Best & Worst Falcons

[Crazy Dazz]

Yeah, its a Sunday Night thread. Don't like it, don't post.

Please respect others personal opinions, that's all these are. There are no intrinsically right or wrong answers.

So these are my picks, please post your own.

1. XR
   I'm biased, I grew up riding in the back of an XR wagon.
   This was our first V8, the first GT, and first Bathurst win.
   Also the first high-roof PV.
   Ours was only a "Falcon 500" but it had a heater, push-button radio, and a super-pursuit 200. Compared to the Holdens of the day, it was a starship.
   
2. EL
   IMHO this remains one of the best looking Falcons of all time, including the XR6/8.
   Most of the e-series foibles had been ironed out, the engines were strong, including the recently reintroduced Windsor.
   With airbags, abs, etc, etc, they were very well equipped.
   
3. BA
   Twin-Cam engines standard across the range, Factory Turbo, IRS, and a spread of OHC V8s available across the whole range. Well equipe and updated interior. No wonder it won COTY in 2002, and for a time reeled in the Commode. My only criticisms are the bland styling, and the delayed 6spd trannies.

And for my not-so favourites:

1. EA
   The EA26 was behind schedule and still not ready when it went on sale. We finally got the OHC engine due two years previously, and it was a dog. Leaky and prone to head problems. Still had a 3sp, the front-end was atrocious, and the interior defined "cheap'n'nasty." It's only claim to fame was being better than the Frankensteinian Abomination that was the VN
   
2. XD
   I liked the XD, but lets be honest, it was an XA/B/C with a new body.
   If Holden hadn't made the monumentally stupid decision to replace the Kingswood with the Torana-sized Opel Commodore, the XD would have flopped badly. It still had leaf springs, 4sp manual, and carburettors. Plus their first attempt at an alloy head proved to be water-soluble.
   
3. FG
   Whilst it was of course the best ever Falcon produced to date, it was also a dinosaur. We can debate whether Ford had already made the decision to Kill off the Falcon and Australian Production. At the very least, the lack of a wagon, lack of LWB, lack of V8 options, plus the decision not to update the Territory to the new platform, all pointed to the beginning of the end.
   For 50 years the Falcon grew larger, heavier, more powerful, and thirstier, and with the FG they finally jumped the Shark.
   Then of course there was there was the whole dropping of the iconic Fairmont and Ghia badges. Might as well have been called the FU.
   Who knows if anything could have saved the Falcon or our Industry, but the FG certainly didn't help.

[smoo]

Disagree with the FG. It wasn’t a bad piece of kit when launched in 2008 and was no worse tech or asthetically wise than Mondeo or VE and other Jap/Korean cars of the time.
Easy to say in hindsight as to why the Falcon failed but the slide started way before the FG. No matter how good the FG was it was never going to save it. It is a bugger Ford flogged it for nearly ten years as the dinosaur perception is what has stuck in some people’s minds but I struggle to see what constitutes a dinosaur... Mondeo has be going on for just as long with **** poor sales to match.

[GO FURTHER]

I also disagree with the FG being in the worst category.
The FG ironed out most of the issues of the BA, BF series, and the final FG MKII’s and FG X are fairly solid and very reliable cars.

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

I also disagree with the FG being in the worst category.
The FG ironed out most of the issues of the BA, BF series, and the final FG MKII’s and FG X are fairly solid and very reliable cars.

Yeah- I met a guy who was management for a federal department responsible for automotive recalls. Chewing the fat with him- asked him what would he buy for a well sorted and reliable performance vehicle.

He replied a Turbo FG Mk11, said that by the Mk 11 it was a very good reliable car with most of the bugs and mechanical issues evolved out. Actually turned out he had one- and liked giving it the boot....

[mike_nofx]

AU Falcon is both. The best and worst Falcon ever made.
Worst styled falcon ever made, but best in every other way.

[Maka]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

AU Falcon is both. The best and worst Falcon ever made.
Worst styled falcon ever made, but best in every other way.

Not all of them were ugly, one model the S1 Forte & maybe the Futura shouldnt tar the whole range imo. Even then i would have one of each today np!

You are correct otherwise mike_nofx lol!

cheers, Maka

[Rob 351]

For me....

The best.
1. FG. Such a graceful design imo. And those engines... Awesome.
2. XW. Ph2 One of my all time faves.
3. XD. Even with leaf springs looks tough as nails with wide rubber.

The worst.
1. XF. Soft front end and no 8
2. EA. little rushed and once again no 8
3. ED. Just never liked the look of it.

