NEW FALCON: more power, less fuel...

The highlight of Ford's new FG Falcon could be under the bonnet. That's the conclusion many will draw given the substantial upgrades the all-Australian six-cylinder petrol engines and locally tweaked V8 have received in their latest guise.

As predicted by the Carsales Network's Joe Kenwright, the power outputs of the Falcon range's naturally-aspirated and turbocharged inline petrol sixes have been increased and the 'base' V8 has been upgraded to FPV's Boss 290 specification.

In FG Falcon the standard 4.0-litre six now produces 195kW and 391Nm on 91RON fuel. These figures rise to 198kW/409Nm if 95RON fuel is used.

The I6 Turbo's increase over the previous model is even more marked -- registering 270kW and 533Nm on 95RON -- and, as its name suggests, the new V8 is rated at 290kW and 520Nm on 95RON. Both the I6 Turbo and Boss 290 will run on 91RON without ill effect, says Ford.

But while we predicted the power levels, even we have been caught by surprise by the depth of changes to the powerplants -- particularly the sixes, and especially the Turbo.

Given the inline engine will be axed in 2010 (replaced by an imported V6), if nothing else, the level of development that has been ploughed into the engine confirms Ford Australia's strong efforts to retain the unique powerplant.

In addition to a totally new induction system on both variants and an all-new turbocharger and sophisticated anti-lag infrastructure on the turbocharged six, the base six's engine internals have been replaced and a new cylinder-head design used.

The V8 will be familiar to FPV stalwarts and is built on what Ford claims is "Australia's only V8 production line". In addition to internal changes, the V8 features a Semi Active Muffler (SAM) which reduces back pressure at higher engine revs. It is essentially the same system used by Jaguar, and one-time Ford affiliate Aston Martin, on selected high-end models.

In addition to the new engines, the FG Falcon range introduces two new transmissions -- a six-speed manual and a five-speed automatic. The new manual will be used across all variants and the auto replaces the previous four-speed unit, on petrol sedans and utes.

The much-praised ZF six-speed auto will continue across the Falcon range as standard equipment in higher grade models. It will again be offered as an option on some variants.

Compared to the outgoing 190kW I6/four-speed auto combination, fuel economy for the latest naturally-aspirated six and five-speed auto has improved by 0.2L/100km, says Ford. And coupled to the ZF six-speeder, fuel use has been reduced a further 0.1L/100km, with the FG Falcon claiming 10.1L/100km in preliminary ADR81 certification testing.

For all its go fast potential, the new I6 Turbo engine has registered a 0.6L/100km improvement. Ford claims a Combined figure of 11.7L/100km for the turbo six/ZF six-speed combination.

Even the V8's thirst has been eased -- to a point. The official ADR81 fuel figure for the Boss V8 engine is down 0.8L/100km to 14.2L/100km.

Check out our detailed coverage of the new Falcon engine variants via the links below

4.0-litre I6 engine - more here
4.0-litre I6 Turbo - more here
Boss 290 - more here
4.0-litre I6 E-Gas - more here
New transmissions - more here

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