Australian Family Cars: We have gone so far backwards since 2016...

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Not that I'm attempting to contribute to the argument, rather my observations driving Falcon's back-to-back with Ranger's in either 2.0, 2.2 or 3.2 guise.............

I can drive that big 4.0 under 2000 rpm all day long while keeping up with traffic / not being a Sunday driver. It's smooth, quite and refined. Yes, it sucks fuel around town, but then so do the overweight Ranger and Everest I might add, many have complained about a lack of economy with the 3.2 in particular.

That's not really possible in a 2.0 or 2.2 diesel Ranger, they are entirely reliant on boost in a VERY narrow powerband, the 2.2 in particular. The 3.2 was a bit different in that it had more natural off boost torque, but any time you needed more than gentle throttle, it was a very vocal companion. The 2.0 is much more refined, but its working hard most of the time, which the 10-speed facilitates.

What's interesting though is how we have not really improved in fuel economy over the last 10 to 15 years. Where the number one and two sellers were large 6-cylinder cars sucking plenty of fuel, those have been replaced with large, heavy pickup trucks that suck plenty of fuel. Go figure.

Have a space cab PX Ranger company car, 6sp auto 2.2L job.

Turning right across Hume Highway - get on the brake and stall it up so it actually moves rather than creep off the line until it builds boost, we've got the thing either at or exceeding GVM with its service body and its ****ing hopeless.

We're on its second transmission, and coming up for its third soon I reckon, she's been getting hot and going into limp mode with warm weather, its got 150,000km on the clock.

We probably should have a light truck