Falcon more Boofy than Commodore

[munners]

Another piece of journalistic brilliance

Fram cars guide.....

Falcon, Commodore or Aurion? Which wins?

Rating the big three Aussies comes down so much to personal preferences. And those preferences could be based on anything from the shape of the driver's seat to the boot size or the fuel economy. And there is always the rivalry in the 'rust belt' - as Toyota calls it - between old-time favourites from Ford and Holden.

Related CoverageFord Falcon EcoLPi: reviewCommodore tops sales for JulyToyota Aurion 2006-2008: buyers guideTop 10 best-selling carsBest Australian Car
More of Paul Gover's blogAll three locals are close in most ways and Australians are massively spoiled for choice, as well as value, in cars which are so big they are heading inevitably towards extinction. Then again, American cops are only just learning to love the Commodore-based Caprice ...

FORD FALCON XR6



There is nothing as homegrown as the punch from the Falcon's big six away from the lights, and that same engine-room strength makes the XR6 a fun car on a twisty road. You can cruise it or push it without every worrying. You also feel the same deep-down muscularity of the Falcon package every time you drive, although - for me - the car is a bit more boofy than the Holden. And, on the negatives, I've never felt as comfortable in the Ford because of its higher-set driver's seat. Ford has an update coming and I've yet to drive the new LPi car, but for me it's a close second.

HOLDEN COMMODORE SV6



The Holden is a sharper package than the Ford, a little sweeter in most areas from the steering feel to the operation of the transmission. It turns a little nicer and is a tad more enjoyable on a long freeway run. Commodore buyers also get the advantage of the latest cabin update and a very impressive infotainment system, after dramas with the previous package, and the showroom impact from the driver's seat is probably winning sales. It doesn't feel as strong in a straight line, and it doesn't have Ford's latest capped-price servicing deal, but it's my personal choice.

TOYOTA AURION



This car is efficient and effective, but it's the transport choice and not for people who enjoy driving. I also wonder how the Aurion V6 can be classified as a large car when the Camry, which is identical apart from a four-cylinder engine, manages to run as the best selling medium-class car ... The Aurion has a giant boot, impressive quality, good fuel economy and is quiet on a trip, but it's bland and that is bad when the other locals have so much personality and punch.

[RG]

I don't actually see the issue?

Is it because his preference is towards the Commo?

[My poor XF]

That commodore 6 speed must be good if it's sweeter than the ZF.

[Chopped]

They all lose because people now want SUV or small / medium cars.

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by RG

I don't actually see the issue?

Is it because his preference is towards the Commo?

Check Gover's very bias GM history. He preference is ALWAY'S toward the Commodore. He was the only journalist that actually felt a Polariser work.... I'm just in shock that he had something positive to say about the Falcon.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by munners

without every worrying.

even journalistic quality like this can't be fixed with a spell checker.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by munners

Another piece of journalistic brilliance

Fram cars guide.....

Falcon, Commodore or Aurion? Which wins?

Rating the big three Aussies comes down so much to personal preferences. And those preferences could be based on anything from the shape of the driver's seat to the boot size or the fuel economy. And there is always the rivalry in the 'rust belt' - as Toyota calls it - between old-time favourites from Ford and Holden.

Related CoverageFord Falcon EcoLPi: reviewCommodore tops sales for JulyToyota Aurion 2006-2008: buyers guideTop 10 best-selling carsBest Australian Car
More of Paul Gover's blogAll three locals are close in most ways and Australians are massively spoiled for choice, as well as value, in cars which are so big they are heading inevitably towards extinction. Then again, American cops are only just learning to love the Commodore-based Caprice ...

FORD FALCON XR6



There is nothing as homegrown as the punch from the Falcon's big six away from the lights, and that same engine-room strength makes the XR6 a fun car on a twisty road. You can cruise it or push it without every worrying. You also feel the same deep-down muscularity of the Falcon package every time you drive, although - for me - the car is a bit more boofy than the Holden. And, on the negatives, I've never felt as comfortable in the Ford because of its higher-set driver's seat. Ford has an update coming and I've yet to drive the new LPi car, but for me it's a close second.

