My first car [technically] was a Ford Falcon [Fairmont actually, and yes, the oh-so sexy Ghia version). A station wagon to boot. Not a real hit with the ladies I grant you; although my main squeeze at the time wasn't at all perturbed by it. Anyway, I bought it on impact. That is to say, when 2 vehicles slammed into me side on, it was officially mine. Isn't life grand? A car nut's first car: a written off Ford Fairmont Ghia Station Wagon. But it wasn't a bad bus. Its heavy yank-tank build probably saved my life. But I digress. I haven't bought or even looked at a Ford since. But fate likes to play dirty tricks. You may have read in one of my earlier blogs that I was recently handed the keys to a newish XR6. December 2010 build I believe. I wasn't amused. Curious, but mostly dirty about it. "A FORD" I thought with a gathering frown. "Do I LOOK like a bogan?" I thought to myself. Sliding behind the [oooh, leather] wheel and turning the key, she fires up very nicely. None of that rough grind I remembered from yesteryear. Heck, no choke necessary! Sorry. Back to the car. You forget just how BIG these things are. They’re a whisker shy of 5 metres long for goodness sake! I had to deftly manoeuvre her out of the tight, deep, multi-layer car park. What? It was! What a chore. No parking sensors here bub. Mr. Ford? If you’re listening – parking sensors front and rear as standard please, cheers. I’ll tell you one thing though, I was practically idling out of the car park this thing has so much torque. And its “only” the 4 litre straight 6. Imagine how the new miami V8 would haul; (miami was the code word for Ford’s all new 5 litre, supercharged V8). All this [the torque] makes Wendy (that’s what I’ve named her – and all XR6s) an absolute charm to drive around town. Mountains of effortless torque. Wanna overtake someone up a steep hill? No dramas – punch that bad girl, and she squeals with delight before lunging forward with glee. And I do so love that particular, near red-line squeal. The gearbox is surprisingly good too although you’d expect that given it’s German. By the way I did have a Commodore once so I may compare back to this from time to time – bear with me, the comparison is warranted. I will say this though, the XR6′s 4 litre straight six engine is a dream compared to the clunking, farm machinery, 1960′s derived 3.6 litre V6 block the Commodore had. What a boat anchor that thing was. Sheesh.
And now I have to get a subject close to my heart, off my chest. Brakes, also appropriately known as *stoppers*, Wendy’s aren’t great. They’re not bad, and I suspect with decent brake fluid and nicer [read pricier] pads, I’d bet they’d perform that much better. For some reason they react with far more vigour on the freeway at speed though I’m not sure why. It’s almost like they’re speed sensitive. Or maybe when you’re cruising at “the [upper end of] speed limit” the brakes are receiving force fed cooling, enabling better performance. Meh. I’d get them looked at and improved were I to buy a Wendy. They are by no means a deal breaker however. And on the FPV F6, you get Brembos……. Wait a second – remember when you were a kid and you though “Brakes? Who the heck cares about brakes? I ain’t gonna be using those!”. I’m sure I purposely breezed over the braking detail paragraphs of car articles as a kid.
Comfort and noise. You know what? This car is pretty quiet. I took it down south for a long freeway and mountain pass punt and Ford should be proud. The road din is remarkably absent – as is pesky wind noise. You could probably improve it slightly but for what you’re paying for this car, it’s damned impressive. Road noise at 110kmh is very wearing on a driver – my 325 Coupe is the quietest thing I’ve ever driven and is the benchmark – it is whisper quiet even at silly speeds. It’s a bit like business class – if you’ve never flown it – you don’t know what you’re missing……. And now, to the recliners…… The seats are awesome. They are wide and comfortable – built especially for us aussies. Even my wife commented on them and she NEVER comments on car stuff. Ever. Well done seat designers. Mind you, my Commodore seats were equally superb. Must be an aussie thing. I’d go so far as to say the XR6 seats are better than my coupe’s buckets. There, I said it. *ducks for cover*……. I’m serious though, they are that good. And now, to the sound system. Here it is: it sucks. BMW’s standard 325 Coupe sound system wins HANDS DOWN. The bass response in the XR6 is awful – I got lots of distortion, and the general sound (if the volume level is up to more than a quarter or so, is woeful). Too bad Ford – I’d address that pretty quick. A bog stock Camry has a better sound. Okay just kidding – but really Ford? FIX THE MUSIC. Allegedly there is a “premium” version as an option but I haven’t auditioned it to be able to comment. The electronics/menu system is a bit bodgy but I’ve seen worse. BMW have nailed all this with their i-drive access and the information you can change/review from your fingertips. But again, addressing value for money – it isn’t too bad. But PLEASE, PLEASE – fix that stereo!
