Alternative to FG XR6 (No Holdens) That I Should Consider [up tp 40K]

[JTFG]

I don't know much about it but what about that Kia Optima???

[Airmon]

6 Cylinder Liberty Spec-B. Great looking car, great features, currently very well priced, 6 speed manual is fantastic, handles great, engine is quite powerful for the cars size and comes with all the fruit, not bad on fuel either. AWD, bit expensive on the service front but would be no worse then say a Honda Euro.

The 5 speed auto is not bad but wouldn't be my choice as its either too lazy or too jumpy, comes with paddles though if thats your thing. And be careful with crankcase seals going as its a large job to replace. And dont expect to get much out of modifying it as its almost at the end of its tether as it is.

Plenty of others out there but thats the only one I've had experience with.

[stang65]

He has a point, he is wise factory LPG car will probably have better resale also.

[Josh_XC]

Have you had a look at the Kia Optima. I know kia but have a look at the car, has more standard equipment than any ford/holden and for sub 40k. This will be my next sensible new car.

[duaned]

Originally Posted by Josh_XC

Have you had a look at the Kia Optima. I know kia but have a look at the car, has more standard equipment than any ford/holden and for sub 40k. This will be my next sensible new car.

Problem is it is missing 2 pots or a hairdryer.

[TUF_302]

What about a Focus XR5?? FWD yes, but so much fun!! or cant you use them on p's in your state??

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by duaned

Problem is it is missing 2 pots or a hairdryer.

He is on his P's so Turbo is out.

[jimmyxr6t04]

Do you have a 40k budget in cash? or a 40k budget on credit? Borrow 40k, and you'll owe close to 50k, with repayments at nearly $1000 per month depending on interest rate.

Seriously, if you have 40k cash, buy a decent reliable car and put the rest on a deposit for a house. In 5 years time you'll be laughing. If you are planning to finance the 40k, then buy something cheaper.

You can get great cars these days for sub 20k... I will never ever admit this to my old man, but bugger me i wish i had spent my hard earned on a house earlier! Instead, i bought brand new BA XR6T... Sure, i had fun, but in hindsight i'd be a lot more wealthy if i put the money on a house first! In fact, i could probably have bought 3 new XR6Ts with the money i would have made!!

Just as an example, i bought a house in December 2008, not even 3 years later it's worth 80k more at a minimum... Imagine if i had put my money into property back in 2004...

Don't mean to be a negative nancy, but just speaking from experience.. unfortunately, i am like many on this forum. I will always enjoy driving a nice car. But sometimes it's worth a short term sacrifice for a long term gain..

You can pick up low km BFs cheap as these days...

[krzysiek]

hey guys & Jimmy,

I understand where you are coming from! Don't have 40K to put down, probably around 15ish realistically, with the rest on finance. I know what you mean about the repayments though! I would be trying to pay it off as soon as possible. I earn a reasonable $600-$1000 per week right now with my income, and with little expenses, so I would be trying to dump all of that right back into the car repayments if possible.

Have had a good look at a lot of the options here (even Kia Optima) but none have really sat well with me.

I had a look at the Golf diesel turbos on the weekend. Seem ok, but interior isn't for me, definitely liking the extra room a sedan has to offer.

Sat in a VE II SV6 and I do like the interior. A few small dislikes but over all quite happy and I would place the interior of the SV6 on par if not a touch better than the FG XR6, but perhaps the FG II or FH or whatever it will be called might bring some more to the table (considering I am comparing to a second generation VE) but I still do over all like it. Plus the factory gas with no compromise over performance gets me forgetting about any interior differences quite quickly. Will need to drive the SV6 though to make a final judgement, but that is more for the sake of driving it, just *in case* it turns out to be absolutely awesome compared to the XR6, which I don't think will be the case.

[kpcart]

smart decision to not overlook the holdens, the SIDI version of the 3.6 engine is impressive, 210kw under 10l economy, plus add the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

[jimmyxr6t04]

Originally Posted by krzysiek

hey guys & Jimmy,

I understand where you are coming from! Don't have 40K to put down, probably around 15ish realistically, with the rest on finance. I know what you mean about the repayments though! I would be trying to pay it off as soon as possible. I earn a reasonable $600-$1000 per week right now with my income, and with little expenses, so I would be trying to dump all of that right back into the car repayments if possible.

Have had a good look at a lot of the options here (even Kia Optima) but none have really sat well with me.

I had a look at the Golf diesel turbos on the weekend. Seem ok, but interior isn't for me, definitely liking the extra room a sedan has to offer.

Sat in a VE II SV6 and I do like the interior. A few small dislikes but over all quite happy and I would place the interior of the SV6 on par if not a touch better than the FG XR6, but perhaps the FG II or FH or whatever it will be called might bring some more to the table (considering I am comparing to a second generation VE) but I still do over all like it. Plus the factory gas with no compromise over performance gets me forgetting about any interior differences quite quickly. Will need to drive the SV6 though to make a final judgement, but that is more for the sake of driving it, just *in case* it turns out to be absolutely awesome compared to the XR6, which I don't think will be the case.

