Next one is an all-new V8, having no relationship with the old 4.9-litre unit. The new V8 is produced in Canada and is a global engine to be shared with many future American Ford models including cars and trucks. Despite of cast iron block, the new V8 is quite sophisticated, using technologies such as roller finger followers, drive-by-wire throttle, aluminum intake manifolds and magnesium cam covers. In regular trim the 5.4-litre 24-valve V8 pumps out 295 horsepower and 348lbft of torque from 3250 to 4000rpm.  

In performance XR8 version, the 3-valve cylinder head and valvetrain is replaced by a 4-valve-per-cylinder design, thus generates 348hp and 369lbft. 
 

XR6 T

Honestly speaking, a 1732kg sports sedan is not our cup of tea, unless it is a luxurious one like BMW M5 or Mercedes E55. At the same price, Japanese would rather have a smaller sports sedan with 280hp engine and 4-wheel-drive to enable the same 6.0-second 0-60mph acceleration as the Falcon XR6 T. But Australia is a different country, where big cars dominate the market. The beauty of XR6 T is that it offers the required performance while being capable to accommodate four passengers measuring 6’ 3", while it costs little money. You can’t argue that it makes sense to many people. 

Having understood its philosophy, we examine its mechanical design. XR6 T’s engine is derived from the base Falcon. That means the same 4.0-litre straight-six, with 24 valves and continuous VVT at both camshaft. On the top of that, a Garrett roller bearing turbocharger is added, accompany with an air-to-air intercooler. This is a light pressure turbo, running at just 1.4 bar, thus turbo lag is nearly non-existent, throttle response is instantaneous, unlike those small-capacity-big-turbo Japanese motors. From the torque curve we can also see it has a very good manner: maximum torque of 332 lbft arrives early from 2000rpm all the way to 4500rpm. Power delivery is smooth and linear. Maximum power of 322 hp arrives at 5250 rpm. The only slight disappointment is that it cannot rev much beyond 6000rpm, otherwise it would have been even more thrilling. Even so, the turbo straight-6 is already a remarkable engine.  

Unfortunately, the BTR 5-speed manual gearbox is clunky to shift, spoiling driving fun. The chassis is better. It cannot hide its size and weight, but the combination of tuned suspensions, limited-slip differential, upgraded tyres and brake package enable a stable and fluent handling. Ride is firm but not harsh. Chassis balance is pretty good. You can use throttle to balance it in corner. Remember, this is a rear-drive machine. The steering is well weighted and turn-in is quick, although lack of on-center steering feel. Overall speaking, the XR6 T handles better than expected. 

Whether you love its ordinary look and rougher interior is another matter. Low price or high-quality packaging, you can’t have both. 
 

FPV Falcon GT-P

GT-P is a heavyweight boxer. It tips the scale at 1825kg, but it has enough punch - 390 horsepower and 383 lbft of torque. Its heart is a 5.4-litre V8, dubbed "290 Boss" (very Mustang-like), in which the number means 290kW of maximum power. This engine is modified from the XR8's, with higher compression ratio (10.5:1), stronger crankshaft and con-rods, smoother intake and exhaust, higher valve lift etc. to squeeze out extra punch. Perhaps because of its long-stroke design (the V8 was originally designed for trucks), it does not rev as sweetly as arch-rival HSV's 400hp LS1 V8 at the top end, despite of dohc 32 valves versus ohv 16 valves. However, it does deliver more bottom-end torque.  

Call it a fire-breathing machine is a bit exaggerate. GT-P can do 0-60mph in under 6 seconds, but today there are so many 5-seconds performance cars around, even at a price comparable to the GT-P. You might argue that few of them simultaneously offer 5-seat accommodation and comfort, but then again the GT-P is not as good being a comfortable car. A XR6T makes a better balance.  

Find an open road, the GT-P is easy to go fast. Its power delivery is linear. Its rear end is well tied to the ground, thanks to wide tyres, multi-plate clutch LSD and a high-threshold traction control. It doesn't have the tail-happy manner you expect for a torquey rear-drive machine. It stops quicker than its weight suggest, thanks to 355mm front and 330mm rear Brembo brakes. In short, the GT-P is pretty obedient.  

The down side? it lacks sharpness. Despite of stiffer suspension setting, it still rolls quite a lot in tight corners. It feels too big on twisty roads. Its solid gearshift is a reflection of its price. It isn't as quick as HSV GTS300. Perhaps we expect too much from FPV. The unsophisticated Falcon chassis is fine on the 80%-effort XR6T, but pushing to 90 or 95% is another matter. Until Ford can find a solution, GT-P can only beat the equivalent HSV by aggressive pricing.