So now to cruise control Ah, cruise – one of those things you take for granted and just accept. Let me tell you, all cruise controls are NOT created equally. On Audrey [my coupe], you stick it on 108kmh and that’s where it stays. Up hills, down hills so steep, it won’t move off 108kmh. Wendy tends to flutter at up to +/-5 kmh. Kinda annoying given you want to set and forget, especially with all the hidden blue boys that have been hanging around lately. They’re getting damn sneaky too. One more [interior] thing – the steering wheel badge looks kinda cheap, but now I’m just being picky. Oh one more thing. The rev counter and speedo? That blue halo around them with the “XR” blazed across each dial? YUCK. YUCK. YUCK. Hideous. The dials on the G6E are slightly better – but take note; simple is best with dials etc.
No review is complete (for parents) without a comment as to the ease (or backbreaking difficulty) of wedging your beloved child into the back seat. I can steadfastly say that Ford’s design of defaulting the car seat anchor right into the middle is pretty sweet. Yes, you can use either of the left and right outside seats if you must, but why not give the child a full, unobstructed view through the front windscreen. My little man LOVES it. He also seems to fall asleep much, much quicker in Wendy – perhaps because of the clear/mesmerising view through said windscreen – my other theory is that the Falcon itself resonates at a particular frequency designed to send toddlers straight off to la-la land – how’s that for a marketing hook, eh Ford?). Whatever the reason, he’ll be sad moving back into the coupe where being a four seater, he doesn’t have a choice. Further, Wendy’s rear door is enormous, proving easy access to the car seat and its tricky, four point seatbelts. Bravo Ford, I think you give four wheel drives, with their high access point, a run for their money.
Fun versus dynamics. My coupe (Audrey her name is) has near perfect dynamics. She does what you tell her to instantly, there’s no body roll, she’s tight, she feels like a formula one car for the road. She just FEELS SO GOOD. She has a smoothness and a “feel” that can’t be translated easily via text. Liquid silk. Single Malt scotch on wheels. Blah, blah, blah….the beamer is super sweet etc etc. Wendy on the other hand – you mash Wendy’s pedal and she has that old school muscle car response, rise up, tear at those shocks and roar forward, complete with tyre screech and back end push – YEE-HA!!!! It’s like riding a controlled bronco. You smile every time. Drive up to the shops? Smile. Grab a cuppa-joe from your favourite cafe? Smile. Wendy’s like that chick who knows exactly how to please you. A bit rough but man is she FUN. Going through Mt Ousley, my old commodore used to be quite nervous at the posted speed limits, especially changing direction. Wendy takes those blind uphill and cutaway, left/right downhills with aplomb. Especially when you consider she is just shy of 1.8 tonnes. The engineers have clearly got the suspension set up just about right. Got the cruise pegged at 105kmh and the posted corner limit says 55? Keep the cruise pegged. Wendy just sails through it. That was a nice surprise.
I wish it was summer so I could test the aircon. Audrey’s worked perfectly on a 45 degree C day – that’s saying something. Fingers crossed it works well. It certainly heats okay and appears and feels as if it works fine – but you can’t really tell unless you’ve had it through a brutal Sydney summer……but it’s an Aussie car right? The commodore’s was okay. Not brilliant but okay.
The boot – hands down, this thing swallows anything. Very impressive and there are no hooky hinges to get in the way when you close it. Well done Ford. I like it. One thing you should do though is to build in a false bottom so that it’s perfectly flat when you open it up. The wheel well and crater type, stepped middle section makes it look a bit unfinished and sloppy – also makes it hard to roll a large pram into it…….food for thought re the floor but the hinge set up really is first class.
Design……I get very excited when I watch something like “Highway Patrol” or “RBT”…..because I get to see what the kind of cars the cops use and how they use them. There seem to be less and less Fords – due to the fact that they don’t make V8s anymore. Regardless – the undercover (and marked) cop cars look great to me. It’s that “tough” look. Vanilla XR6s and XR8s look awesome on the street – AND they could well be an unmarked cop. But the boys in blue aside, they look great and I think Ford’s designers have got a winner with the new FG series. It certainly looks far more elegant (and dare I say it, beautiful) than Holden’s current commodore offerings. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Holden have lost some customers due to the current Ford shape. Being a smidge more specific, I think the rear end looks best – and the flared arches are a cool touch. And yes, even the headlights have that V8 supercar glare to them. From inside the car you look out across a huge slab of bonnet – it’s a very comforting and “luxurious” sort of position to be in. What’s funny is I get ten times the looks in this car than in my beamer. What’s with that? Do people think I’m a cop? Do they want to race? Well let’s go punk, Wendy is ever ready.