Trust me when i say that i know how you feel about the want of buying a nice new car... Been there, and i still have the 'bug'... However, with little overheads, if i was you i'd be buying a reliable car for maybe 10-15k. If you want something with a little more go, look at a 5.4L 3V falcon (can you drive them on Ps??). I've seen a few with relatively low kms for 10-15k. You could whack a cat back exhaust on it and have a bit of fun plus keep debt free.

Then with the extra funds you have coming in, put a deposit on a house or a unit. Rent it out, keep living at home on the cheap. With the rent you'll barely have to dip into your money to service the mortgage. In 2 or 3 years time you'll be so far ahead, off your P plates and you will be able to buy just about any car you want!

Put it this way, in 2 or 3 years when you can drive what you want, you'll be lucky to get 20k for a car if you spend 40k now... You then need to dip into your pocket again to get the 'real' car you want.

[EgoFG]

Originally Posted by kpcart

smart decision to not overlook the holdens, the SIDI version of the 3.6 engine is impressive, 210kw under 10l economy, plus add the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

I agree with KPKart, but add this - if the Holden in any way turns out to be a better purchase - defer your decision, or adjust the criterion.

[anto]

Originally Posted by kpcart

smart decision to not overlook the holdens, the SIDI version of the 3.6 engine is impressive, 210kw under 10l economy, plus add the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

LOL, wow what a surprise seeing you pushing the Commo in another thread. Why are you on a ford forum ?
great , impressive. ???..are you part of the GM marketing team.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by jimmyxr6t04

Trust me when i say that i know how you feel about the want of buying a nice new car... Been there, and i still have the 'bug'... However, with little overheads, if i was you i'd be buying a reliable car for maybe 10-15k. If you want something with a little more go, look at a 5.4L 3V falcon (can you drive them on Ps??). I've seen a few with relatively low kms for 10-15k. You could whack a cat back exhaust on it and have a bit of fun plus keep debt free.

Then with the extra funds you have coming in, put a deposit on a house or a unit. Rent it out, keep living at home on the cheap. With the rent you'll barely have to dip into your money to service the mortgage. In 2 or 3 years time you'll be so far ahead, off your P plates and you will be able to buy just about any car you want!

Put it this way, in 2 or 3 years when you can drive what you want, you'll be lucky to get 20k for a car if you spend 40k now... You then need to dip into your pocket again to get the 'real' car you want.

Listen to this post. It's spot on.
I bought a new car on my P's I wanted at the time.
As soon as I got off my P's I regretted it majorly.
Now I am off my P's I want a nice V8. But I feel like I am wasting to much money trading in my current car.
Buy a cheaper car now. Trust me! I wish I waited.

I know have about 30k in my saving, plus the trade in value of my current car. I could afford to buy the V8 I want with that, But I really should put it on a house deposit though.
I wish I waited because then I would now have the V8 I wanted and a House deposit. ****. Now I am ****ed off thinking about it.

[XESP351]

Originally Posted by jimmyxr6t04

Trust me when i say that i know how you feel about the want of buying a nice new car... Been there, and i still have the 'bug'... However, with little overheads, if i was you i'd be buying a reliable car for maybe 10-15k. If you want something with a little more go, look at a 5.4L 3V falcon (can you drive them on Ps??). I've seen a few with relatively low kms for 10-15k. You could whack a cat back exhaust on it and have a bit of fun plus keep debt free.

Then with the extra funds you have coming in, put a deposit on a house or a unit. Rent it out, keep living at home on the cheap. With the rent you'll barely have to dip into your money to service the mortgage. In 2 or 3 years time you'll be so far ahead, off your P plates and you will be able to buy just about any car you want!

Put it this way, in 2 or 3 years when you can drive what you want, you'll be lucky to get 20k for a car if you spend 40k now... You then need to dip into your pocket again to get the 'real' car you want.

THIS.

To the OP, it's the right thing to do.

But then I wouldn't blame you if you don't do it, when i was on my P's i wouldn't have done this either.

In 2-3 years time you will thank yourself if you do the above.

[krzysiek]

Reading the above posts (XES, Ben & jimmy) they all make complete sense. I'm actually giving it some thought, but it just seems so hard to make that type of choice/justification right now... but I can see how it would help me a lot in a few years time. My BA XT isn't dead yet, I just reallllllllllllly want a nice, great looking and performing car but that's probably really silly of me considering the helpful opinions above about just putting a deposit down for a house. Hmm, decisions, decisions!

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by kpcart

smart decision to not overlook the holdens, the SIDI version of the 3.6 engine is impressive, 210kw under 10l economy, plus add the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

[Smoke Pursuit]

The SV6 is actually a better car then some here would like to admit..

On paper alone its better then the XR6 now.. Id probably buy one if I was comparing it to an XR6 atm... especially in the ute guise, its a better looking machine.

