My new Toy! G6E Ecoboost!

**kypez** · 24-01-2013, 11:43 PM

Hi All,

So I bought myself a ex Demo G6E yesterday from Melbourne. Drove it back to Sydney since the deal I got on it was too good to refuse! I couldnt get even remotely close in Sydney.

Having never driven an Ecoboost, I bought the car unseen/undriven (I did get my mate to test drive and then buy a FG XR6 last year but the Ecoboost is another proposition altogether). I bought it knowing that I wanted a cheaper run about car (my XR8 is now using 21 litre/100 since cammed) and the reviews seem to say its good. Also my little sister will be using it a lot and she has a lead foot so I figured I'd get her something less powerful (how wrong was I about the power being less I only realised after I bought it!). So after 2 days of owning the car, I can say its not merely good, its GREAT! The handling is great, the power is fantastic and the fuel usage (sat at 7lt/100 on the drive back and is at 9.5 around the city today!) is amazingly good! I made it home on a single tank from Melbourne! Very happy about that! Its like I'm floating on air in this car! And the cabin is very quiet, almost a little too quiet!

The fit and finish of this car is so far ahead of my beloved BA, its chalk and cheese to be honest! Ford have really put a lot of effort into this product and it shows! Its got to be the best build quality Ford have ever produced!

What filled my mind and made me post this is that while I was loving the drive home and was full of praise and admiration for this car,it was the thought that people arent buying this car! It boggles the mind! The BA sold around 70,000 units and it was no way near as good as this car! Its such a shame!

I never in my life thought I'd be singing the praise of a 4 cylinder car but this car deserves ever bit of praise it gets! It even chirped the wheels when I planted my foot down which I thought was pretty cute! Its no slug and overtaking was fantastic with the torque on tap!

If I have to criticise anything, it might be that fraction of turbo lag to get off the line and that the auto tends to get to second gear very quickly but this isnt a performance car and I have no issue with this (like I said, if I have to, this would be it)! The other thing I found useless on the car was the Distance to Destination function that had to be manually entered. I cant see the point of this given that is abundantly clear on the Sat Nav (which is also a little clumsy at first and isnt that intuitive when compare to other Sat Nav's I've used).

All in all, I've very happy of my decision to buy this car and plan on keeping it for many years to come! Its such a shame that more people dont at least take one for a spin when considering a new car! The FG is not like Falcons of years gone past (even the BA was not as tight new as this car!)!!

I will end that the new naming has influenced my decision to buy the car as well. When I bought my XR8, it was my 20th Birthday present to myself. Fast forward to now and for my 30th Birthday I bought myself the G6E. Had it still been called Fairmont Ghia I probably wouldnt have bought this car as I always had an association that Fairmont was an Old man's car (not trying to offend anyone, just what I thought!). Always thought the S Pack and later the XR series was for younger people and the Fairmont was for older people. G6E however, really doesnt give me that vibe and feels sporty and refined rather than old and boring. So Chalk one up for Ford's marketing and decision making working!

Go check out the Ecoboost, I think most will be pleasantly surprised, especially the i6 brigade!

Cheers,

Kypez!

Edit: I'll post pics up tomorrow but it really is a stock standard G6E in Smoke.

Vincenzo · 24-01-2013, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kypez

Hi All,

So after 2 days of owning the car, I can say its not merely good, its GREAT! The handling is great.

Interesting, first person I have read to openly talk about ownership. If it fit all your criteria, go for it. I would like to hear either monthly or three monthly reports about how it goes but more importantly what family and friends have to say. Maybe get them to go for a drive with you and when you get back then tell them it's a 4 pot. Enjoy

Cheers Vincenzo

mik · 25-01-2013, 12:14 AM

good write up mate ! yes it`s a shame more people have`nt even slid in behind the wheel to even try it out, no doubt they would have more sales if they did..

Buntz · 25-01-2013, 12:25 AM

Thanks for that mate. It's nice to see a Ford customer happy with their purchase. And the more people like you who have bought EcoBoost Falcon talk about how great they actually are... the better.

And also your criticisms help Ford as they monitor this site, and according to what you've said... their isn't much that's not to like.

**Luke Plaizier** · 25-01-2013, 07:40 AM

Back in the days immediately after the GFC, I remember getting the impression that Ford were undergoing a product-led recovery, and that GM were undergoing a marketting-led recovery. The VE has become the most winningest car in V8 supercars because, well, it was around for such a long long time.

The Ecoboost and Diesel Territory were Ford's product push in Australia, and at the time I thought that we'd see better days when it came to sales. But I also saw the Ecoboost campaign in the US, and I have to say, it put a lot of effort into convincing punters of the merits of Ecoboost. Durability testing, power comparisons, etc.

So yes, while we have had a product-led recovery of some sorts with Ford, versus a marketting approach with GM, which approach do you think has turned out to be the better of the two?