[arronm]

Best was XA coupe
Worst, FGX, was a 2016 car made in 2008.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by arronm

Worst, FGX, was a 2016 car made in 2008.

This.
The F series were the best ever Falcons, but they were at least a decade too late.
When the 250 debuted it was needed, with tech of that era, to haul the bigger heavier Falcons, especially with slush-boxes. 40 years later it was a brilliant engine, but not what the market wanted. The FG should have been the size for the Fairlane, and maybe taxis. The Falcon needed to be lighter, and a heck of a lot greener, with maybe a 3.0l all-alloy version of the I6.
Ultimately I don't think anything would have saved the Falcon or our industry, there just wasn't any will. Ford didn't want to, and neither did the government.

[Geeseman]

Originally Posted by arronm

Best was XA coupe
Worst, FGX, was a 2016 car made in 2008.

True but the FGX is still the best one ford made.

Just not as good as the commodore. Still even at 2016 the commodore was dated somewhat as it was a 2013 build.

[Bushbasher]

Best -- AUII-III . Nearly everything was right and ahead of it's time.


Worst -- anything and everything from the 80's including the EA. By ED they were on the right track and it was better and better till BA. BA Drive trains were solid but seats were a step back and reliability began to suffer.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Best -- AUII-III . Nearly everything was right and ahead of it's time.

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

AU Falcon is both. The best and worst Falcon ever made.
Worst styled falcon ever made, but best in every other way.

Yeah, that's why it doesn't make it onto either of my lists.
The base-model series one is without doubt the ugliest thing FA ever
produced, and not just butt-ugly, but therefore undeservedly unpopular.
There were a few little niggles in the series one, brakes, and tie-rod ends, but the engine and tranny were bulletproof. By the series 3, they were a seriously good car.
I've still got an AU, precisely because I know it will run forever with minimal fuss, and I can fix anything myself.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Yeah, its a Sunday Night thread. Don't like it, don't post.

Please respect others personal opinions, that's all these are. There are no intrinsically right or wrong answers.

So these are my picks, please post your own.

1. XR
   I'm biased, I grew up riding in the back of an XR wagon.
   This was our first V8, the first GT, and first Bathurst win.
   Also the first high-roof PV.
   Ours was only a "Falcon 500" but it had a heater, push-button radio, and a super-pursuit 200. Compared to the Holdens of the day, it was a starship.
2. EL
   IMHO this remains one of the best looking Falcons of all time, including the XR6/8.
   Most of the e-series foibles had been ironed out, the engines were strong, including the recently reintroduced Windsor.
   With airbags, abs, etc, etc, they were very well equipped.
3. BA
   Twin-Cam engines standard across the range, Factory Turbo, IRS, and a spread of OHC V8s available across the whole range. Well equipe and updated interior. No wonder it won COTY in 2002, and for a time reeled in the Commode. My only criticisms are the bland styling, and the delayed 6spd trannies.

And for my not-so favourites:

1. EA
   The EA26 was behind schedule and still not ready when it went on sale. We finally got the OHC engine due two years previously, and it was a dog. Leaky and prone to head problems. Still had a 3sp, the front-end was atrocious, and the interior defined "cheap'n'nasty." It's only claim to fame was being better than the Frankensteinian Abomination that was the VN
2. XD
   I liked the XD, but lets be honest, it was an XA/B/C with a new body.
   If Holden hadn't made the monumentally stupid decision to replace the Kingswood with the Torana-sized Opel Commodore, the XD would have flopped badly. It still had leaf springs, 4sp manual, and carburettors. Plus their first attempt at an alloy head proved to be water-soluble.
3. FG
   Whilst it was of course the best ever Falcon produced to date, it was also a dinosaur. We can debate whether Ford had already made the decision to Kill off the Falcon and Australian Production. At the very least, the lack of a wagon, lack of LWB, lack of V8 options, plus the decision not to update the Territory to the new platform, all pointed to the beginning of the end.
   For 50 years the Falcon grew larger, heavier, more powerful, and thirstier, and with the FG they finally jumped the Shark.
   Then of course there was there was the whole dropping of the iconic Fairmont and Ghia badges. Might as well have been called the FU.
   Who knows if anything could have saved the Falcon or our Industry, but the FG certainly didn't help.

My mum had both the HR Holden 186 auto and the XR Falcon super pursuit auto. I liked the 3sp auto in the falcon better, but the 186 was quicker but the HR was a rust bucket.

XD Falcon Alloy head was much better than the iron head engine with better performance than they claim on paper, the heads were good but only fools buggered them up by not servicing them correctly as it is with all alloy engines.

