Falcon EcoBoost: The Fuel Efficiency Australians Need with the Performance They Want

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by loftie

The EcoBoost 4cyl Falcon has combined fuel economy of 8.1l/100km
= 14,100km @ 8.1lt per 100km = 1142.1lt of petrol.
= 1142.1lt Petrol x $1.39lt = $1587.50

The Inline 6cyl Falcon XT has combined fuel economy of 9.9l/100km
= 14,100km @ 9.9lt per 100km = 1395.9lt of petrol
= 1395.9lt Petrol x $1.39lt = $1940.30

The Inline 6cyl Falcon XT EcoLPi has a combined fuel economy of 12.3l/100km
= 14,100km @ 12.3lt per 100km = 1734.3lt of LPG
= 1734.3 LPG x $0.60lt = $1040.58
--------------------------------------

From earlier - Now lets use the same base and apply it to both of the 2011/12 Territory Models.
Using $1.51 as diesel per litre, and $1.51 for premium petrol as a base

The Inline 6cyl XT Territory (RWD) has a combined fuel economy of 10.6l/100km
= 14,100km @ 10.6lt per 100km = 1494.6lt of Petrol (Premium)
= 1494.6lt of Petrol x $1.51 = $2256.84

The Turbo Diesel XT Territory (RWD) has a combined fuel economy of 8.2l/100km
= 14,100km @ 8.2lt per 100km = 1156.2lt of Diesel
= 1156.2lt of Diesel x $1.51 = $1745.86

So - lets recap...
Ecoboost Falcon = $1587.50
I6 Petrol Falcon = $1940.30
LPG Falcon = $1040.58
Petrol Territory = $2256.84
Diesel Territory = $1745.86

There is the cars compared using the same structure as before...

Personally I can't see the problem with the 4cyl Falcon, so long as the other variants are still available (at a premium price - of course)...

I buy my car based on more than just the fuel costs / running costs... And actually really look forward to driving one - just to see what all the fuss is about!!

[Rodge]

Ecoboost Falcon = $1587.50
I6 Petrol Falcon = $1940.30
LPG Falcon = $1040.58
Petrol Territory = $2256.84
Diesel Territory = $1745.86

Sticks out like dogs balls doesn't it !!... and that's before you consider petrol will probably go up significantly over the next five years and LPG will probably have far more stability to its price.

[Polyal]

So for $400 more per year I can have a I6...I think I would just stick to that and keep the capability.

But I do accept that many people dont tow etc much with there falcons anymore and EB4 bridges the gap.

I think Ford should literally run a comparison ad with the running costs like the above..can we get some Corolla and Mazada 3 figures in there?

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by Rodge

Ecoboost Falcon = $1587.50
I6 Petrol Falcon = $1940.30
LPG Falcon = $11040.58
Petrol Territory = $2256.84
Diesel Territory = $745.86

Sticks out like dogs balls doesn't it !!...

Sure does!

[XWGT]

Originally Posted by Rodge

Sticks out like dogs balls doesn't it !!... and that's before you consider petrol will probably go up significantly over the next five years and LPG will probably have far more stability to its price.

And considering I do around 45,000 to 50,000 of country klms per year (current Prado has a lifetime avertage speed of 68 kph @ 75,000 klm) the LPG option will be the one I choose when the time comes.

I do however applaud the Turbo 4 for a number of reasons

1) Allows the biggest purchaser of Falcon to start doing so again - Fleets!
2) Addresses CO2 and economy criticism of the Falcon
3) Should be a damn good drive with the ZF auto !
4) Kicks GMH sqaurley in the nuts in the large car segment.. Ford now has Diesel, LPG, Turbo 4, 6, Turbo 6 and Supercharged 8 to offer. GMH has.......well......6 and 8.

[MickyB]

The thing is, we all know that the running costs between the I6 and the EB4 are negligible, along with the fact that the EcoLPi is the actual bargain in terms of lower running costs.

However, the average Joe Blow has no comprehension of these facts and simply sees the I6 as a fuel guzzler and the LGP as a taxi fuel that blows up air boxes. As I see it, the EB4 is there to appeal to people's perceptions. They see 4 cylinder, less fuel than Mazda 3, etc.. and hopefully this is enough for them to consider the EB4 Falcon. At least this is what Ford is hoping for. Along with reclaiming government fleet sales who have a 4 cylinder only policy. There really is no excuse for them to not buy the Falcon now.

I still remember the good old days in the early 90's when my Dad worked in local government and his only option was a Falcon or a Commodore, those were the days when government policy really helped the local industry.

[prydey]

only one of those cars in the list is eligible for any agency that has a '4cyl only' policy.

i thought this was one of the reasons why they went this route. they are missing a lot of fleet sales since the criteria changed.

also, this is not meant to be a replacement for I6. there may be some overlap but it is there hopefully to add sales.

it would be interesting to compare power and torque graphs rather than just compare peak figures.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by MickyB

I still remember the good old days in the early 90's when my Dad worked in local government and his only option was a Falcon or a Commodore, those were the days when government policy really helped the local industry.