HOLDEN COMMODORE SV6



The Holden is a sharper package than the Ford, a little sweeter in most areas from the steering feel to the operation of the transmission. It turns a little nicer and is a tad more enjoyable on a long freeway run. Commodore buyers also get the advantage of the latest cabin update and a very impressive infotainment system, after dramas with the previous package, and the showroom impact from the driver's seat is probably winning sales. It doesn't feel as strong in a straight line, and it doesn't have Ford's latest capped-price servicing deal, but it's my personal choice.

TOYOTA AURION



This car is efficient and effective, but it's the transport choice and not for people who enjoy driving. I also wonder how the Aurion V6 can be classified as a large car when the Camry, which is identical apart from a four-cylinder engine, manages to run as the best selling medium-class car ... The Aurion has a giant boot, impressive quality, good fuel economy and is quiet on a trip, but it's bland and that is bad when the other locals have so much personality and punch.

I can't see a problem , the writer is obviously queer and that shows through in his opinions , putting credence in such perverted opinion smacks of ulterior motive s.

[RG]

Originally Posted by BluFGXR6

Check Gover's very bias GM history. He preference is ALWAY'S toward the Commodore. He was the only journalist that actually felt a Polariser work.... I'm just in shock that he had something positive to say about the Falcon.

I know all about Mr Gover. I once had a rather interesting email conversation with the man, he gets VERY nasty and insulting when given evidence disproving comments he makes against Ford.

So nasty in fact I made a formal complaint to HS about the use of language from a HS email account.

He has calmed down in the recent past though strangely.

[Wretched]

Besides his personal preference which many journos have I don't see the issue. He pointed out issues from all cars that don't appear to be anything new.

[munners]

Originally Posted by RG

I don't actually see the issue?

Is it because his preference is towards the Commo?

No real issue. He's entitled to his opinion of course. It just seems like its a vague and pointless article with no purpose other than to say that Commodore is the best big car. The whole article could have been replaced with the sentence "For no particular reason i reckon the commodore is the best"
As I said though, it is his Blog so he can write whatever he wants.

Munners

[Swordsman88]

It's Paul Gover. It's Carsguide. Let's not waste too much time on it. Everyone is entitled to his opinion...too bad alot of them are founded on rubbish. Whether you like the commodore or the falcon, holden or ford, you need to have some logic behind your choice if you are going to be a supposed professional motoring journalist.

Its the vagueness and reasons given for his choice that rise eyebrows.
1. Commodore steering is sharper: Personal preference but that is opposite to what most reviewers have been saying.
2. Commodore tranmission better...unless he had a sick ZF in the Ford...that is rubbish....tonnes of evidence out there to prove that
3. VE better on the highway...maybe, but i doubt it, given he admits the Ford has more cruising ability in the engine and i can't think of a 6 cylinder Commodore that was ever better than the Falcon equivalent on the highway in the last 25 years...

This is pretty low ball for Gover though...he's been much worse in the past. I can't believe he atcually complimented the FG at all....

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by My poor XF

That commodore 6 speed must be good if it's sweeter than the ZF.

Apparently a very strong box let down by poor software, compare the driving experience between the 2 the ZF is all over it...

[faalcon]

I think after reading the meaning of boofy it should be more of a commodore description
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boofy

[burnz]

sooo is he right about the aurion??

[RG]

Originally Posted by munners

No real issue. He's entitled to his opinion of course. It just seems like its a vague and pointless article with no purpose other than to say that Commodore is the best big car. The whole article could have been replaced with the sentence "For no particular reason i reckon the commodore is the best"
As I said though, it is his Blog so he can write whatever he wants.

Munners

You really expect much else from Paul Gover?

If it isn't a Holden it's rubbish to him.

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

It's Paul Gover. It's Carsguide. Let's not waste too much time on it. Everyone is entitled to his opinion...too bad alot of them are founded on rubbish. Whether you like the commodore or the falcon, holden or ford, you need to have some logic behind your choice if you are going to be a supposed professional motoring journalist.

Its the vagueness and reasons given for his choice that rise eyebrows.
1. Commodore steering is sharper: Personal preference but that is opposite to what most reviewers have been saying.
2. Commodore tranmission better...unless he had a sick ZF in the Ford...that is rubbish....tonnes of evidence out there to prove that
3. VE better on the highway...maybe, but i doubt it, given he admits the Ford has more cruising ability in the engine and i can't think of a 6 cylinder Commodore that was ever better than the Falcon equivalent on the highway in the last 25 years...

