Taking flight
Wheels Magazine 
May, 2008
The proving ground is behind us. Time for Ford's sporting XR8, sports-lux G6E Turbo and entry-point XT to be put through the ringer in 4000km of real-world driving.
Dawn is breaking over Geelong's waterfront. The sky is optimistically clear, apart from a few dark clouds that offer a hint of uncertainty. How apt, considering we're here to drive Ford's new FG Falcon - a model that arrives in a damp large-car climate without an export umbrella.
Generational change is always a milestone moment for the local automotive industry, but this is as crucial as it gets. Our longest serving nameplate has suffered a sales slump and it is up to FG to reverse it. If it fails, there are few at the Blue Oval not aware of the consequences.
Even the start point for our drive has significance. As long as there has been a Ford Motor Company of Australia there has been linkage with Victoria's industrial second city.
Nowadays that relationship is strained. Ford's engine plant will shut within 18 months and with it will go the in-line six-cylinder engine intrinsic to the Falcon's character. In its place will be the US-built Duratec V6, a major step in the internationalisation of a car that's been the very definition of Grandpa's Axe throughout its 48-year Australian history. The next Falcon, due in 2013, changes all that, and will sit on a global architecture that might not even be designed here.
Such are my thoughts as we head up Moorabool Street, line astern. The XR8 is leading the way, the new luxury-sports flagship G6E Turbo acting as tailgunner, the base model XT sandwiched in between.
The route will take us south-west along the spectacular Great Ocean Road, and then climb north on the quieter yet equally engrossing Skenes Creek Road. After clearing the Otways we'll head northwest into the Wimmera in search of big skies, a striking sunset and great photography.
On the second day we'll cut through the western districts, charting a route on rutted bitumen and dirt back to the proving ground. It promises to be an intense and educational road trip, one very much in the Wheels tradition.
Traffic is sparse as we clear the city limits, our small convoy attracting no attention despite the XR's loud lime green paint (Ford calls it Dash). We'd dismiss it as the mental fog of early morning if not for a disturbing experience the previous evening. We'd refuelled at a service station right on the Princes Highway in the middle of Geelong during peak hour. There had been no interest stirred on the forecourt, behind the counter, or in the cars cruising by. Maybe the locals were blasé about new-generation Fords; after all, they've been seeing them since 1925.
But those thoughts rang hollow. More likely, at a glance they were unable to pick the difference from the old XT and XR8 to the new versions. These are unarguably mild evolutions, cleverly shaped to look smaller, but retaining the essential character of their predecessors.
The G6E Turbo is new and different, but still looks Falcon-esque from any angle except the front, where the link to Ford's kinetic design language is most obvious. FG is not unattractive at all - just familiar.
And when it comes to the XR8, so is the driving. Our arrival at the Great Ocean Road heralds the start of the rain. By Lorne the road is soaked and the drought is having a day off. On these slithering off-cambers and blind crests it's prudent to run a gear taller and a tad lower in the rev range to avoid wheelspin. Yet that only highlights this engine's skinny midrange torque. Sure, it now delivers an extra 20Nm and 30kW, but the fundamental impression remains: this engine is more plank than benchmark.
Mated here to the excellent ZF six-speed auto, there's a lethargic initial throttle response, followed by a steady build of momentum, rather than an exhilarating surge. It sounds great until road and tyre noise overwhelm the engine's meaty beat, negating the new 'semi-active' muffler.
The dohc 5.4's height and weight also reduces the improvements wrought by the new front suspension and forward-mounted variable-ratio steering rack. The steering's solidity is certainly improved compared with the BF and this is the only car that doesn't exhibit rack rattle (only a minor issue in the other two), but there is still a feeling of riding the nose. Bump steer is more evident out of the rear, too, never more so than when a combination of painted lines and rutted pools of water slew us unintentionally sideways under only mild throttle.