I liked the VB Commodore better than the XD any day overall.
The VB was much better car to drive and to sit in and has better boot space.

Nothing wrong with the FG Falcons they are a bloody good car, but one has to service the bloody thing well and don't try to cut corners and do what has to be done, best to of got them rust proofed from new.

[roddy1960]

I like them all ..Every single one of them . All 3.5 million of them over 56 glorious years .

[DJR-351]

Easy....

Best....
Any XK to XC

Worst....
Any XD to FG X

[FairmontGS]

Best:
1. FG-X
2. FG II
3. FG
4. BF II
5. BF
6. BA II
etc.

Worst:
1. EA
2. EL
3. XF

[anobserver]

Best: low mileage, one owner, straight, original, scrupulously-maintained logbook cars I can afford and actually want to own.

Worst: anything else.

[wodahs]

Hmmm
hard to answer
as its falcons not fairlanes
and I do like my lux-barge's

[Sar4890]

I love them all from the moment i saw them from the first to last. My least favorites out of the run would be ED's and AU's and probably because their grill design let them down more than anything else.

[mr smith]

Best:
FG - Any turbo
XW GT - Toughest looker
BA/BF - Any FPV

Worst:
EA to AU - Nothing good came out of the 90s.

[arronm]

Agree BA BF FPV were awesome cars, thats why I own one of each.

I reckon EF was a good car.

[au350hp]

I have different lists for Falcons I have owned Vs Falcons I prefer the looks/performance of, if that makes sense. Regardless, there has always been 'something' about each new model that I have always loved, just some more than others. I think TE50 T3 is one of Ford's finest and when I have a Blueprint sedan in my garage, I can die a happy man.

[chrisandsharon]

The best - XD.....every year for as long I could remember we’d travel 3500km every school holidays at Christmas to visit mums family in Rocky. Awesome holidays but geez it was bloody hot. We did it in a corolla and a carona - one year the old man did it in his cooper S with me and my brother strapped in the back - thank Christ I can’t remember that. No freeways back then either, the trips were huge.
When he bought the XD it was the most awesome car on the planet. Heaps of room for me and the two brothers in the back, heaps of power and AIR-CON!

Next best - FG M11.......Geezuz Christ if only the old man had the F6 back then to overtake with

[boss351290]

I bought a EA Fairmont ghia brand new in November 1990. It was a great car and very very reliable. I know everybody bags them out but mine was great. I even stuck on a t04 Garrett turbo to smash the HSV boys to pieces. They didn’t like there clubsports being smashed by a 6 cylinder Fairmont ghia I’ll tell you that!!!

[boss351290]

See EA falcons weren’t that bad

[arronm]

Originally Posted by boss351290

See EA falcons weren’t that bad

Ask EA 6 cylinders owners about head gaskets.... Disaster...

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by arronm

Ask EA 6 cylinders owners about head gaskets.... Disaster...

Mine did it's first and only head gasket at 220,000kms. That's really not that bad.

[boss351290]

Originally Posted by arronm

Ask EA 6 cylinders owners about head gaskets.... Disaster...

I was a EA owner. For 7 years. Never had the head gasket issues. It only had a small leak of oil from the rear main. Everything else was really good. Even the tranny held up to the torque of the Garrett t04.

[BENT_8]

To answer the OP i guess it depends on how you determine what makes a vehicle stand out from the rest.
Whilst many people shun the XF, if you were to ask a taxi owner from that era they will tell you without hesitation that it was the most robust and reliable model until AU, but if having a V8 option determines a cars value its a non contender.
The AU is considered by many as an ugly duckling but if you had to put your life on the reliability of a car i'd put it at the front of the list so for me i've always put XF at the top of the list because it was light years ahead of its time when cars were still unpredictable.
I've never been interested in cylinder counts so no V8 isnt a concern for me.

The worst would have to be EA as it just wasnt worthy of being a successor to XF in any way.

XF, AU, every other model in no particular order and then EA.

[mick taylor]

Biggest rust buckets were the XA XB XC Falcons.

worst engines were the EA, I seen that many heads taken off them, it was a full time job at the dealership I worked at.

The best Falcons well there are many reasons such could be why.

Maybe one could say when they were new with a late XK that you had the big 170 engine in it, that could go down as boasting rights in the day for power.

Maybe the XP 200 Fairmont with 3 sp auto one could boast of when new.

The XR GT best Falcon ever at the time.

The XW with 351w not to mention the GT-HO etc.

Best Fairlane ZH

Best LTD P5

Best F100 1980 type with 5.8L

Best Cortina the 1974 2.0L performed well for such rubbish.

Best Escort RS2000