This is pretty low ball for Gover though...he's been much worse in the past. I can't believe he atcually complimented the FG at all....

My daily work hack, BFII XT with over 130,000km, is easier to live with than the VE SV6.
Steering in the VE is over-rated, and is a joke compared to FG's. Off centre at high speeds it gets a little twitchy.
Cruise-control controls are useless next to the Ford's.
Trip Computer isn't as easy to use.
Gearbox, lol. Yes, it's better than the tired 4sp in the XT, bu it still hunts and can get confused.
The sisi motor is powerful, but not the most enjoyable to listen to. Course.
Visibility is a joke.
After 5 days of driving almost 1000kms from Mackay to Cairns, I found myself online looking for a clip-on mullet.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by My poor XF

That commodore 6 speed must be good if it's sweeter than the ZF.

they are when you remove the right foot Tourette suffering meat bag from the equation by activating the cruise control.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by Falc'man

My daily work hack, BFII XT with over 130,000km, is easier to live with than the VE SV6.
Steering in the VE is over-rated, and is a joke compared to FG's. Off centre at high speeds it gets a little twitchy.
Cruise-control controls are useless next to the Ford's.
Trip Computer isn't as easy to use.
Gearbox, lol. Yes, it's better than the tired 4sp in the XT, bu it still hunts and can get confused.
The sisi motor is powerful, but not the most enjoyable to listen to. Course.
Visibility is a joke.
After 5 days of driving almost 1000kms from Mackay to Cairns, I found myself online looking for a clip-on mullet.

Should have hired an FG XR6 for that drive my friend...i've seen plenty of them driving around up that way and i can't think of a better highway cruiser this side of the pacific..... Much better for highway work than a VE...

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

Should have hired an FG XR6 for that drive my friend...i've seen plenty of them driving around up that way and i can't think of a better highway cruiser this side of the pacific..... Much better for highway work than a VE...

I could have insisted on what I actually ordered because they had a couple parked there, but thought this would be an opportunity to see what all the fuss was about and thus can now speak from experience, and now I know exactly what to think of Gover's opinions on cars.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Originally Posted by burnz

sooo is he right about the aurion??

Pretty much. It's a nice car, plenty of poke, comfortable, well made, and overall a bit bland. Well thats my experience.

I thought the comment re the Holden gearbox being better than the Ford sounded a bit iffy too.

[ACEz]

What the F#$@ the drivers seat height to high? Have you heard of the electric seat adjuster on the side of the seat ? To boofy ? have you seen the size of the VE commodore this C%$# has no clue.

[mr smith]

As part of my job I drive nearly every comparable model of Aussie car and to put the SV6 over an XR6 is just wrong from any angle. I'm not a one eyed Ford fan either, when the others have a good thing I'm happy to say so and have owned plenty of Holdens.

Is this clown still the Motoring editor of the Herald Scum?

[ACEz]

The most annoying thing is he'll probably influence a lot of everyday people buying these cars.

[Struggo]

Originally Posted by ACEz

What the F#$@ the drivers seat height to high? Have you heard of the electric seat adjuster on the side of the seat ? To boofy ? have you seen the size of the VE commodore this C%$# has no clue.

Mate the drivers seat is too high, you cannot lower it enough. It is the only fault I can point at my FG.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by ACEz

The most annoying thing is he'll probably influence a lot of everyday people buying these cars.

But wouldn't it be a fair assumption to say that most private buyers of Falcon and Commodore are die-hard Holden or Ford fans (most other private buyers have deserted both cars) and probably wouldn't cross-shop anyway? If I was in the market for a full-sized RWD 6 cylinder vehicle I probably wouldn't bother test driving the SV6.

