Buying a used Ford Falcon XR8 (2014-2016)

If evidence was needed to confirm that Australian car design was at the mercy of legislators and not the market, 2011 proved that point. That was the year Australia rolled out an emission standard that the long-serving 5.4-litre V8 couldn't meet and although Ford promised a speedy fix and did for the big-dollar FPV cars, the return of the XR8 didn't happen until 2014. By then the reprieve had become bitterly short lived.

Ford had already become the first local car maker to announce its departure from Australia and the reaction was an instant collapse of Falcon sales.

Sitting for three years on the sidelines waiting for its new 5.0-litre 'Miami' V8 hadn't done the XR8 any favours. Rival designs had enjoyed the benefit of ongoing development while Ford survived on FPV sales and missed out on the mainstream V8 market.

The engine when it became available to people with under $60K to spend was a beauty. It had been developed by FPV in conjunction with the US-based 'Coyote' V8 team, with a supercharger package devised and supplied by Harrop Engineering in Victoria. Based on similar units used by Jaguar, the Eaton rotors were installed in housings designed and produced by Harrop specifically for Ford's application. Power could be lifted from the standard 315kW to a still-usable 335kW by simply increasing boost pressure. An 'overboost' feature was said to allow outputs exceeding 400kW for brief periods.

When the FG X XR8 finally appeared it brought brand new metalwork front and rear, replacement grille, lights, rear spoiler and a bonnet bulge. As might be expected of a car that was destined for imminent oblivion, the centre section was unchanged FG.

Leather upholstery was fitted to all XR8s, so too a CD stacker, parking sensors, a reversing camera and colour display screen.

That screen also provided support for the SYNC2 integrated communication system. Among other things, SYNC2 gave the driver voice control of the radio, air-con and sat-nav systems. Also included was an impact sensor that would automatically call emergency services and give the vehicle's location if a serious crash occurred.

The chances of occupants surviving such a crash were good. The FG X package of safety gear incorporated curtain airbags and advanced seat-belt tensioners. In ANCAP testing the XR8 was one of few cars to achieve a perfect 16/16 for side-impact protection.

Six-speed manual transmission was standard at $52,490, with the six-speed automatic adding $2000. Above that was the Sprint, to entice people hoping to own a piece of Ford Australia history before the doors slammed shut. The last time that name was used on an Australian Falcon was in 1993 when EB GT engines were slotted into ED XR8 bodies to produce a collectible that almost no one wanted. The FG X Sprint looks to be headed for a similar fate.

Rarely is it possible to review a 'used' model that remains available brand new three years after the last ones were built. Those cars sit in dealer showrooms and some private garages in various parts of the country. Asking prices of $80,000 and above could be a reason they aren't selling.

Cars in private hands and showing 10,000 kilometres aren't $80K prospects but they still carry prices well above their new-car cost. In a market where finance is drying up and fewer buyers are looking for long-term investment potential, some vendors may need to lower their sights.

Remember also that cars being sold by dealers and showing only nominal 'delivery' distances will carry a full new car warranty. Private-sales vehicles will transfer only the remainder of their warranty to a new owner.

If you have gone to the trouble of hunting down one of the last-ever XR8s or even a very rare Sprint then factors that motivate mainstream used vehicle buyers will have little influence on your choices.

The car you buy will in all likelihood have travelled far fewer kilometres than a typical Falcon of the same age. That doesn't mean being any less vigilant in visually checking the car – warranty does not cover shoddy panel repairs – or skipping the professional pre-purchase inspection. However it does offer some hope of dealer recourse should a mechanical nasty materialise.

Very few Falcons of this type will have been used as business vehicles, although a few did find their way onto Police fleets. They will have endured difficult early lives, however these cars frequently achieved strong results when removed from service and auctioned.

Forget old-school muscle-cars, with their racket, rattles and discomfort. The supercharged Ford with either transmission will fling you from a standstill to 100km/h in a blink over five seconds yet the sensation of speed is well contained. If traction control is left switched on the back tyres also remain intact.

These cars thrive on the highway and in urban environments. With a combination of GT suspension and 19-inch rubber they aren't going to relish the adventure of bumpy bitumen and you would certainly never take an XR8 with the standard wheel/tyre package onto corrugated gravel.

Tallish testers grumble about the lack of headroom and a low-set steering wheel. Horses for courses we say. Unless you are 1.85m or more the layout feels perfectly fine and the only source of complaint would be the drab dash.

Interior space in typical Falcon fashion is excellent and the rear visibility issue is dealt with via the reversing camera and proximity sensors.

Fuel consumption given the minimal distances most of these cars will travel isn't going to be a factor in anyone's purchasing decision. Purely for academic purposes, the average recorded during testing by a hard-driven automatic was 13.4L/100km. You can expect a slightly better result from the manual.

We are pretty sure nobody is going to buy an XR8 with the primary intention of towing. If you do though, the limit for a braked trailer is a pretty miserable 1500kg.

>> The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 has been used in FPV cars for a decade and only one issue – a manufacturing flaw affecting GTs that required a recall – has emerged. Isolated instances of supercharger failure have been reported too, including one very public melt-down during a media comparison test.

>> Squealing or rattling at idle that becomes more pronounced as revs rise signify a car you do not want to continue test driving, let alone buy.

>> Drive-line vibration may be due to failing engine mounts and noise sourced to the differential. However there could be no actual fault to fix. Ford says it's the nature of these strong and agricultural limited-slip diffs that they can be noisy. Whether that explanation holds true once Ford's quite generous warranty period expires we wait to see.

>> Worn trim in a car that is just a few years old and has done under 50,000 kilometres isn't normal and may point to early life on a police fleet.

>> The up-spec Brembo package fitted to FG X XR8s finally fixed Ford's brake issues. If the car has been hammered at a 'track day' or by a particularly forceful road driver, the rotors can suffer grooves, warping and hot-spots.

Also consider: Holden Commodore SS-V, TRD Aurion 3500S, Chrysler 300C SRT8