Australia doesn’t exactly have a proud history of 4-cylinder cars. It is littered with too many examples of trying to jam fours into cars designed for a six. But while Ford’s latest attempt may sound exactly like that, Damien O’Carroll reports that the results are far more impressive than anything that has come before.
Before you make any cliched comment about a Falcon not being a proper Falcon without at least a six under the bonnet, know this: the 4-cylinder EcoBoost Falcon is a deeply impressive car that makes you question the need for a six at all.
Not that you may pick that from the outside.
The most distinguishing feature of the EcoBoost Falcon is its complete and utter lack of badging that refers to what is under the bonnet. Or much else for that matter.
That is because Ford knows that those are the sorts of comments that a 2-litre, 4-cylinder Falcon will attract. It is also because the Falcon has barely changed for a while now. The exterior looks like a base-model XT Falcon. So does the interior.
Apart from a very subtle facelift, there is almost literally nothing new or even vaguely interesting here really. It still looks handsome on the outside (if a bit familiar by now) and is extremely comfortable and functional on the inside. But there really is nothing to see here, please move on.
Because it is under the bonnet where things start to get interesting. The 179kW/353Nm turbo four is remarkably smooth and strong, and is not only far smoother and quieter at idle than the six, but also more refined under cruising power. Under hard acceleration it only betrays its 4-cylinder roots via the sound it makes as it powers the big Falcon along.
And it does an effortless job of this too, with the 80 to 120km/h acceleration being particularly impressive (for passing, you understand) while pushing beyond that reveals not only an even harder edge to the turbo four snarl, but a second burst of even more impressive acceleration.
But what of the fuel consumption? Ford lays claim to a combined average 8.1L/100km for the EcoBoost, and during a week of normal day-to-day commuting around town we easily saw 9.1, without any open road running. But wait, it gets better!
Throw in a bit of open road driving and that average will quickly drop into the mid to high sevens, while if you REALLY try it out on the open road, it will dip down into the sixes. In fact on one extended “really trying” stretch we saw 6.2L/100km on the average readout.
So while it may lose a bit in the way of towing capacity in the move from the nuggety low-down grunt of the old 4-litre six, it gains far more in terms of refinement.
And, it has to be said, in terms of handling as well. The FG Falcon has always been pretty handy through the winding stuff, but without the weight of the six over the front axle it now has even an even crisper and sharper attitude to turning in.
Unfortunately the steering is way too light and fluffy to make the most of the precision, but it is still a remarkably fun car to throw through a winding stretch of road. Especially for such a large car.
Impressively powerful, smooth, frugal and refined, the 2-litre EcoBoost engine is a welcome addition to the Falcon range. But unfortunately the biggest rival the EcoBoost Falcon has is part of the Ford stable. The same engine in the Mondeo (albeit in a different state of tune) is even more impressive, and the Mondeo is a more modern car that looses minimal size to the Falcon in reality.
As it stands, the Falcon EcoBoost is a brilliant car. In XT form it is missing a lot of kit, but still offers a brilliant ride, sharp handling, extraordinary comfort and, for once for a Falcon, impressive fuel economy. It only really falters when stacked up to its stablemate with the same engine.
