BA Ford XR6 Turbo

The Ford Falcon is well known as a large people transporter that isn’t that terribly exciting to look at and drive. This reputation is further enhanced by the multitude of taxis using the Falcon as the main vehicle of choice, making the Falcon such an EXCLUSIVE vehicle to own!

Now why would anyone buy you ask, a Ford Falcon that has been dressed up with some sporty bits and is essentially a family car. Ah, looks are deceiving in that this is no ordinary Falcon that Ford has rolled off the production line. This family car comes with a 4 litre engine with a Garret turbo with sports suspension and rear wheel drive. This makes for an interesting drive in that this Falcon is torque heaven for those lovers of Aussie cars. A turbo 6 is a rarity in the Aussie world of muscle v8s but this car can hold its own against the 6+2 cylinder monsters that dominate this field.

To best describe driving an XR6 turbo is taking your favorite couch and planting it into a car that loves to be driven hard. This car chews up the country miles with ease and makes driving a pleasure with the comforts this car provides. The turbo is a pleasure to work with, kicking in depending on the amount rpm and load on the engine. This is one the most fun times in the car in that tells you when you are really going with the turbo induction WHOOSH and release from the exhaust.

Being a rear wheel drive this car can be a handful in the wet with the amount of power being sent to the back wheels, 240 kw to be precised. In the dry, this car is a machine to be reckoned with and becomes a beast to be tamed, its simply pure RAW adrenaline. :P

Now being the first performance car I owned, yes a Mazda 323 1.6 litre does not count, I was disappointed. Well you would ask, why would say that after saying how great the engine was and the comfort that this car provided. The answer is simple, the car has to do at least one primary function properly and that is to start every time and not spend half its life in the garage.

List of Shame:
1. Passenger’s sun visor holder was not screwed in first day I picked it up
2. Annoying rattle from the rear of the vehicle (never fixed)
3. Turbo would not spool and basically became a non turbo car for a while
4. Alloy wheels lost its Ford badge
5. O-Ring coolant leak
6. Car would not start sometimes unless accelerator pressed, then it sounded like a tractor (never fixed)
7. Radiator was replaced completely after crack

Now these problems occur within 2 years of owning such a vehicle has soured the fun of owning such a performance vehicle.