If it's good enough for other countries to continue to stick to a similar policy then I don't understand why the Australian government cannot do this.

In the governments endevour to be politically correct and promote free trade and competition it is responsible for bastardising Australia's automotive Industry.

[Polyal]

I think now that Ford have made the effort to change then it would be gutless of the GovCo to not buy them in favour of smaller cars if the running costs etc are the same.

I too remember in the 90's when everyone had commies/falcons as company cars. Managers got fairmonts and ghia's etc.

I dont think we should expect business/gov to buy Aussie blindly, but when there is a chance to do it with no downside then we should be asking question.

Did Ford use any grants to help invest in EB4? Maybe a gentlemens agreement was made that the car would be supported if it met all the right criteria.

[Martyvan]

Well, whoever wants to calculate it... Corolla auto combined is 7.4 (my corolla averages 20% higher than the urban figure though for city driving) Mazda 3 SP20 2.0 is 6.2 combined, Mazda 3, 2.5 is 8.6 combined........

The thing with torque at low revs is, that it makes it easy to replicate claims done for ADR testing. Low torque engines, (i.e. the corolla) its near on impossible to replicate as in the real world the engine is working way harder!

Torque is King.

[MickyB]

Originally Posted by F6 Concorde

If it's good enough for other countries to continue to stick to a similar policy then I don't understand why the Australian government cannot do this.

In the governments endevour to be politically correct and promote free trade and competition it is responsible for bastardising Australia's automotive Industry.

The more I think about it, the more I reckon that the 'user chooses' policies that came in during the late 90's have gradually hurt the Aussie car industry. I can recall my Dad (a staunch Ford supporter) talking about all the Japanese and Euro cars turning up in the car park when the changes came in. I didn't think about it much then, but maybe this was part of the catalyst for a change in public perception about buying/leasing imported cars. As Polyal says, there was a time when managers got Calais or Ghia, middle manager Berlina and Fairmont and the run of the mill employee's only choice was Gli or Executive.
Let's hope the government comes to the party with the EB4, there is simply NO EXCUSE for them not to.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by MickyB

What is also interesting is that I distinctively recall the head of Mercedes Benz commenting on how he saw small, forced inductions engines overtaking turbo diesels in the not too distant future.

At least with petrol engines you have control over fuel burn etc...well at least to my understandings, having sparkplugs and all.

[ford lover]

I know this is a little off topic,but did you know,Australia has a endless supply of light crude off Western Australia!I know petrol is taxed to the eyeballs,and rich people have vested interests, and have to get richer.Why is Australia subjected to world oil barrel prices?I guess i just answered my own question.We also give China our natural gas for a song.Light crude is perfect for making petrol.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by ford lover

I know this is a little off topic,but did you know,Australia has a endless supply of light crude off Western Australia!I know petrol is taxed to the eyeballs,and rich people have vested interests, and have to get richer.Why is Australia subjected to world oil barrel prices?I guess i just answered my own question.We also give China our natural gas for a song.Light crude is perfect for making petrol.

Simple answer - If you owned a oil rig, and you can sell it the world for $3.00 a barrel or locally for $1.50 a barrel, what would YOU do?

[ford lover]

Why does all our petrol come from the sandpit.that doesnt add up.

[Mechan1k]

The majority of the EB4 Falcons will be the XT with the sub-200 figure for CO2 ... and it will be utilised by fleet buyers. That's a given ... and that's where Ford have marketed this.

I wouldn't mind getting behind the wheel of one of these to test it out ... especially to see what the handling is like with considerably less weight over the front wheels as well.

So many close-minded members in here hating on a vehicle they haven't even driven yet.

Each vehicle mentioned in here has its merits ... for different purposes ... and for different markets as well. (Mind you this is thread for EB4 in Falcon though).

For Ford to come out and utilise these new tech engines/ideas in mainstream vehicles is a good idea.

Going on the current figures so far ... its looking good when compared to all of it's competitors.

EB4 = green-car fleetsters/4-cyl buyers-converts (metro/country)
ECOLPi = taxi/tradies/couriers (City/outer metro/some country ... HIGH KM/year ... cheap cost of running
I6 = some fleet buyers/families still wanting power/torque/towing
TDCi = Terri owners wanting higher towing capacity and better economy/CO2 figures.

Why whinge ... Ford are covering all bases to try and regain buyers from other brands.

[JPFS1]

Originally Posted by ford lover

I know this is a little off topic,but did you know,Australia has a endless supply of light crude off Western Australia!I know petrol is taxed to the eyeballs,and rich people have vested interests, and have to get richer.Why is Australia subjected to world oil barrel prices?I guess i just answered my own question.We also give China our natural gas for a song.Light crude is perfect for making petrol.

