At this stage I am not in the position to comment on the reliability, all I can say is I hope it is more reliable than my previous BA, not that anything major was wrong with it, it was the little things that added up to start annoying me.
No problems have been encountered as yet, probably because it is still being run in, the only thing, and it's minor, is the suspension thumps when rising oven a speed bump or through a dip in the road. It also does this when the car comes to a stop.
Should any major reliability or mechanical problems arise they will be posted here.
This is the new BF series, apart from engine modifications (e.g. 182kw to 190kw) not much is different. Little things like the knee level air vents are gone, the cover for the cup holders is gone and the electronically adjustable pedals from the BA2 were taken away. These are small things that don't really matter, it's the new driving experience that counts. Even though the Futura still has the "old style" transmission shifter, the gear changes are smoother. The engine is a lot quieter, at traffic lights, you can't hear it.
The power available to you is great, it just takes off and the engine starts to get angry and lets off a great sound.
The updates to the front of the car look good, but the rear is in need of a change (it's a wagon) the tail lights have been around since 2000.
The car turns on a 5 cent coin, it feels safe and secure on the road. Haven't required the traction control to intervene yet.
The interior is large and comfortable, the seats feel new and different to the BA, you could travel all day in the car.
The Automatic Headlights are convenient they come on when the car senses it's dark enough. I just don't want them to flicker on and off when driving through tunnels and under bridges.
Now up to 6000km, only problem we've had is the handbrake needed tightening. It is still early days yet, but the car will be doing 35000km a year so we'll see how it holds up.
I feel so sorry for you. You'd think that you would steer clear of Falcons after you see all the half fallen apart ones in used car yards. But no, you have succumbed to Ford's advertising and the need to have the latest Aussie car.
I can't believe that after owning a BA you would come back for seconds. It's like a Commodore VT owner buying another VT. People like that must have rockies in their head. Good luck is all I can say, Japanese cars all the way...
Actually the Falcon has been very good, the old BA was replaced at 115,000km with a few problems along the way, but thank you for feeling sorry for me, I should have mentioned that both cars company paid for vehicles, while we wouldn't spend our own money on one it is still a very nice car.
I will take the opportunity to say though that with a job change next week the BF will be handed back in with 12,000 fairly happy kilometres. It will hopefully be replaced with a personally purchased 2006 Turbo-Diesel Nissan Pathfinder.
After covering more than 200,000 kms in a Fairmont Ghia without any major reliability problems, in a very comfortable interior, loaded with 4 adults and max luggage on many occassions I must say this..
Find another car that will cover this distance without major repairs, not a single breakdown (except once for a dead battery) where parts are cheaper than others, easy to get, all mechanics know fords pretty well and handle dirt and poor roads with complete comfort...
For the purpose of a FAMILY car affordable by all... Falcons are unbeatable.
Speaking from experience.
After having an ED Falcon bought second hand in 2000 and doing from odometer 52 to 100k on it, I would completely agree with the Fairmont Ghia owner... for a big country with real distances and living in a state that's way bigger than Texas, Falcons are unbeatable here.
For highway cruising and comfort on a real person's budget, nothing comes close. To do it more cheaply than a Japanese micro car, use the LPG option. Parts are cheaper than any other car.
Through work I have sampled many Commodores and Falcons VT on and BA on and the Ford seems to be set up more for comfort and ride, the Holden to fang young blokes around corners in cities at relatively low speeds... know which I prefer.
As for going Japanese, we did after the Falcon, and I am just hanging to get back to the Ford. The quality is good on the Japanese cars, but neither the ED or its replacement had anything go wrong in our time with them. After that it comes back to a size you are comfortable with.
I laugh at the comments about the reliability of Fords. To date I know of no worse example of Aussie patriotism than Ford and Holden. If it weren't for them being the only affordable large RWD cars in Australia noone would buy them. People have wised up and are buying up corollas for a reason. Good resale, cheap to buy, economical.
In California one of the most popular cars are the Civic CNG. It runs on compressed natural gas, is super efficient compared to anything else on CNG is reliable, and has great resale. IT is also like a civic to drive and unlike other CNG cars has good acceleration. Time to take a note out of Japan's book and build our cars with some pride in engineering before we lose the domestic market. At least Ford is making LPG affordable as a free option with new cars. Great incentive, but if I have another Ford fall apart around me such as a AU falcon that had a faulty bonnet release, fuel pump and handbrake, all fail on the one trip a 2001 model ute, that belonged to my father then I would go mental, and pour petrol over it and light it.
Who really cares what they drive in California? We are talking about cars built for and used in Australian conditions. Just one question for the original poster; have you had any towing experience with this car?
HA Corolla, try putting 2 kids, prams, a dog, toys and clothes into a small wagon, and then drive from Adelaide to Brisbane. My AUII Fairmont V8 wagon did this trip with ease.
We have done 150000 kms from new and this is the best car I have owned by far. We are about to trade in our smaller Lancer wagon for a BF Futura and I can't wait. The Lancer is starting to struggle and bits are going wrong after only 70000 kms of soft city driving only.
Give me a car that's designed in Australia for Australian conditions.
To suggest that Falcons and Commodores are the only passenger cars capable of dealing with long distances in "Australian conditions" is ridiculous. I took 2009 off work to do some camping trips to various parts of Australia in my '99 Camry V6 wagon. It's crossed the country six times and done numerous other long distance trips besides, including a lot of gravel roads. It's now done 260,000 km and I've never had a single problem with it. It's not quite as big as a Falcon, but it still seats four tall adults comfortably with plenty of room for cargo. They are also common enough for most mechanics to know how to fix them if ever anything did go wrong.
I'm not saying that Falcons are bad cars - far from it (my mum drives a '99 AU Falcon wagon that's only had a couple of minor electrical issues in it's 240,000 km) - but if you think Falcons and Commodores are the only cars capable of traveling long distances on rough roads without falling apart, then you've obviously never driven or considered anything else.
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