Lukeyson

Rodge · 25-01-2013, 08:39 AM

Congrats on your new Ecoboost and thanks for the good write-up. Very under-rated car in my opinion.

2011G6E · 25-01-2013, 08:42 AM

Good to hear!
I think it's clever marketing not to mention the number of cylinders openly. The few adverts I have seen concentrate on fuel savings...but for Queensland they should have also mentioned the big rego cost savings as well.

People still have this stigma of large cars with four cylinder engines...but let's face it people, it's not like the bad old days of the Commodore Four. I mean, I owned a 1980 VC Commodore Four SL (automatic, yet), and it was a nicely balanced, economical car that was cheap to run...but was fairly slow. It was about as quick as my mates 2 liter Cortinas, but it was an "idea whose time hadn't come"...it only had a 60-odd kw four cylinder engine, which was quite normal back then for a four. I often dreamed of fitting a turbo.

Ford toyed with the idea of putting the two liter SOHC from the Cortina into the XD, but dropped the idea after seeing the reception the Commodore 4 got...

davenl5l · 25-01-2013, 09:09 AM

if i was in the position to buy it would be my choice

chookaradley · 25-01-2013, 09:38 AM

Can I ask what sort of deal you got?. Be interesting to hear what sort of price these can be had for. Might convince a few more people that they are within their price range

big_landau · 25-01-2013, 09:38 AM

good on ya,hope you enjoy it

ryeman · 25-01-2013, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big_landau

good on ya,hope you enjoy it

The trouble is with thos (among us?) that denigrate the efficient 4cyl as a 'bus box...

jmac · 25-01-2013, 10:11 AM

Awesome write up. It's just another option. Great to know about the real world economy.. That's better than 80 percent of the competitors.

Still... Waiting for bogan backlash...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

johnsmith · 25-01-2013, 10:30 AM

Great write-up Kypez, might be a silly question, but how does the performance of your ecoboost compare to your BA XR8?

Agile · 25-01-2013, 11:37 AM

Good feedback. Reckon the Ecoboost would be the car of choice if we were in the market for a large family sedan. My brother in law gets worse fuel consumption out of his Honda Accord Euro. Interesting to see your thoughts over the next 12 months
Forget about comparing with the XR8, a bit pointless I would have thought.

**kypez** · 25-01-2013, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

Interesting, first person I have read to openly talk about ownership. If it fit all your criteria, go for it. I would like to hear either monthly or three monthly reports about how it goes but more importantly what family and friends have to say. Maybe get them to go for a drive with you and when you get back then tell them it's a 4 pot. Enjoy

Cheers Vincenzo

I intend on doing just that! Anyone who thinks the 4 cylinder dont doest cut the mustard in this car has never driven one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

good write up mate ! yes it`s a shame more people have`nt even slid in behind the wheel to even try it out, no doubt they would have more sales if they did..

It really is a shame! Breaks my heart given how well this car has been put together. Its not an E series with blowing headgaskets!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buntz

Thanks for that mate. It's nice to see a Ford customer happy with their purchase. And the more people like you who have bought EcoBoost Falcon talk about how great they actually are... the better.

And also your criticisms help Ford as they monitor this site, and according to what you've said... their isn't much that's not to like.

More than happy with the car so far. It has 6000kms on it after the drive up and I remember my BA has a few noises coming up by then but this is whisper quiet!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Back in the days immediately after the GFC, I remember getting the impression that Ford were undergoing a product-led recovery, and that GM were undergoing a marketting-led recovery. The VE has become the most winningest car in V8 supercars because, well, it was around for such a long long time.

The Ecoboost and Diesel Territory were Ford's product push in Australia, and at the time I thought that we'd see better days when it came to sales. But I also saw the Ecoboost campaign in the US, and I have to say, it put a lot of effort into convincing punters of the merits of Ecoboost. Durability testing, power comparisons, etc.

So yes, while we have had a product-led recovery of some sorts with Ford, versus a marketting approach with GM, which approach do you think has turned out to be the better of the two?

Lukeyson

Its really sad that a marketing campaign can out do a better product. I also think that just marketing without a good product will fail. As has a Great product without marketing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodge

Congrats on your new Ecoboost and thanks for the good write-up. Very under-rated car in my opinion.

Extremely underrated! I never though I would have used the words "loving" and "4 cylinder" in the same sentence!

Quote:

Originally Posted by chookaradley

Can I ask what sort of deal you got?. Be interesting to hear what sort of price these can be had for. Might convince a few more people that they are within their price range

PM sent mate

Quote:

Originally Posted by big_landau

good on ya,hope you enjoy it

Loving it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmac

Awesome write up. It's just another option. Great to know about the real world economy.. That's better than 80 percent of the competitors.

Still... Waiting for bogan backlash...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

The fuel economy has been the real eye opener. Its amazing that while its not sacrificing any performance, its still delivering great fuel efficiency. Turns out I can have my cake and eat it too!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsmith

Great write-up Kypez, might be a silly question, but how does the performance of your ecoboost compare to your BA XR8?

