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By
EWAN KENNEDY
21 April 2008
The station wagon market is stagnant at the moment in
Australia. Where wagons once ruled supreme, today the SUV has
taken over. Hence Ford Australia's interesting decision not to
build a station wagon variant based on the upcoming FG Falcon
platform.
Instead the company is sticking with the existing wagon model
that was introduced in the AU series, and later modified to BA and
BF format. Instead of an FG wagon variant of the new sedan and ute,
we are going to get a BF Mk III station wagon. Not necessarily a
‘new’ vehicle in the true sense of the term, but one that
makes a lot of sense. Indeed, there are still quite few buyers out
there who are looking for a big, simple, practical machine at a
reasonable price. One that can cart a load of gear as well as five
people.
The price of the BF Mk III wagon, which is sold only in XT
format, is a very reasonable $37,720. The LPG conversion in the
E-Gas variant is priced at $1400.
This ‘new’ Falcon wagon is an interesting move as Holden
has taken a totally different approach and is about to introduce a
wagon variant of the VE Commodore. While the Ford is big in the
back and aimed at the commercial operator as much as the family
man, the Holden is one of the new school of boutique sporty wagons
and sacrifices some luggage space to gain extra style.
The BF Mk III wagon has been improved by making ESP (called DSC
or Dynamic Stability Control by Ford) standard on the petrol
model. This is a useful safety feature in any wagon, particularly
a working machine that may be running with widely varying loads
from day to day. Ford is to be commended for this big move on the
safety front.
However, ESP only applies to the petrol model, the E-Gas engine
(running on LPG) hasn’t been adapted to accept ESP so it’s up
to the driver to do the right thing in the way of keeping the car
under control.
The straight-six engine continues to displace 4.0 litres and is
still being mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. That
makes it less desirable than the five and six-speed autos fitted
to the new FG sedans, but the engine has such good torque that the
four-speed isn’t likely to prove a handicap on the showroom
floor, particularly when you look at the wagon’s sharp pricing.
A very minor facelift sees changes to the shading on the Mk III
wagon’s radiator grille compared with the Mk II. Look for Mk III
badges on the body. And there are a couple of changes to the
colour palette, get in touch with your local Ford dealer to check
these out in the metal.
Which way will the Aussie station wagon market move? To the
sports wagon as on the upcoming Holden VE Commodore, or will the
big, practical Falcon cargo area score the most points? Only time
will tell, but stand by for an interesting year in the sales race.
One that will be all the more interesting if fuel prices continue
to leap skywards and the SUV market finally slows from its current
headlong rush.
Ford is arguably in a more fortunate position than Holden
because it already has a strong competitor in the SUV field with
the Territory, a vehicle that shares quite a few out of sight
components with the Falcon. Territory is made in this country to a
local design, it also stands to give Ford Australia a leg up in
the turbo-diesel market as the local guys can introduce an engine
that virtually identical in specification, that can be used in
both the Falcon and Territory.
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Marque Publishing Company
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