Mike Sinclair•17 Apr 2012
REVIEW
FPV F6E 2012 Review
Performance aplenty but in terms of equipment, the F6E is showing its rootsFord Performance Vehicles F6E
Road Test
Price Guide
(recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $76,940 Road Test
Price Guide
Options fitted (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 95RON
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 12.6
CO2 emissions (g/km): 300
Also consider: Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo; Mercedes-Benz C-Class
There's a distinctly visceral appeal to Ford Performance Vehicle's (FPV) F6E. As much as the Ford hotshop would like to label the car a gentleman's express, it is still very much more Peter Jackson than Pierre Cardin -- as if the gentlemen it has been aimed at are backstreet boys made good rather than old school tie brigade.
For a large car it's light on its feet and its steering is communicative, and the chassis predictable and secure. Its turbocharged six-cylinder has the potential to trample V8s with instant torque and an unburstable feel that is hard to resist.
Indeed it's this blend of handling and the instant torque and serious performance of the F6E that is the car's calling card. There's so much to like. But then reality bites.
For if you take your parochial slouch hat off for just a moment, as a car with a pricetag well into prestige territory, the F6E lacks a swag of niceties and 'polish' that are becoming commonplace on cheaper, just as polished, though admittedly much slower name-badge offers.
’Frinstance? Well, given its top-end-of-town target market, how about heated seats, comfort entry and keyless start, a properly integrated satnav and trip computer, decent Bluetooth/phonebook handsfree phone functionality, key-fob boot operation... Even an auto up and down driver’s window. And let's not mention how hard the heating and ventilation controls are to see or use easily when you're on the move.
Of course I'm fully aware of the reason(s) why the car doesn't have the latest generation of HMI (human machine interface) goodies. Even if the componentry itself is not expensive, the cost to develop this infrastructure is huge and the F6E must share the relatively primitive centre stack et al with the same $30K Falcons that get painted yellow and fitted with T-A-X-I stickers on all four corners. But knowing why doesn't mean we shouldn't point out this stuff – after all, Ford's Focus small car has integration that's vastly superior to this car. (Cue angry commenters... Three, two, one... Go!)
Fact is FPV is asking $76,940 for this car. In terms of outright performance it’s potentially defendable – and that's the tack I've taken in the past. But this time my week in the F6E delivered but few chances to exercise the 310kW/565Nm six – and thus my thoughts and experiences were more focused on the rest of the package... Just like a buyer three months (and a decent number of demerit points) into a three-year lease.
The result? Frankly, when you can buy better finished, better equipped, better integrated and still engaging Europeans for less, it struggles.
Unless you cart four passengers regularly, the extra room delivered by the F6E over a C-Class or 3 Series sized substitute is moot. And unless you can get those four people to also pay your traffic fines for you, the potential performance advantage is equally spurious. Cold hard facts circa 2012, I'm afraid.
In terms of comfort and convenience most of the current crop of medium-sized prestige cars also have the F6E's measure. One example is seat comfort. Although the Ford is good for an hour or so behind the wheel, at the two-hour mark my back's screaming enough… Over the Easter break the SES didn't have to implore me to use the driver reviver stops – the F6E did it for me.
For all my negatives this is a handsome car. The wheel-to-body ratio looks perfect on the big, simply styled 19-inch wheels, and the car has a stance that's all business.
It's relatively efficient too (an overall fuel around 12.9L/100km over a mix of roads but largely urban miles) and it steers better than all but a handful of much more expensive large cars. If you dismiss the constant brake squeal of our tester, it also has a set of stoppers that are also up to comparison with more vaunted foe.
But the bottom line is Falcon is quickly becoming a car of the past.
As much as we'd like to think otherwise, the basic platforms upon which our local large cars (both Blue and Red) are aging. And the cars/manufacturers against which they are compared are accelerating away.
What might be satisfactory in terms of balancing performance and amenity in a circa-$48K Falcon XR6 Turbo is simply not good enough in a near-$80,000 executive-aimed saloon.
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Ford Performance Vehicles
F6
Car Reviews
Sedan
Performance Cars
Written byMike Sinclair
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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