A communication hiccup found Robert Barry in a FPV F6 sedan that while still being fun to drive isn’t quite what he had in mind as an executive car..

The short version of events leading up to the story is this. FPV (Ford Performance Vehicles) offers a discrete luxury version of its high performance 310kW turbocharged sports sedan based on the Falcon which is called the F6 E and that is the car which I thought I had booked for the executive section of NZ Company Vehicle.

The colour scheme of the FPV F6 E does away with the “panda” eye treatment of it’s F6 sedan and Ute siblings and the huge rear spoiler of the F6 sedan is also ditched in favour of a far more discreet duck tail item running along the leading edge of the boot lid of the F6 E. The alloy wheels of the F6 E also have a more “executive” look and feel to them to differentiate it from the others. It’s the perfect car for the executive who wants the high performance ride and handling of the FPV brand but without the “look at me” factor.

So you can imagine my horror on arriving at North Harbour Ford to find that the “E” had fallen off and I was presented with a lurid green F6 with the Panda eye treatment – hardly a suitable car for a discrete executive.

Well with the proper F6 E press vehicle located in the South Island it was Hobson’s choice, take the F6 for a week or walk. I chose the latter.

The cabin ambience of the F6 is not unlike that of the Falcon, but the signature differentiator is the little red “start” button and the FPV build number – which lets you know you are piloting something a little bit special.

The leather-clad sports bucket front seats are still some of the most comfortable we have ever sat in, though the mixture of electric and manual adjustment is a bit low rent in a car nudging $80,000. Surely making fully electric seats available is not that big an ask for Ford? Especially given that the brake pedal can be electrically adjusted for short or long legged drivers.

The F6 E reputedly has a more luxury orientated cabin than the F6 with wood trim rather than the dull chrome finish plastic – which was already showing signs of wear in our test vehicle that had covered 19,000km. To be fair the leather seats were also showing signs of wear, which lead us to conclude this particular press vehicle had been well and truly evaluated by the motoring press, so much so that a new set of tyres were required for the rear wheels.    

Underneath the skin though, there is very little difference between the two F6 variants, in fact there is none.  The F6 and F6 E enjoy a similar suspension to the humble Falcons they are based on but which have been highly tuned by FPV to ensure stable handling and a decidedly comfortable ride across most road surfaces, despite being shod with uber-low profile 19-inch Dunlop Sport tyres on wide alloy rims.

The adaptive six-speed ZF transmission is the same unit utilised by Jaguar and Aston Martin for their high performance cars, so it is more than up to the task of handling that tyre frying 565 Newton Metres of torque the turbocharged F6 engine produces from 1950 rpm to 5200 rpm.

Despite being fairly well tied down to the road, the F6 will still wiggle it’s rear-end momentarily when you hit the boost on acceleration, and particularly on wet surfaces. The traction control system however, does tend to rein in any overzealous use of the throttle. Fuel economy for our week averaged out at 14l/100km which given the cars abilities was commendable. It might have been mean and green, but definitely not lean. 

Specifications:

Body type Four-door sedan  
Drive Rear wheel drive 
Engine Type Inline six-cylinder  
Engine Capacity 3984cc
Max power 310kW @ 5500 rpm
Max torque 565Nm @ 5200 rpm
Fuel Consumption 12.1l/100km

C02 emission 300.4g/km
0 to 100kph N/a
Front suspension Double wishbone
Rear suspension Independent control blade
Roof Rack N/a
ABS Brakes Yes
Air Bags 6
ESP Yes
Air Conditioning Climate
Lap/diagonal belts 5
Satellite Navigation Optional
Electric seats Partial
Burglar Alarm Yes 
Panic Button No
Boot release Yes
Cargo Cover No
Boot Capacity TBC
Wheel type 19-inch alloy
Spare Tyre Full size

Through Life Cost Report
36 Months 60000km
Price    $80,745
WOF    $150.00
Registration      $1,293.54
Servicing to 60k:     $1,226.00
Total Tyre cost:   $4,851.04
Residual (33%) $26,645.85 
Indicative final figure $61,619.73

The Through Life Cost Model is used for illustrative and indicative purposes only. FleetWorks and Adrenalin Publishing Limited accept no responsibility or liability should any costs indicated in the Through Life Cost Model change from those published. All residual values are based on an average of values achieved through Turners Auctions Limited sales for the previous 3 months from issue date.