Falcon to follow the footsteps of the failed holden starfire 4 Commodore

[TS-50]

http://brisbanetimes.drive.com.au/m...con-ecoboost-fourcylinder-20120423-1xh1f.html


It gets a pretty good review, and is probably only a preemptive strike at claiming they have an econonmy version of the falcon for Government fleet buys so expect to see a heap of them on the road pretty cheap in a few years time, ecoboost 4 has the torque and the Kilowatts of the falcon 6 from not too long ago, the thing is the 6 can do half to a million k's with reasonable maintenance, not too sure about the longevity of a smaller donk once it getts a little tired I reckon the weight and size of a falcon might just pull it down fast.

 

[Nascar12]

I really hope this pays off for Ford. It might be the last throw of the dice to keep an Aussie Falcon a part of the Australian motoring future, and of course jobs.

I think the 2 ltr Ecoboost turbo engine is a good thing. Kw wise not far off the BA falcons and makes it torque nice and low down in the revs at 2000rpm. Its used in a few European cars so its pretty well proven, but they are cars that are lighter than the Falcon.

 

[Gerry]

I hope it goes well for them too - even just fleet and gov't sales should help it.
But a 4 cyl Falcon just doesn't sound right regardless of how you try to say it.

 

[Racin Jason]

I just fail to see the point. The drop off in performance is offset by the marginally better economy. My XR6 gets 10.2l per 100 average so I don't think the savings are that great. The I6 is effortless so it would make sense that the longevity would be better than a more highly stressed four. I won't buy one.

 

[Damo]

I've just bought a diesel Territory which I find an excellent car. Among other things, the performance, driveability and fuel economy are brilliant. I can't for the life of me, understand why Ford have not slipped this 2.7 turbo diesel into the Falcon. It's a no brainer, 500kg lighter than the Territory, performance would be awesome and fuel economy would be brilliant. I'm getting on average, 10.5L/100km around town and have seen, albeit briefly, 7.8L/100km on the highway, I'd love to see what the economy would be in the Falcon. Ok, I understand that it is a more expensive engine at time of purchase, but for fleet buyers who's vehicles generally do bulk mileage each year, the long term savings, I believe, would be a fair bit. I just can't understand Ford's thinking sometimes. [sh]

 

[Racin Jason]

Agree 100% Damo!

 

[Antg]

I too hope it pays off, big punt to take. I also agree the turbo diesel would have been a good option. The 2L turbo 4 would be pretty highly stressed I'd imagine. Mitsubishi dropped the capacity of the Tritons, they went from a 3.2 TD to a 2.5 TD putting out more power and torque than its predecessor must be running pretty high boost.

 

[TS-50]

Yep love the Idea of a diesel in a Falcon, combined with the 6 speed auto would be brilliant. . .[bw]




While on the subject though, Ford Australia have not used the Inline 6 very well, the early 6 had three options there was a low comp and two high comp versions of around 200ci, 221ci and 250ci, the 200 version was very square and with a decomp would take turbo really well and be reasonably economical, they did all three versions with just two cranks and two sets of rods in the same way they did the 302/351 and previously the 289.

They have made the decision that a few dollars saved on wages on the production line and a single power plant accross the range is a better solution.[bgn]

 

[Racin Jason]

I had a New Focus Turbo Diesel as a loan car a couple of weeks ago and it was SENSATIONAL! It performed every bit as good as the XR6 and used half the fuel. It was so impressive that I'm seriously considering it as my next car. The Ranger's TD engine would be mega in a Falcon, good power and the sleek aerodynamic Falcon body would give it better economy than it already gets in the Ranger. I wonder if this option was even considered.[sh]

 

[Donut King]

Yep love the Idea of a diesel in a Falcon, combined with the 6 speed auto would be brilliant. . .[bw]




While on the subject though, Ford Australia have not used the Inline 6 very well, the early 6 had three options there was a low comp and two high comp versions of around 200ci, 221ci and 250ci, the 200 version was very square and with a decomp would take turbo really well and be reasonably economical, they did all three versions with just two cranks and two sets of rods in the same way they did the 302/351 and previously the 289.

They have made the decision that a few dollars saved on wages on the production line and a single power plant accross the range is a better solution.[bgn]

Destroked versions of the I6 have been tried and tested at various points in the history of the falcon, both recently and in the past. The reasons they have been passed over have been numerous depending on the technology available to them at the time.

It was seriously considered back with the EA, however the harmonics of the engine made it really rough in the top of the rev range - which is where you had to keep the engine to get the car moving.

From memory it was again considered when the DOHC engine came along for BA, but although the twin cam head improved the breathing it was still a 'peaky' engine that belied the low and lazy nature of the typical falcon perfomance.