Body control is exceptional at any cornering speed, but it's apparent this has come at the expense of ride quality, exacerbated by the test car's optional 19-inch wheel/tyre combination. Its lumpiness is traditional Aussie muscle-car personified.
The G6E Turbo is a new interpretation, endowed with Herculean performance and chassis settings that at least acknowledge the need for comfort. But on a soaked and slick Skenes Creek Road, even the Turbo has shortcomings. For all its massive speed, delicate throttle response at engine speeds below 2500rpm are muzzled slightly by turbo lag. Above that point the G6ET feels like the fast, assured car we know it is. Speed across the ground is awesome.
The steering's meatiness off-centre is more apparent than in the XR and a definite improvement over the BF. There is more weight, more definition and less adjustment mid-corner. The G6E Turbo also allows a little more body movement than the XR, but the ride is definitely hedged at the sharper end of the sports-luxury spectrum. It feels supremely stable on smoother roads, but it occasionally struggles to contain itself on the rough stuff. Later, during a three-up 100km/h test run, the muffler would touch road over a mildly humpbacked bridge.
The rain subsides as we clear the Otways and reach Colac. Time for coffee, a pastie, a fresh burst of heavy rain to soak us, and to move into the XT.
Its looks are so mildly evolved that it's easy to expect little. The inside is fresher, the steering wheel a thinner-rimmed improvement, the seat as broad and long as it should be, the vital controls and instrumentation presented logically and without decoration. But up and running northward onto wider, flatter highways, out of the rain and into the showers, then into the sun, the XT emerges as much more than just competent fleet fodder.
The response from the latest iteration of the I6 is strong and instant, displaying none of the low-down lethargy of its more prestigious brethren. The new five-speed auto is a fine accomplice in dispensing trucks, hills and Jaycos. Noise, vibration and harshness are contained. If this is the final hurrah for the last locally-built engine then it is a brilliant one. And yet it's not the star of this show.
Dynamically, the XT has moved into another league. More than G6ET, much more than XR, it feels right. The damping is a work of art; a single motion enough to eradicate virtually any challenge. And yet there's no sense of stiffness. There is much to be said for tyre sidewall depth on Aussie roads. But also for tyre grip, which is the XT's only real weakness. To be fair, this particular set have been thrashed, and are looking worse for wear. Despite that, the steering is still decisive, feelsome, responsive, delicate, and yet weighty. It's in this car that the margin of improvement over BF is most distinct.
The first refuel at Hamilton delivers another positive. The XT has averaged 10.5L/100km, exactly matching its official combined claim. Even more impressively, the turbo and XR8 have easily undercut their claims. There's been precious little urban driving and plenty of highway cruising, but these are still impressive numbers.
If only someone cared. Again we are bereft of attention at the service station. Not even the bloke in the Falcon ute refuelling next to us realises what's going on. Even worse comes when we park in the Coles supermarket next to a BF Fairmont. The owner wanders up with his shopping, comments on the XR's loud colour and drives away. That's it. It's disquieting for us, so God knows how Ford designers Scott Strong and Steve Park would feel.
Finally, unlikely salvation is found in Goroke, a tiny wheat-belt town 67km west of Horsham. From the pub they spill; Jade and his mates, Michelle and her daughter Nikiesha. And for the next half hour we conduct a mini motor show in the main street. Bonnets up, interiors inspected, V8 engine revved. After 500km, we've finally found punters who want to know about these cars.
Photo shoot completed, we end our first day with an after-dark run back to Horsham. This exposes a rare XT fault: a rather average spread of low-beam light. High beam is excellent, though, and the XT is completely at home cruising across the wide plains in the still night.
Pre-dawn we're on the road again for post-sunrise photography. We find suitable east-west dirt roads running arrow-straight across the Henty Highway. Soon the sun appears over the Grampians and bathes the fields and gums in its glow. It's not warm, though - only five degrees, according to the XR8's external temp display.