[stang65]

Thats an opinion, as I`m sure some would differ. i think the xr6 looks ,handles goes better and than the sv6...You seriously cant tell me the holden v6 is a better engine than the Falcon i6

[drew`SEVNT5]

Originally Posted by stang65

Thats an opinion, as I`m sure some would differ. i think the xr6 looks ,handles goes better and than the sv6...You seriously cant tell me the holden v6 is a better engine than the Falcon i6

Ill differ to you. 210kw SIDI is a good engine, and I dont think the following, i know: VE2 feels better on the road than XR6, and goes every bit as hard, and comes with a better level of standard options... And looks better to boot...

[4.0i OHC]

You could probably buy something like this as an alternative to the XR6:

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/dealer/details.aspx?trecs=254&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAl l&Cr=4&__Ns=pCar_Odometer_Single|0||pCar_RankSort_ Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0&R=10803675&seot= 1&__Ntt=ghia&silo=1011&__sid=130D34E6BA7F&keywords =ghia%20BFII&__D=ghia&SearchAction=N&__N=1216%2012 46%201247%201252%201282%204294966463%204294966280& __Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&__Qpb=1&__Nne=15&__Dx =mode%20matchany

[4.0i OHC]

Originally Posted by kpcart

the SIDI version of the 3.6 engine is impressive.

Originally Posted by kpcart

the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

Any sources?

[Express]

Originally Posted by kpcart

, plus add the great holden chassis (that was benchmark developed against a 5 series bmw and proved to be better).

I’ve owned 4 VE Commodores and a number of new Euro’s.

I had to go change my underwear I laughed so hard.

[EgoFG]

Does anyone have torque vss RPM charts for i6 Falc, 3.6Commo and Aurion (and anything else about that size)
Acceleration times would also be interesting

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by krzysiek

Reading the above posts (XES, Ben & jimmy) they all make complete sense. I'm actually giving it some thought, but it just seems so hard to make that type of choice/justification right now... but I can see how it would help me a lot in a few years time. My BA XT isn't dead yet, I just reallllllllllllly want a nice, great looking and performing car but that's probably really silly of me considering the helpful opinions above about just putting a deposit down for a house. Hmm, decisions, decisions!

I'm in 2 minds about it as well.

Every time I see the car I want stop next to me at the lights I can't stop looking at it. I just want to own one and drive it everyday because I know it would make me happy

But then when I see a house for sale that I could afford, I never get up any emotion about it. It doesn't make me happy. All I think is "Yeah I probably should buy that house"

So from day to day I alternate between wanting to spending some of my money on the car I really like, or putting my money on a house deposit.
Today I am in that car mood.

[R1XSTA]

Originally Posted by stang65

Thats an opinion, as I`m sure some would differ. i think the xr6 looks ,handles goes better and than the sv6..You seriously cant tell me the holden v6 is a better engine than the Falcon i6

When you buy a car, you don't judge it just on how the engine performs and well, if you do. You should not by a car.

Would you buy a H3 Hummer if it had the I6 in it? It makes no difference. The comparison's on here are for overall cars personality

Looks, Drive, Feel, Space, Reliability, Day to Day level.

the VE looks good, Drives ok, Feels ok, has a bucket load of space, is semi reliable, its only fault is that during day to day driving it has MULTIPLE blind spots all over it (same as the FG)

[Dave R]

I bet most people commenting haven't even driven a VEII SV6, they just go with the general consensus that SIDI is crap and Commodores aren't anything special. In the real world, there's not much in it. The 3.6 SIDI is a competent motor, end of story. It's faster in a straight line than the XR6, what does that tell you? The SV6 is a better handler, it has an LSD option, it's better equipped, it has more space - the list goes on. I don't understand why people write it off so quickly; yes this is a Ford forum but why are some people so one-eyed?

[R1XSTA]

Originally Posted by Adrenaline

I don't understand why people write it off so quickly; yes this is a Ford forum but why are some people so one-eyed?

It comes down to the fact that MOST base their opinion on "try one, tried them all." They've driven the VE1 SV6 and wrote that off, and think that the improvements wont be made on the VE2 ..

[gtfpv]

well , when i buy a car , i go look and then decide , not once have i said to myself , i wish i test drove or looked at something else . so i guess you buy what you like .
to the op . there are some wise posts here on what you should do , and it is hard not to agree with them when it comes to a dep on a house . however if we all dont this , the car industry would be dead , and nobody would ever want a new car . this is the reason i said in an earlier post . it is only a good idea if you keep it for 10 years atleast . if you need to kill the bug now , dont scratch that itch in the future ,
if you take the other option m in 3 years time you'll still want to scratch the itch and it will still cost you 40k that you dont have a cent to put towards it , and you'll have to borrow the full amount , then it will still cost your hard earned over 10 to 20 years .
you have 2 choices , scratch the itch now and borrow 20-25 , then pay it off as quick as you can , then borrow and rent out a unit .
or , buy a 20k car now , and buy that unit/house as well . you may infact end up wanting a brand new car still in 3 years though .
it's not all bad what you decide , but the future 10 years will be where you save either way . remember what you get today , you will have to go with out later either way .
obviously it's best to drive a 3k rocket all your life , and many do this . the problem is , sometimes if you go without , you may never have .

[stevz]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

Does anyone have torque vss RPM charts for i6 Falc, 3.6Commo and Aurion

Who the hell looks at torque vs rpm charts when buying a new car?