Ecobost 4 allows to a large degree the low & lazy nature of the engine as the boost gets the engine to produce enough torque from down low, something simply destroking the I6 wasn't able to do.

The real travesty is the way Ford Aus have been managed since Geoff Polites managed to get them back on track, typically an Aussie comes along who understands the market, gets things back on track and is replaced by a foreigner who doesn't understand and things suffer, another aussie steps up and the cycle repeats.

Australia is a centre of excellence for design and development, we can do more on a smaller budget than can typically by achieved anywhere else in the Ford empire, but it is inconvenient to the 'One Ford' vision that an orphan platform is successful and allowed to continue. As much as Mulally has achieved in his time at the helm globally, he could have probably managed the Asia Pacific region better, by keeping Ford Australia stronger with an Australian at the helm. Had Mulally come on board earlier and ford turned a profit sooner I think the global rear wheel drive platform would have already been picked up and Falcon and Australia would be a big part of that, rather than being in the uncertain position they find themselves in now. (and of course had we maintained tarriffs to protect our industry rather than dropping ours while our trading partners maintained theirs/installed barriers to prevent our products being successful in their markets - e.g thailand and the territory - we'd probably be not in the position with auto manufacturing in this country that we are now)

 

[djr18fan]

I just fail to see the point. The drop off in performance is offset by the marginally better economy. My XR6 gets 10.2l per 100 average so I don't think the savings are that great. The I6 is effortless so it would make sense that the longevity would be better than a more highly stressed four. I won't buy one.

I would hardly call roughly 25% better fuel economy marginal.
I too am surprised a diesel hasn't found its way into a Falcon before now. But here in NZ many owners are finding them are a hassle with road taxes having to be paid separately, higher servicing costs and the winter fuel issue that keeps on raising it's ugly head. I purchased a falc recently after expecting to buy a diesel vehicle only to find operating costs about the same but total ownership cost higher due to the capital outlay. I probably wouldn't buy the ecoboost falc because I tow a weighty boat, but if t were not for that I would seriously look at it with future resale value & fuel costs being to the forefront of my thinking.

 

[TS-50]

Yep, and I think that's why a lot of aussies still buy the Big Falcon when we've been told since the 80's that the big cars with their hugh petrol guzzling engines and rear wheel drive are a dynosaur, It's because we use our car for every transport job, family taxi, removal van, tow vehicle and show pony. It is more expensive to run a second vehicle e.g. a ute and a 4 cyl car to replace our Falcon and maybe a trailer .

Also I reckon resale value Like the title suggests, will see a cheap ex fleet 2 year old's almost stop any hope of private sale of this model and it's eventual dropping.

The Mondeo is almost Falcon sized and already has this option with Front drive, do we really need a rear drive 4 in a Falcon?

 

[Gerry]

My wife has a Mondeo and its inside space is extremely close to that of the Falcon.

 

[djr18fan]

Thinking about it, if I didn't need to tow a boat, yes I might consider the 4 cyl falcon, but it would also open me up to lots of other options in the mid size car market. So falcon could struggle to get my vote against all that competition.

But if I was towing a smaller boat of perhaps a caravan then the 4 cyl falc would be ideal. Rear wheel drive and enough power to tow, plus much better economy for 98% of the other driving I do. But how many buyers are there with those requirements?

If it was rated for 2000kg it would be perfect for me now. Better than the 6 cyl which while nice to drive is a compromise due to what I need it to do. But if it is more power that is required to up the towing capacity of the 4cyl, then I presume that would come at the expense of fuel economy, and therefore that advantage is diminished.

 

[Twincambenny126]

No doubt Ford are chasing the Govt Fleet with the 4cyl seeing that policy is not to get 6cyl anymore. Hopefully it wont cause the early death of the Falcon if the 4cyl is a disaster [:0]

 

[PaddockBasher]

I'm a bit torn by it all. I've owned a falcon for the past 13 years (EF, BA & now FG), but not so sure what the next car will be.

Since moving to Darwin, I don't travel the distances that I used to do. I mean if you jump in the car and drive for 3 hours, you end up in Katherine..... For me, running the XR6T on short trips everyday to work (around 30km return) is not very economical.

But when you are out on the highway, it's fantastic and I wouldn't want to be in anything else, it runs really well. Averaged 10L/100km and 110kph on the drive from Adelaide to Darwin.

For me, if I was to move away from the 6cyl, I think it would be into a smaller diesel car.

The falcon is a great car, and if this it what it takes to keep a RWD car on the road, then I hope it works.

And this from ford... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00jyd-p-DiA