First glimpse: E241 Ford Falcon
Australians won’t find this as cool since they’ve had this model for a few months, but it was a treat for me to see the E241 Ford Falcon (or FG series) prior to its official New Zealand launch. These are at Manukau, Ford Motor Co.’s New Zealand HQ, along with a classic Model A in its reception area.
The models are the top-of-the-line G6E luxury model and the performance hero, the XR8.
In the metal, they look nice but not that big, especially as the CD345 Mondeo has grown considerably. The slab sides make for a less aggressive look, which I don’t think is that good an idea in 2008, but such gentler shapes will probably be perfectly timed for 2010. The Ford family look is very apparent, as well as VW–Audiesque touches such as the rising feature line in the doors’ lower sills.
It will have its loyal fans and the cabbies will love the LPG versions, even if the Japanese are moving into that market like crazy.
I can’t wait to drive it as I hear Ford is on to a winner and dynamically, the Falcon is better than its chief rival, the Holden Commodore. And it’s certainly better than any Ford sedan available in the Americas.
But if it were my money, and I had to get a Ford, the Mondeo makes more sense considering it’s basically now the same size. I don’t need a big four-litre six or a V8 under the bonnet and while I prefer rear-wheel drive, I’m willing to sacrifice that for the better fuel economy of the Mondeo.
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What Ford did was try to make the Falcon look smaller than it really is because it knew about the petrol price rises, but I think that will hurt it at the moment when people still want cars to look sporty. The Mondeo (you may remember it was Daniel Craig’s rental car in Casino Royale) looks more aggressive so I think it will get new buyers.
The fact Ford denies US buyers decent cars is why it is in the poo so often. I don’t know what they are thinking with the warmed-over old Focus and even the current Taurus. Even the Fusion is a last-generation Mazda 6 with a new body. Yet we get to enjoy current-generation Fords that are at least competitive, if not superior to, Japanese cars.
Always love the Mustang though...but I prefer the Prowler or Dodge Viper!
Pam, put this on the list! Pat: I am a big Stanger as well, and that is one exception to the ‘the US gets the crap Fords’ rule. I love the Mustang. Robin: it actually looks smaller than the Mondeo in the metal, especially with the four-light design. It just doesn’t look very imposing whereas the Mondeo does. Bear in mind I had no other cars next to these Falcons to compare them to, so maybe it’s all relative.
I decided to Google the dimensions to get a proper idea.
E241 Falcon
L: 4,955 mm (up 25 mm)
W: 1,868 mm (up 4 mm)
H: 1,453 mm (up 9 mm)
Wheelbase: 2,838 mm (up 9 mm)
CD345 Mondeo
L: 4,778 mm
W: 1,886 mm
H: 1,500 mm
Wheelbase: 2,850 mm
There you are: it’s official. The Falcon may be longer but it’s smaller than the Mondeo in other key dimensions,