Best used large car for 2020

A key component of the large car market in Australia has gone missing in recent years – the home-grown Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Toyota Aurion.

It’s still possible to buy one of these desirable ‘dinosaurs’, but buyers will have to be satisfied with examples that are used.

Coming a year after Ford’s announcement it was pulling the plug on local production – thus setting in train similar announcements from Holden and Toyota – 2014 was the year of the hangover for the Aussie automotive industry.

The broader market lost ground, and within the large car segment, sales of both the Falcon and the Aurion dipped precipitously. Holden’s Commodore was the only volume-selling model in the segment to sell in larger numbers than the year before.

That year is the stage for the 2020 carsales Best Used Car Awards, proudly presented by Bingle.

For the large car category we’ve chosen candidates from the three brands already mentioned, plus a couple of imports, to arrive at the winning car and two ‘honourable mentions’.

The Ford Falcon, Holden Calais and Mercedes-Benz E-Class are rear-wheel drives – the traditional powertrain format that had long been the more popular choice for Aussie buyers – and the Toyota Aurion and Skoda Superb are front-wheel drives.

As in other categories, the winning large car and the two honourable mentions were determined by ranking the vehicles in order of their total score, a sum of the points out of 50 from RedBook analysis and individual scores out of 10 from each of the five judges.

And in 2020, the carsales best used large car is the 2014...

A significant facelift for the Falcon in 2014 was labelled the FG X series, to distinguish the final iteration of the locally-built Ford from its FG predecessor.

The volume-selling variant in the range was the naturally-aspirated Falcon XR6, which was more appealing than the base-grade Falcon, and more affordable than the upmarket models.

It was also cheaper to insure than the turbocharged version and the V8-engined XR8.

According to RedBook research, this particular variant of Falcon happens to be reasonably easy on the household budget. It doesn’t consume that much fuel, in spite of its engine displacement, and it’s also quite inexpensive to service.

RedBook’s numbers add up to 43 points for the Falcon, and the judge’s score totalled 41, for a combined score of 84 points altogether.

Priced at $37,790 when new, the Falcon XR6 is now valued at $20,550 in the used-car market.

“In the blue corner – the FG X XR6 was the last and the best-looking sporty Falcon, offering low cost of ownership and 12-month service intervals,” says Ross Booth, RedBook data services director.

“World-class family sedan with strong retained value sadly killed off in its prime,” says Cliff Chambers, carsales used-car buying expert.

“Major facelift concealed minor mechanical changes, making the sporty XR6 even better,” says Ken Gratton, carsales technical editor.

You can read more about the Ford Falcon FG X XR6 sedan in our local launch review.

Driving the Falcon XR6 for the local launch, reviewer Matt Brogan wrote: “With looks as good as the engineering underneath, it deserves to sell its socks off.”

Holden VF Calais V

Scored 38.3 from RedBook and 43 from the judges for a total of 81.3 points
RedBook Value: $21,200

“In the red corner – great combination of sporty design, luxury and reasonable safety level. Let down by nine-month service intervals” – Ross Booth, RedBook data services director

“Terrific car, works great on Aussie roads” – Bruce Newton, carsales senior journalist

Scored 40.7 from RedBook and 34 from the judges for a total of 74.7 points
RedBook Value: $15,350

“Often overlooked functional package, the 2014 facelift brings with it increased specifications that warrant placing it on the list” – Ross Booth, RedBook data services director

“Enough class and individuality to help owners forget they are driving a Volksy” – Cliff Chambers, carsales used-car buying expert

What makes a car eligible for carsales Best Used Car Awards?
• Less than six years old
• Standard side-curtain airbags
• Standard Bluetooth
• Standard electronic stability control (mandated for 2014)
• Standard reversing camera for SUVs

How did RedBook weight the categories for scoring?
• 10 per cent for resale
• 10 per cent for ANCAP rating
• 20 per cent for cost of ownership
• Five per cent for service intervals
• Five per cent for number of days for vehicle to sell

Read all about carsales Best Used Cars for 2020 here.