2002 Ford Falcon Forte AUIII Wagon from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Had a clicking in the steering which was rectified by the dealer.

Tailgate can be a bit hard to shut unless window or door open, due to the car being so air-tight. May get the catch adjusted on it's next service.

I got this car as a company vehicle. So far it has been in complete contrast in build quality, refinement and design to the VT Holden Commodore I had previously which had numerous problems and from what I hear are ongoing and getting worse. Far worse than my 1990 EA2 Falcon I use to own which served me very well for 6 years and had never missed a beat.

The wagon has a tendency to lean around corners due to the suspension set-up, but overall is one of the best riding cars I have ever driven and certainly the quietest. So far it has been almost faultless and when it goes in for it's

first service all I'll ask for is the tailgate catch to be adjusted. When I was getting the Commodore serviced I always had a long list of problems to be fixed. Everything about the Falcon's design has impressed me so far, from the interior layout, the transmission, the way the doors shut to even the way the fuel filler door is designed (this may sound silly, but when you have to open it as often as I do it does make a difference, compared to the ill fitting plastic thing on the VT). I had just missed out on getting a BA, but so far I'm very happy with my AUIII.

I agree with what you said about the AU having a good heart, but beware of the BA. I traded my AUII Forte on a BA XT and I am so far not happy with it. The AU, I believe has an unfair reputation due to styling, but I feel the AU was a better car. The BA I purchased is a 2004 model and there are noises from the front and rear suspensions, brake noise and engine rattles, this car has only done 55,000 ks! I only had the AU for 18 months and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope when I get these problems sorted out the BA will be as good.

I wrote this review. Just an update, due to more or less being forced out of my job position at that company, I had to give the Falcon back when it was 6 months old and had 10K's. From that point on it got passed around to many drivers and ended up being a poor abused shadow of what it was when I got it new. It had some minor dents. Someone must have tried to fix the tail gate; it closed OK, but instead of giving a 'click' when you pushed the button, it would make a very loud buzzing noise. Also, I heard there were problems with the air-con and the transmission. The rubbers around the tailgate were also knackered. Stone chips in the windscreen. I realise some of these are fair wear and tear, but was a real shame after I "babied" it while I had it.

Incidentally, I wasn't exactly truthful with the steering issue (rose tinted specs I guess from it being "my" first new car). The steering started knocking at 1500 k's. I was told by Ford it was normal (?) for this model to have bad ball joints due to not being greased in the factory. When I got the car back they said they had to replace the ball joints as they were stuffed (bear in mind I got this car with 112 k's). As I was driving away I noticed with some annoyance that the knocking was still there. I called them up and they didn't believe me so I had one of their head techs drive it with me and he noticed it straight away. They had it for another couple of days and managed to fix it. They were evasive when telling me what it actually was.

I ended up buying a Mazda 626. Terrific car. I know what you mean about the BA having problems. I've driven a few and most have had pretty serious issues. But when working right they are incredibly nice to drive (damn sight nicer than a Commodore).

We have one of the last AUIII's made.

To this day, it has not missed a beat.

The only thing that has happened is a blown indicator bulb and the air con button light :-)

A fantastic car the unbelievably does 5.8 l per 100 km at 110 kph on the highway!!