THE blistering XR6 Turbo might be earning all the praise, but it is the base XT that holds the key to the Ford FG Falcon’s success. The bread and butter model might be the cheapest in the range, kicking off at $36,490, but it is anything but a bare and basic fleet special. It now comes with a new five-speed automatic transmission, which, together with the range of other FG upgrades, makes the XT a well-specified large sedan. The engine has been upgraded, is smoother than ever before, is more powerful and its fuel economy gets awfully close to many four-cylinder cars. FG upgrades include the new double-wishbone suspension, revised steering rack and all-new cabin. But it’s not all roses because the FG XT looks very similar to the previous model - it even has the same wheel covers - and the full-size spare has been replaced by a space-saver.
THE BF MkII upgrade of October 2006 was essentially a styling exercise and a re-jigging of equipment levels. Holden had just introduced the bold new VE and Ford needed something fresh to show. It gave the Falcon range a facelift, modifying the headlights, bonnet and making more of a feature of the trapezoidal airdam at the front. What few people knew at the time was that this was actually a very strong pointer to the FG styling, which had already been locked in. Ford had previously upgraded the engines, with independent variable camshafts and fuel savings, and introduced the ZF six-speed automatic for the BF model of 2005. For the BF MK II it made no mechanical changes, but did increase the availability of ESC and the six-speed auto.
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