Ford Fairmont Ghia v Holden Calais 2002 Review

Generic engineering

Performance, superior handling, and luxury? Wearing a 'Made in Australia' label, too? Then come with us as we slip into the V8-engined versions of Ford's Fairmont Ghia and Holden's Calais. These aren't outrageously expensive cars. In round figures, the Ghia V8 is $55,000 before the almost inevitable addition of options, the Holden $53,000. For around the same money as a compact, German rear-drive sedan with a 2.0-litre four, these two cars deliver vastly superior performance, far more spacious interiors, and a similarly impressive list of standard and optional equipment.

Nowadays, even a strong preference for restrained, elegant European design isn't a good reason to ignore the Australian-made cars. Ford's BA Falcon and, to a lesser extent, Holden's VY Commodore have been shaped by a distinctly Euro aesthetic. What's more, any yawning technological gulf exists mainly in the brand-bedazzled customer's imagination. This is especially so in the case of the Fairmont Ghia, with its sophisticated suspension front and rear.

The first question here is whether Ford's new 5.4-litre V8 is a match for Holden's familiar 5.7-litre engine. It's close, damned close. Despite giving away 300 cubes, and despite the Ghia being the heavier car, the difference between them could hardly be less. Holden beats the Ford from standstill to 100km/h by just one tenth of a second. It's exactly the same story over the standing-start 400 metres; victory by a single tenth to the 5.7-litre. A closer look at the data makes it clear that these figures shouldn't be regarded as total victory for Holden. Take a look at the 0-60km/h and 0-80km/h and you'll notice that the Ghia V8 is one-tenth quicker than the Calais. The Ford also claims a slim victory in the 80-120km/h overtaking acceleration test.

While there's near parity in performance, these are two quite different engines. Holden's V8 has an aluminium block and heads, yet features old-fashioned pushrod valve actuation and only two valves per cylinder. Ford's V8 has an iron block topped with aluminium heads, each with its own cam bumping open three valves (two inlet, one exhaust) for each cylinder. Even though it appears to have the more rev-worthy technology, the Ford V8 has been tuned for fat torque at moderate crank speeds. And its cut-out cuts in at just 5250rpm. Holden's V8 is redlined at 5500rpm, but will spin to well beyond 6000. Peak torque is developed more than 1000rpm higher than the Ford.

Of the two engines, it's the Ford that sounds the sweetest. There's just the right amount of V8 noise from the engine bay, although the exhaust note is disappointingly hissy. There's not much aural action from either end of the Calais. This Holden doesn't get the less restrictive - and better sounding - muffler that endows the SS and new SV8 models with an additional 10kW.

It's not only the sound of the Ford V8 that will incite the keen driver. The Fairmont Ghia's four-speed automatic is a responsive and relatively refined transmission. Left in 'D', it interprets throttle inputs more quickly than the Holden auto and shifts more smoothly. As well, the Ford auto's pseudo-manual mode is a beauty. It holds whatever gear the driver has selected, where the Holden will shift up, despite its straight-line shifter being stuck in the '1' position. There's only one thing wrong with the 'sequential' side of the Ford; it'd be good to have a clear détente to make it obvious another gear has been selected.

The superiority of the Ford's traction control (it's a standard feature on both Ghia and Calais) is even more marked. Subtle and unobtrusive, the system whispers to the driver that the limit of tyre grip has been reached. In contrast, Holden's system screams hysterically and is clumsy and jerky. The only Calais V8 that Holden was able to supply was equipped with optional 18-inch wheels and the FE2 suspension calibration that's compulsory with them. The car also wore a Holden by Design body kit and spoiler, and had the optional leather-trim interior.

There's no question that 18-inch alloys and low-profile Bridgestone tyres have a positive effect on the Calais' s appearance. There's also no question that the suspension calibration that comes with them has a negative effect on the way the Calais drives.

FE2 is a hard-core sports set-up and that means stiff, way stiffer than the artfully executed sports-luxury calibration developed by Ford specifically for the Fairmont Ghia. Designed to make the most of its standard 17-inch wheel and tyre package, the Ghia gear isn't as firm as the hardware developed for the XR family and combines responsive handling with impressive ride comfort.

Particularly fluent in changes of direction, the Ford is well balanced with sweetly direct and consistently weighted steering. If there's a fault with the Ghia suspension it's that on coarse-surfaced roads it seems to feed a little more road noise into the body structure through the rear suspension than the standard XT, Futura and Fairmont set-ups.

The ride of the FE2-equipped Calais is poor. It jumps and jolts on poorly surfaced roads where the Ghia rides serenely. Making use of the grip of its broader 18-inch tyres, the Holden can be made to carve corners as quickly as the Ford, but it puts up more of a fight.

As with all VY models, steering effort is higher than previous Commodores. And higher, too, than the Ford. Except for feeling under-assisted at very low speed, Holden's alterations are for the good. But while the steering is more accurate, the Ford's is better still. There's less slack around centre, more consistent (and noticeably lighter) weighting, superior feedback, and more linear response from the Ghia steering.

On FE2 suspension, the Calais points into corners with more conviction than the Ghia, but once a cornering attitude has been established the Ford's more absorbent suspension makes it less prone to disturbance. Both have excellent rear-end traction for strong drive out of slower corners. Switch off the traction control and both cars are pleasantly progressive tail-sliders.

The Ghia came equipped with Ford's optional performance-brake package. Firm pedal, plenty of stopping power. The Calais, with Holden's standard brakes, coped well, too. And its noticeably softer pedal actually makes it easier to accurately modulate the brakes.

These cars are direct competitors, so it's not surprising that the equipment lists are very similar. While there are some important differences, both cars have every convenience item imaginable, full safety packages, top-line stereo systems, and rich interiors.

Hardware alone is not enough to create genuine luxury, however. Design, material quality, ergonomics, and user-friendliness all contribute, too. Take these into account and the Ghia emerges a clear winner. The Ford has the better driving position and better driver's seat. As well as looking more classy, the Ford's dash works better. Its heating, ventilation, and air-con controls are beautifully simple. The Ghia's standard TFT colour screen is placed high in the centre console, where it should be. Sat-nav is optional in both, but where Ford simply uses the existing well placed screen, Holden adds a colour screen that's placed absurdly low.

For ambience, the Ghia again beats the Calais. The Holden interior looks dated in comparison with the Ford's. The contrast between the two test cars was especially stark. The Calais came with optional leather, with saggy, ruched cowhide. The Ghia had a standard interior, but its more technical atmosphere and modern colours made it feel the more classy car.

And it is the more classy car. It near enough achieves performance parity with the larger-engined Calais, but has a better transmission, better suspension, better steering, better ergonomics. The Ghia has what it takes to turn the Calais into a Dunkirk.

Click here to read more on the Falcon v Commodore battle.