Cheap six-cylinder sedans worth buying

Once upon a time the Australian car market was dominated by big sedans with a proper boot and back seats to accommodate three adults in almost socially-distant comfort. Then along came the SUV and the dual-cab utility and within a decade the Large Family Car was effectively dead.

Today, even in a tough market where major expenditure is strenuously avoided, hatchbacks, dual-cabs and compact 4WD wagons all continue to generate pre-Covid money (or better), but not so the traditional Aussie family sedan.

Not that many years ago six-cylinder family sedans were dominant in the Australian new car market. Now they are a burden in the used car market and are being sold at genuinely affordable prices.

Full-sized sedans built during the past 20 years came in front or rear-wheel drive format. Both local RWD models are gone and those that comes to us from overseas are predominantly FWD.

What these cars did have in common were large (typically 3.0 litre or more) engines and designs that dealt easily with Australia's diverse driving conditions.

In any one buyer's mind that attribute could mean surviving 500 kilometres of unsealed corrugations between fuel stops. Equally it could mean dealing with a two-hour commute with the air-con battling 40-degree summer heat.

All of them also offer plentiful interior space, decent dynamics and loads of standard features. Importantly, any of them can be found in excellent condition and with fewer than 200,000 kilometres showing for $10,000 or less.

Consumers will currently be able to buy any of these cars in good condition and showing average kilometres (12-15,000km a year) for $10,000 or less.

Glance quickly at a Holden Commodore SV6 with its big alloys, air-dam and boot spoiler and it's not all that hard to visualise yourself sliding behind the wheel of an HSV rather than a low-cost Commodore.

SV6s that slot into our price bracket will generally be 2007-09 VEs running 195kW versions of the 3.6-litre V6. However you might also find high-kilometre examples with the 210kW upgrade. SV6s are easy to find and a bit cheaper when fitted with six-speed manual transmission, so unless your life is ruled by traffic jams grab a manual and have some fun.

With plenty of rubber on the road, SV6s have balanced handling and responsiveness aplenty. All that lets the chassis let down is uninspiring brakes. Fuel consumption, considering the performance potential, is very good and frugal drivers will average less than 10L/100km.

If you were the boss in a business where the reps drove Commodores or Camrys then you very likely would qualify for a Nissan Maxima. The big Nissan wasn't all that ostentatious, just a cut above the mob with features you didn't find in base-line cars.

ST-L seats are nicely shaped and cloth trimmed with electric adjustment. To get interior leather you need to find a low-priced Maxima Ti variant. In addition there's plasti-wood dash trim, climate-control air-con and a multi-function screen.

Constantly-variable transmission was compulsory and with the V6 delivering a subdued 170kW, performance is satisfactory rather than scintillating.

In today's market the Maxima offers a well-appointed, safe family sedan for realistic money.

The overhead-camshaft 4.0-litre engine powering the Ford BF Falcon XR6 is bigger than other engines in this group and delivers 190kW of power. That's a fair bit of grunt and unless traction control is deployed the throttle needs to be prodded with caution.

Manual transmission was available in the XR6 however six-speed auto with its 'adaptive' capability responds faster to the need for a lower gear while dispensing with the heavy clutch action. Average fuel consumption from the automatic XR6 is a respectable 10.2L/100km and at 100km/h in top gear the engine is barely idling at 1600rpm.

The suspension is biased towards steering response and cornering stability rather than sumptuous ride. However the Ford still deals competently with a variety of surfaces and as family transport with a sporty flavour it edges out the SV6.

The locally-built Toyota Aurion came in a variety of trim levels and pre-2010 cars generally cost less than $10,000. The one we have chosen is the Prodigy and not just because the name resonates with Gen Y.

The Aurion Prodigy arrived in late 2006, loaded with equipment, a six-speed automatic transmission and a 200kW version of Toyota's long-serving V6. Despite being loaded with safety features including multiple airbags, traction control and ABS, Aurions built before August 2009 achieve only a four-star occupant protection rating from ANCAP.

Rear leg and head-room are both excellent and three adults fit comfortably in the back, where they enjoy their own air-con zone. Up front you get a bland but well-designed dash, partial leather trim and a chunky multi-function steering wheel.

Big and a little pretentious in its day, the Volkswagen Passat was regarded warily by some prospective buyers, due to its dual-clutch transmission. However, in a nervous market, the money being sought for good-quality Passats has plunged; a 3.2-litre Passat with six-speed DSG transmission has swan-dived from $60,000 in 2008 to under ten grand now.

Passats in this price range come as sedans or station wagons with 4-Motion all wheel drive and all the luxury inclusions a buyer could want. The interior will make a Commodore or Falcon owner drool, headlined by leather-bound, electrically-adjustable seats.

Safety is exemplary with eight airbags, parking sensors, traction and stability control. Performance and handling are right up there with the bigger-engined Aussie cars and 10L/100km in average use helps control the weekly fuel spend.

The last roll of the dice for Mitsubishi’s local manufacturing plants in Australia was the Mitsubishi 380, a decent effort spoiled by dour styling, a boring interior and a market that was (correctly) convinced that this car would be the last of its kind.

Against that background, the 380 was not a bad car at all. It was roomy with a huge boot and came with five-speed automatic transmission. Lack of development money was reflected in retention of the single overhead camshaft V6 that managed only a 20kW gain on the previous Magna motor.

Fuel consumption was disappointing too, with real-world tests returning around 14L/100km as opposed to an official average of 10.8L/100km.

And while the 380’s locally-built rivals offered electronic stability control, this important safety feature was still in development for the Mitsubishi sedan when executives swung the axe and closed the Tonsley Park plant for good.

Lack of demand in used-car land means that the 380 stands out as a bit of a bargain. Well below our $10K price limit sit excellent, low kilometre examples of the feature-packed VR-X. Just don't ask about resale.