[vibe_xr6]

Lol at saying the commodore looks better

[Carby]

Originally Posted by Falc'man

My daily work hack, BFII XT with over 130,000km, is easier to live with than the VE SV6.
Steering in the VE is over-rated, and is a joke compared to FG's. Off centre at high speeds it gets a little twitchy.
Cruise-control controls are useless next to the Ford's.
Trip Computer isn't as easy to use.
Gearbox, lol. Yes, it's better than the tired 4sp in the XT, bu it still hunts and can get confused.
The sisi motor is powerful, but not the most enjoyable to listen to. Course.
Visibility is a joke.
After 5 days of driving almost 1000kms from Mackay to Cairns, I found myself online looking for a clip-on mullet.

Well there you go it's a matter of opinion - we have a BA XR8 in the family and an SS that we traded a VE SV6 for and comparing as you did:

-The steering in the Ford is more direct but when you hit bumps/undulations it tends to turn in your hand more than the Holden does. Can't say I've ever experienced any off centre twitchness in the VE
-Cruise controls useless on VE ? Why? just a matter of what you prefer middle finger operation for the commodore, thumb with the Falcon. At least the Commodores Steering wheels controls are at least lit up at night unlike the Ford.

- All manuals so can't comment on Transmissions.

- Trip computers on both cars are easy to get a grip of, no problem there.

- agree on engine sound, the SV6 did punt along well and in manual form was very good on fuel, but having been in a number of 6 cylinder Falcons they sound and go better.

-People make a lot about the visibility and it is annoying but by no means a deal breaker.

Having a Falcon and a Commodore in the family is great - I like the variety and no matter what people say both cars are great, they have their good and bad points but they are very similar in what they do and I'll continue to buy the locally made product with price/best deal being the major determinant on what to purchase.

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Carby

Well there you go it's a matter of opinion - we have a BA XR8 in the family and an SS that we traded a VE SV6 for and comparing as you did:

-The steering in the Ford is more direct but when you hit bumps/undulations it tends to turn in your hand more than the Holden does. Can't say I've ever experienced any off centre twitchness in the VE
-Cruise controls useless on VE ? Why? just a matter of what you prefer middle finger operation for the commodore, thumb with the Falcon. At least the Commodores Steering wheels controls are at least lit up at night unlike the Ford.

- All manuals so can't comment on Transmissions.

- Trip computers on both cars are easy to get a grip of, no problem there.

- agree on engine sound, the SV6 did punt along well and in manual form was very good on fuel, but having been in a number of 6 cylinder Falcons they sound and go better.

-People make a lot about the visibility and it is annoying but by no means a deal breaker.

Having a Falcon and a Commodore in the family is great - I like the variety and no matter what people say both cars are great, they have their good and bad points but they are very similar in what they do and I'll continue to buy the locally made product with price/best deal being the major determinant on what to purchase.

Bad wording on my part, it's more nervousness than twitchiness. That's what I felt compared to my 6cyl Falcon. The Boss Falcons' steering would feel different again thanks to the added weight.
Middle finger? It's more the fact you need to take you hand off the wheel to adjust, set, or resume. Not nice.
Not sure why the controls need to be lit, after getting used to where everything is do you still need to look down?
The A-pillar is atrocious in the VE, but I guess you get used to that as well. I'd rather more visibility.
The V6 has grunt I'll give it that, it's unfortunate the 3.6 wasn't the ideal capacity for the Alloytec; that's what compromises it's smoothness. Originally it was designed as a 2.8 I think.

[ACEz]

Originally Posted by Ford_The_Win

But wouldn't it be a fair assumption to say that most private buyers of Falcon and Commodore are die-hard Holden or Ford fans (most other private buyers have deserted both cars) and probably wouldn't cross-shop anyway? If I was in the market for a full-sized RWD 6 cylinder vehicle I probably wouldn't bother test driving the SV6.

I see your point, but most people in general really don't care about there car's ,IE they want to get from a to b and at the same time do it safely, alot of people have asked me for my opinion when it comes to the family sized sedans, and to be honest they have no clue what they're looking at and really don't care if it's a ford , holden , toyota, hyundai , Nissan etc aslong as it's good value and reliable.Coming from a car culture it's easy to assume that someone is loyal to a company, but really majority of people really just don't care(from my experience).

Originally Posted by Struggo

Mate the drivers seat is too high, you cannot lower it enough. It is the only fault I can point at my FG.

My bad , i just thought it was the same as the BA/BF models.