The Henty looks smooth as we run southward, but every bump and rut is obvious in the XR, quelled in the G6ET and soothed in the XT. The experiences of the first day are being reinforced. In Hamilton, it's a 98 RON breakfast for the cars, and the figures are again revealing: the XT comes in at a remarkable 9.2L/100km and the G6E Turbo just 10.2L/100km. The XR8's 11.2L/100km is just as good.
It's a reflection of the wide, flat land we've been cruising over. But now we're leaving the highways for the rest of this trip, following the narrow strips of bitumen and red dirt roads that run like rulers through these parts, north of the Hamilton and south of the Glenelg Highways.
The Turbo loves it here, winding out quickly, sounding superb and leaving the other two in its wake. In the dry, the lag is banished and cooperation with the ZF is superb. This is a world-class tourer ready to challenge Holden's brilliant Calais V V8 and any number of more expensive Euros.
Yet on dirt the XR8 and XT are still more fun, their more linear engine responses making them engagingly easier to drive on the throttle. There are no qualms about disengaging DSC, such is the chassis' fundamental ability. The electronic back-ups are worthy though, allowing a little slip before intervening. Memorably on one wet climb the XT's DSC light blinks several times, but the intervention is too subtle to be felt from the driver's seat.
ABS, too, is well modulated. Hard braking on gravel starts a little hesitantly but bite soon builds up. Indeed, overall brake performance has been quietly impressive throughout our two days. Pedal feel has been the great variation, the XT with the hardest pedal, XR the softest.
By late afternoon we're closing in our final destination as the Brisbane Ranges rise out of the plains. But with them the dark clouds and the rain returns. It is the one constant combination of this trip - downpours dousing dynamically challenging roads. We've sampled enough to be confident that FG's basics are right, but the hankering for a good run on a familiar road remains. It will have to wait.
For now, all that's left is a third and final refuel at Bacchus Marsh and then a short run south to deliver the cars back to the proving ground to complete a drive that has totalled close to 4000km. Harder work has netted increased consumption: 10.8 (XT), 12.0 (G6ET) and 12.3 (XR8). They remain impressive figures that back up Ford's claims of measurable economy improvement.
Indeed, there is no doubt these cars are substantively better than the BF Falcon, although the degree of improvement rises and falls from model to model. Among these cars the XT is clearly the biggest step forward, the XR the most familiar. None of them are the massive leap some VE models were over VZ. But then, BF set a much higher baseline.
From our two-day perspective, it's clear Ford has got much right, but the big question mark is the exterior styling; whether it is too evolutionary and therefore fails to herald the substantial improvements that have been made underneath. Ironic, really, considering the AU was rubbished 10 years ago for being too radical.
It's a question that will be answered on another day. The cars are now back in the compound, the keys are with the security guards, the sun has disappeared beyond Geelong and the stars are out.
For the FG, though, a new day is just dawning.
» NICE WORK:
- Steering wheel's thinner rim, the subtle flat bottom in XR and G6E Turbo a nice touch
- G6ET's soft leather seats the most comfortable and supportive; XT's pretty good, too
- Higher media screen position enables quicker, safer glances
- Trip computer read-out allows two different subjects (ie: current speed and average fuel economy) to be displayed at once
- Easier access front and rear
- Improved space, comfort and viewing for rear-seat passengers
- Adjustable rear a/c outlets
- Intuitive, scalloped cruise and audio steering wheel buttons
» NEEDS WORK:
- Nasty interior door locks - stiff and sharp-edged
- No rear door pockets
- No door grabhandles
- No centre rear armrest in XT, and therefore no cupholders
- Fussy remote control for sat-nav in XR8 and G6ET - a surprising endorsement of BMW's iDrive
- No marked redline in tachometer of XT and G6E Turbo
- Small numerals on gauges particularly hard to read in the G6E Turbo
- XR8 front seats too wide and flat; not as body hugging as required
- Doors make cheap and nasty hollow noise when closed
Read more on the Ford Falcon FG here:
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