Ford Falcon XR8 Pursuit 250 Ute 2002 Review

Utes have no right to be this competent. Utes are fun, but only because they're ridiculously easy to provoke into anti-social behaviour. Ear-splitting, eye-watering burnouts, tyre-shredding power slides, mashed kidneys from the too-taut rear suspension, that's what a ute is supposed to do.

A ute is not supposed to hunt the apex with the control and balance of a finely tuned sports sedan. A ute's not supposed to get the power down quicker than Mikey Robbins sighting a free buffet. And a ute's not supposed to be blindingly quick point to point, because we all know that power sliding around a corner is the slow way around a corner, and dammit! Utes slide.

As little as five years ago, a lot of those statements would have held true, but in recent times the humble Aussie ute has barreled its way out of the worksite and into the limelight. And none have done it better than the latest to wear the Blue Oval badge - the Ford Falcon XR8 Pursuit 250 Ute.

Almost 30,000 two-door tray-backs from Ford and Holden are bought each year, traditionally for the practicality, but more and more often by those searching for a lifestyle vehicle.

No longer the sole domain of farmers and plumbers, the ute's sleek two-door design and passenger car levels of comfort and quality are attracting an all-new crowd into showrooms. Single blokes, and couples with no immediate plans to boost the population are being drawn to the getaway potential of the humble ute.

So it's no surprise then, that Ford has taken the opportunity to send the Falcon Ute to the backroom boys at Tickford for the same love and attention given to the Falcon sedan.

Take one standard issue 5.0-litre Windsor V8, fresh off the boat from North America. Increase displacement on the engine to 5.6 litres via a bore job, with a reprofiled crankshaft and new pistons and conrods to handle the increase in stroke and accompanying increase in reciprocating velocity.

Revise the camshaft profile to suit, and replace the valves and springs with high performance parts. Add a much larger 82mm throttle body to get more fuel to the engine, redesign the inlet manifold for increased airflow, and grab the high-performance air-filter from the Ford Mustang.

The end result is an impressive 250kiloWatts of power on tap from 5250rpm, and a massive 500Newton-metres of torque at 4250rpm - Holden's imported 5.7-litre Chevy V8 in the Commodore Ute can only muster 460Nm by comparison.

With all these extra herbs, the Borg Warner T5 manual gearbox had to be replaced - it simply couldn't handle that much torque. The new 'box', a beefier Tremec T-3650, features a slightly shorter first gear for more off-the-line grunt and a longer fifth to improve fuel economy. All other gear ratios are carryover. The action is slightly different, also, with narrower spacing between the planes - second to third and fourth to fifth require less left-to-right movement than before.

The most important thing for you and me is the fact that 80 percent of that load-hauling grunt is on tap from just 1200rpm. That translates to effortless, precise power delivery at low speeds, and plenty of grunt when you get underway. Put a load in the back - the Ute'll carry up to 400kg in the tray - and the Pursuit is unlikely to even notice.

Ford hasn't beefed up the Ute's power without thinking about the stopping part. Bigger 13inch brake discs up front and 11.5inch discs on the rear, both with twin-piston calipers and three-channel antilock brakes, keep the Pursuit planted and controlled even during the hardest applications.

For those with a more serious need to stop, we reckon the optional Brembo premium brake package with 14inch front and 13inch rear discs gripped by four piston calipers would be worth a look. Be warned, this extra stopping power comes with a $5350 downside to your bank balance.

Prodigious power and hi-po stoppers won't count for naught if the rubber isn't up to scratch. The Pursuit Ute gets the same high performance Dunlop SP9000 tyres as the Tickford T-Series performance sedans. Measuring up at an eye-catching 18 inches, the SP9000s dress stylish alloy wheels straight from the Tickford performance catalog.

Which is all well and good, but remember, this is still just a ute, with a rigid rear axle suspended by leaf springs. And we all know that these parts aren't synonymous with prodigious rear-end grip, good mid-corner body control and a compliant ride, don't we? Would someone please tell Ford then, because they clearly don't know this.

Add to this all the creature comforts and luxury goodies you'd expect from a top end Aussie car, like air-conditioning, CD player, electric windows and mirrors, and central locking, and the Falcon XR8 Pursuit Ute starts to look very attractive indeed.

One of the downsides to the Pursuit Ute is the fact you can't slap a towbar on the back. Like the similar engined Tickford sedans, the Pursuit 250 Ute has not been certified for towing, which seems a bit strange to us. Australians love to tow, whether it's trailers to the tip, jetskis to the beach, or boats to the harbour. What gives, Ford? Is it just that you didn't want to cut a hole in that spanking new rear bumper?

Only 250 Pursuit Utes are likely to be built, making this a very exclusive model, and the last to get the venerated Windsor V8 block. Whether you want it for that reason, or because you're after the fastest, most capable production ute this country currently builds, you're bound to be impressed.