Ford's FPV Luxury Is Limited
Following Car Showroom's week behind the wheel of Fords' FPV F6 E we were left wondering why it has taken Ford's performance arm so long to develop a luxury vehicle.
For a first effort, the F6 E is a great job - and with the parent company ending Fairlane production, an opportunity would seem to exist for FPV to cater to those limousine drivers who aren't fans of Statesman, 300C, etc. The demand is there - for example one Blue Oval-loving limousine company owner in Melbourne is currently using a Territory Ghia for his airport transfers (not a bad idea actually).
What You Get
In a nutshell, this is a high-performance FPV Falcon-based sedan that caters to those who don't want all the bling … delete the stripes, wings, decals and black wheels, and replace them with leather, woodgrain and chrome. Really a revision of the seriously fast FPV G6E Turbo, the F6 E is priced at $79,740 and goes head-to-head with HSV's Senator.
It's a specialist niche and FPV says it will build an unspecified number of F6 Es according to demand. After our week in an F6 E, we reckon FPV has shown its capability in the 'luxo' field and deserves a chance to do something similar with other Ford vehicles.
Under The Hood
Ford's turbocharged DOHC 24-valve six cylinder is shared with the F6 sedan and ute. It's a missile with 310kW of power at 5,500 rpm and peak torque of 565Nm between 1,950 and 5,200 rpm.
Drive is to the rear wheels via the excellent ZF six-speed automatic transmission with Sequential Sports shift. This transmission features a 'cylinder cut' for changes at full throttle - which FPV says provides shorter, more refined shifts.
Fuel consumption is 12.l/100kms and the exhaust emissions are 289g/km.
Without a doubt Ford's in-line six is now one of the most developed engines in the automotive world and in FPV guise - with turbocharged induction - it actually outperforms the 5.4-litre V8.
Zero to 100km/h takes 5.4 seconds - that's only one tenth slower than HSV's V8-powered E-Series GTS model.
The Interior
One look inside and it's apparent the F6 E has gone on a completely different tack to the F6, GT, GT-P and GT-E models. This is FPV's first take on a luxury sports sedan and it's a commendable effort.
For starters the customary FPV sports seats are gone, replaced by full-size, thick, luxo seats trimmed in shadow grey Nudo leather with FPV logos embroidered in the headrests. They look the part, smell the part and are comfy.
The colour palette continues its dark theme with charcoal carpets and walnut woodgrain finishes for door trims and the dashboard.
As usual, there is the comprehensive FPV-logoed instrumentation and thick FPV leather-wrapped steering wheel with remote audio controls and Ford's best-in-the-business, easy to use cruise control buttons. The seats adjust eight ways electronically (including lumbar support) and combine with the steering wheel's rake and reach adjustment plus the memory adjustable pedals (non-slip alloy plates) to provide an excellent driving position.
Mounted high on the center console, Ford's Human Machine Interface (HMI) with Internal Command Centre (ICC) includes a seven-inch, high standard colour screen for the reversing camera and audio system. The latter is FPV's premium system - a six-CD in-dash number that's iPod, Bluetooth and MP3-compatible.
Exterior & Styling
FPV says the F6 E is subtler than the overtly raucous F6 and G6 E Turbo. That may be stretching things because while the F6 E isn't as 'in-your-face' as its stable mates, it ain't no shrinking violet.
The bold 19-inch five-spoke shadow chrome alloy wheels with highly visible race-bred cross-drilled and ventilated Brembo brakes sure let the world know this is a serious high performance sports sedan.
But we'll concede the small bootlid spoiler and 'banker's' exterior colours like Winter White and Steel are subtler than FPV's other offerings. The black-chrome front grilles and fog light bezels complete an overall exterior styling package that has been well thought out.
On The Road
No surprise here, after all the F6 is regarded as one of the best all-round high performance sedans made in Australia.
The F6 E uses the latest Sachs mono-shock dampers and rides on independent double wishbone front suspension with Ford's highly praised performance control independent rear.
Ride is still sporty and firm with significantly reduced body roll compared to standard Falcons. Turn-in is precise, mid-corner grip is excellent and the nicely-tuned ZF six-speed combines well with the turbocharged six-cylinder to provide good response to settle things mid-corner and handy acceleration on the exit.
We particularly liked the level of steering feel and feedback - many luxo-leaning sports sedans favour a power steering combo that is overly assisted, but we reckon FPV has got it right.
Challenges
Overall, FPV has done a commendable job with the F6 E. This is a vehicle for those who like high-performance sports sedans without the bling and loudness. But we'd like a little more refinement - for example the F6 E rides just a tad too hard over obstacles like Melbourne's tram and train track crossings and engine noise under hard acceleration is still a little raw for luxo buyers.
Verdict
Like HSV, the team at FPV is turning out world-standard cars and the F6 E is one of them. Clearly they have the capability and expertise to build the cars Australians love.
We'd sure like Mr Burela and the rest of the Ford management team to again offer a Ford luxury vehicle for the limousine market and in this model alone, FPV has clearly shown they're up for the fight.
The Competition
A niche sub-segment for sure, the luxury sports sedan market is very much the territory of the Europeans.
HSV's Statesman-based Grange is in the same league but its size makes it difficult to compare directly with the F6 E.
There is also HSV's Senator Signature, which is a tad more expensive and perhaps carries a bit too much bling for some F6 E buyers.
Chrysler's SRT8 300C model would also be worth a look.
Likes
Nicely styled inside and out; great drivetrain and handling
Dislikes
Ride and refinement levels a little too sporty for some.