Totally different car. But even with all my suspension mods (coilovers, bigger sway bars, etc) the nose of the FG is so much lighter and easier to turn (weight of the Boss has never been more apparent to me!). There is more body roll in the FG as it isnt modified like my car but its still acceptable. Doesnt feel as soft as my mates Camry but it is still very smooth. Straight line power is an unfair game given my car is putting out almost 270rwkw but the Ecoboost has enough to push you back in your seat and chirp the tyres off the line (as mentioned in the first post)!

Where the FG kills the BA is the interior! No contest! The boot is also bigger. The interesting thing though is that in the BA when I had my seat all the way back its too far for me to reach the pedals comfortably but in the FG I have my seat all the way back and its fine (though I have no clutch pedal to deal with in the FG, I'm 6'2" btw). Seating height is a little high in the FG and wish it was a little lower (again, clutching at straws to complain here!)

ryeman · 25-01-2013, 11:52 AM

The sad fact is that they ARE heavily discounting and you know what that means this far out from the update.....yanks!
Laugh or cry?

**kypez** · 25-01-2013, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeman

The sad fact is that they ARE heavily discounting and you know what that means this far out from the update.....yanks!
Laugh or cry?

Its funny you mention that cause I couldnt find a deal remotely as good (at least $5k to $10k more) for the 6 cylinder engines. Guess its ok to discount the "new" product to get people looking at it and business through the door. (i say "new" because its already 12 months old!)

And I didnt bargain with the dealer. Took their first offer cause it was so cheap! I just didnt have the heart to ask for more off! I felt a little sad for Ford selling it so cheap. Actually ended up paying a little extra than what they had said cause I stuffed up the bank cheque (I misread the amounts). told them to keep it anyway!

ryeman · 25-01-2013, 12:06 PM

Ah, that's the reason.
They couldn't advertise it as current year.

**kypez** · 25-01-2013, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeman

Ah, that's the reason.
They couldn't advertise it as current year.

I meant the product is 12 months old. The Ecoboost was launched 12 months ago. But yes, my car is a 2012 plate.

superfly · 25-01-2013, 03:20 PM

Congrats mate! I haven't driven one as yet but I'm a big fan of 4cyl turbo cars. I definitely would've bought one if it had been available when I bought my XR50.

mike_nofx · 25-01-2013, 03:27 PM

What build number did you get? 1,2 or 3?

Jokes!

Seriously now, congratulations, and I do look forward to hearing more reports on how it's all going once it has a few km under its belt!

SteveJH · 25-01-2013, 09:39 PM

I briefly looked at a G6 Limited Edition Ecoboost at a Ford dealer the other week.

If the info out on the internet is to be believed, its disappointing that it hasnt really been "discovered" by the market yet.

Most of the problems with the current Falcon relate to its size. I pointed to an FG XR6 the other day to a friend and said I was looking at "one of those", the response was "thats huge!!".

Zedjay · 25-01-2013, 10:47 PM

I'd love to know what you payed for it .....I thought about. Getting a 4 cyl falcon but the price I was being quoted was way to high to justify getting one....I ended up buying a Turbo diesel pajero (wife's family taxi) instead and I gotta say I love the fuel economy of it..
I reckon peopleare buyingcars like the pajero now because of the value for money you get!

ryeman · 25-01-2013, 11:32 PM

Once they get used to the higher position, women in particular don't want to go back I recon.

FalconXV · 26-01-2013, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeman

Once they get used to the higher position, women in particular don't want to go back I recon.

Not in my experience...

RAPID_BA · 26-01-2013, 12:30 AM

They are supposed to be pretty much on par with the i6 performance wise so nothing wrong there.

Wish I could buy a car for my birthday

V8 6I · 26-01-2013, 01:04 AM

Great write up but you didnt mention what it feels like when the enviroment gives you a hug each time you start the car.

ryeman · 26-01-2013, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V8 6I

Great write up but you didnt mention what it feels like when the enviroment gives you a hug each time you start the car.

No, but he will be able to overtake 'round the outside.......

chevypower · 26-01-2013, 09:11 AM

I rented an Escape (Kuga) with the same engine a couple of weeks ago. My goodness, that thing was fast! 0-100 km/h in around 6 seconds. Not bad for a girly small SUV. Fuel economy was excellent, I averaged around 21mpg driving in that awful Los Angeles traffic (for the whole trip). I didn't specifically measure the highway component, but easily over 30 mpg (possibly significantly better).

ryeman · 26-01-2013, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevypower

I rented an Escape (Kuga) with the same engine a couple of weeks ago. My goodness, that thing was fast! 0-100 km/h in around 6 seconds. Not bad for a girly small SUV. Fuel economy was excellent, I averaged around 21mpg driving in that awful Los Angeles traffic (for the whole trip). I didn't specifically measure the highway component, but easily over 30 mpg (possibly significantly better).

If only it was engineered here!