Ford Falcon G6E 2014 Review
Price cuts and equipment upgrades add to strong driving appeal of upmarket Falcon2014 Ford Falcon G6E
Wodonga, Victoria
While the attention is on the XR8, the FG X Falcon range's luxury performance G6E models cop a price cut, an equipment rise and a new look while retaining the familiarly enjoyable driving experience. Turbo four, venerable DOHC six and Ford's muscular turbo six-cylinder options give owners real powertrain choice and new infotainment system adds much needed tech.
While the spotlight is elsewhere in the farewell FG X Falcon range, there’s no doubt the G6E models will garner their share of fans.
The story here is all about price cuts and more equipment, rather than any significant mechanical changes that impact on the driving experience. And they are serious adjustments: a near-$10,000 cut to the price of the flagship G6E Turbo (now $46,550), while the G6E atmo six and turbo four have had their pricing chopped by $6625 to $40,110 in their effort to take up the cudgels against the mightily impressive VF Holden Calais V6.
We’ve gone into more detail on the pricing, spec and other G6E changes previously, and covered the fact the one casualty is the G6, which has been axed.
Like the rest of the FG X range, the exterior changes have been worthwhile. The big-mouth Ford design language has been grafted onto the Falcon expertly, giving it the freshness it needs after six years of the FG model.
We’re less convinced by the ‘high-tech’ descriptor, which Ford is basing on the installation of the SYNC2 infotainment system. While that works fine (especially the locally-tuned voice recognition), the reality is the FG X is behind the times on technology. There’s no blind spot monitor, lane departure warning or auto parking; all features the VF boasts.
It’s obvious that when you’ve ‘only’ got $103 million to spend, the wish list gets cut back pretty quickly.
While there are two G6E price points, there are three engine choices. The G6E can be had with the familiar locally-built inline 4.0-litre petrol six or the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol EcoBoost as a no-cost option. The G6E Turbo is (obviously) only available with the mighty 270kW turbocharged version of the straight six.
And what an engine it is. Depress the accelerator pedal only halfway and the dawdling G6E T transforms into an express. I won’t tell you how fast we were going when I checked the speedo, but it prompted a doubletake.
So fast, so quickly...
Combine that with a firmly compliant ‘luxury sport’ suspension tune and all that interior space, and the G6E T is the sort of car that would make a cross-Australia trip a pleasure rather than a challenge... Bar the unchanged 11.7L/100km ADR combined fuel consumption.
But that ground-munching ability doesn’t mean the turbo is the best G6E to drive -- that honour goes to the EcoBoost. With less weight over the nose and a willingness to rev higher than the I6, while maintaining a wellspring of torque from low-down, this is the version of the G6E which feels most balanced and engaging for the driver.
It’s so good, it highlights once more Ford’s perplexing unwillingness to stick the engine in the XR6 chassis. It would be a ripper combination... Simple as that.
The naturally aspirated DOHC I6 version doesn’t have the same communication level as the EcoBoost G6E. It has a tauter ride and is noisier inside when you push the throttle because the engine note gets a bit hoary and raw.
This car swaps from the high-torque ZF 6HP26 to the 6HP21 auto, so joining the EcoBoost. Its lower weight aids a small fuel consumption gain, but feels otherwise similar. There was some jarring and thunk on the occasional shift, which acted as a reminder that despite its quite upmarket interior and pretensions this is a car with blue collar origins.
Despite the new trims and stitchings there is no doubt this is a close relation of the Falcon FG II. Get behind the wheel and that’s rammed home even more by that darned seating position that never allows you to raise the steering wheel high enough or the driver’s seat low enough.
But on first brief tasting there’s no doubt we still like the G6E. It’s a car built in Australia to cope with Australian conditions and it does it remarkably well.
Like the rest of the Falcon range it will be sorely missed when it’s gone.
2014 Ford Falcon G6E 4.0, EcoBoost 2.0 and Turbo pricing and specs:
Price: $40,110, $40,110 and $46,550 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 4.0-litre six-cylinder petrol, 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and 4.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder petrol
Output: 195kW/391Nm, 176kW/340Nm and 270kW/533Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km, 8.7L/100km and 11.7L/100km (ADR combined)
CO2: 225g/km, 206g/km and 278g/km (ADR combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP
| What we liked: | Not so much: |
| >> Power | >> Fuel consumption of turbo six |
| >> Grace | >> Still behind the times on tech |
| >> Price cuts | >> Noisy inline six |
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