Ford Falcon Futura 2002 Review

Look, let's not go over the whole story of the BA Falcon again. We've detailed the new engines, chassis improvements, all-new interior and technology enhancements, so we'll spare you the chapter and verse here. If you missed our earlier coverage, click here for the reveiw.

A quick overview, however. Only the doors are unchanged on the outside, while inside nothing remains the same. Gone is the unloved curves and sharp angles of the AU, replaced with a more cohesive, more upmarket styling job that is downright classy. The interior makeover is stunning - even on the cheaper models - and must be seen to be believed. It's no longer full of fidgety little buttons and mismatched plastics, but emits a more harmonic, more upmarket feel throughout. Dammit, this Falcon's almost too good to be a Taxi.

Our test Futura came with Ford's stunningly reworked inline six cylinder engine, still 4.0 litres capacity, but now with dual VCT (variable cam timing), which phases the camshafts to maximise power at high revs and fuel economy at low revs. Power delivery is a strong point on the smoother revving engine, and peak power is a pleasing 182kiloWatts, up an impressive 25kiloWatts over the previous iteration. Torque is similarly boosted, up 23 Newton metres to 380 Newton metres at 3250rpm.

An extra $5000 buys you a V8 version, but don't expect the venerable 5.0-litre Windsor block. This time it's a new 5.4-litre block - still USA-sourced - with 3-valves per cylinder and a peak power of 220kiloWatts. Torque is typically Ford effusive, 470 boat-dragging Newton-metres on tap from 3250rpm. This engine is rev limited to 5250rpm, and not because of durability issues, but rather - we've heard - to restrain peak power.

The six cylinder Futura we drove had Ford's take on tiptronic automatic gearshifting. The three mode gearshifter operates as a fully automatic when in D, or slide it to the left for 'adaptive' mode. Here's where the transmission learns from your driving style and adapts its shift patterns to suit you. From there it's only a casual flick of the wrist to sequential manual mode, where you select the gears by tapping forward or backwards.

This auto 'box is particularly well suited to towing because it doesn't attempt to know better than you. It'll stay in the gear you selected, even if you choose to bounce the rev limiter for an hour or two, or lumber forward with just 1200rpm onboard.

New Falcon still runs the same basic chassis as the old model, so towing capacities haven't changed. It's still 750kg unbraked, 2300kg braked for Falcons with automatic gearboxes. Manual 'boxes are limited to 1200kg, while Turbo models are only rated to 1600kg.

One of the bigger changes in BA Falcon, and one you're unlikely to see but will definitely feel, is the new control blade independent rear suspension. Borrowed from Ford overseas and Jaguar, Ford's control blade rear end improves the Falcon's on-road ride and handling no end.

Falcon also maintains a flatter stance under load, while a combination of the new rear suspension and wholesale changes to the steering make this one of the most enjoyable Falcons to pilot in a long while.

Ford claims the substantially more powerful engine doesn't hurt fuel economy too much, quoting government AS2877 figures of 11.5l/100km for the city and 7.4l/100km highway. Our week long test - predominantly city and suburbs, returned 13.8l/100km via the Futura's multi-function trip computer. Not the greatest, by any stretch.

No matter how closely you peer into the new Falcon, the question remains the same: where do you lose? More powerful six cylinder engine, more load-lugging torque, more fancy features, more safety features, and only a slight rise in price. The answer? You don't.