The main reason is that our oil refinerys are not capable of refining the oil 'grade' that is extracted from our region.

[Road_Warrior]

Oil extracted from our region is traded on the global market at global prices, we can't have our cake and eat it too

[au2000]

the gov dept i work for will probably return to the falcon with the introduction of the eb4 motor , they only left cause of the 4 cylinder policy which put them into camrys etc...

[falconnut]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Oil extracted from our region is traded on the global market at global prices, we can't have our cake and eat it too

In the meantime the corporations make unregulated and unknown profits so astronomical that we could not measure.

Yet we are apparently part of a 'global recession'

[TMC]

F6 Concorde, stop messing with the figures man.

An LPG AWD Territory is slightly cheaper to run than an Ecoboost Falcon based on an average of 16L/100km and LPG price of 70cpl. I worked it out at $1579.20

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

The majority of the EB4 Falcons will be the XT with the sub-200 figure for CO2 ... and it will be utilised by fleet buyers. That's a given ... and that's where Ford have marketed this.

I wouldn't mind getting behind the wheel of one of these to test it out ... especially to see what the handling is like with considerably less weight over the front wheels as well.

So many close-minded members in here hating on a vehicle they haven't even driven yet.

Each vehicle mentioned in here has its merits ... for different purposes ... and for different markets as well. (Mind you this is thread for EB4 in Falcon though).

For Ford to come out and utilise these new tech engines/ideas in mainstream vehicles is a good idea.

Going on the current figures so far ... its looking good when compared to all of it's competitors.

EB4 = green-car fleetsters/4-cyl buyers-converts (metro/country)
ECOLPi = taxi/tradies/couriers (City/outer metro/some country ... HIGH KM/year ... cheap cost of running
I6 = some fleet buyers/families still wanting power/torque/towing
TDCi = Terri owners wanting higher towing capacity and better economy/CO2 figures.

Why whinge ... Ford are covering all bases to try and regain buyers from other brands.

What a great post. Ford really are doing their best to cover all bases.

1100km from a tank. Get out of town!

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

Well, whoever wants to calculate it... Corolla auto combined is 7.4 (my corolla averages 20% higher than the urban figure though for city driving) Mazda 3 SP20 2.0 is 6.2 combined, Mazda 3, 2.5 is 8.6 combined........

The thing with torque at low revs is, that it makes it easy to replicate claims done for ADR testing. Low torque engines, (i.e. the corolla) its near on impossible to replicate as in the real world the engine is working way harder!

Torque is King.

The engineers are saying that real world economy for the EB4 is phenomenal.

Originally Posted by au2000

the gov dept i work for will probably return to the falcon with the introduction of the eb4 motor , they only left cause of the 4 cylinder policy which put them into camrys etc...

This is why Ford went the 4 cylinder route. There are a lot of fleets that Ford cannot sell to because of these 4 cylinder only policies. EB4 opens up a whole new fleet market for Ford they previously didn't have access to with Falcon.

[jpd80]

Does anyone remember the original intention of Ecoboost?
It was to be released initially in G6 and G6E to allow buyers the choice of economical LPG and petrol engines,
now it seems the cat is out of the bag, no extra cost and mostly XTs, I think Ford really needs volume...


Hmm, maybe Ford should reintroduce the taxi pack EcoLPI and go for broke....

[Cobalt Blue]

I'm positive that the EB4 will be a big hit. It feels markedly lighter in the front end, gives very little away to the n.a. 4.0 six performance wise, holds its speed very well on hills and has remarkable fuel economy, several litres per 100km better than I can achieve in my daily drive 2010 G6.

A lot of government guys are going to love this one. Many of them travel as groups of 3, 4 or 5 persons at a time and they will appreciate being back in a Falcon.

I reckon Ford should go for gold and bring out an ECOLPi EB4.

And this is surprising - I don't think I'd miss the normally aspirated petrol 4.0 if I had to drive an EB4.

[GT69]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Does anyone remember the original intention of Ecoboost?
It was to be released initially in G6 and G6E to allow buyers the choice of economical LPG and petrol engines,
now it seems the cat is out of the bag, no extra cost and mostly XTs, I think Ford really needs volume...


Hmm, maybe Ford should reintroduce the taxi pack EcoLPI and go for broke....

I'm starting to think Ford really need to push sales at small profit areas (fleet/taxi/govco) to get the media off their backs. Bad publicity is killing Falcon and Ford Australia. They seem unable or unwilling to fight back. I'd personally love to see 90% private buyers with high profit vehicles. But while ford can make money (on low return vehicles) while giving perception of a fight back, I'll be happy.

Ecoboost should help nicely. But once again, media is killing falcon and im positive it cant be legal. If what drivel say about falcon, I said about someone else, that person could sue me for slander. Surely Ford have a comeback. Or maybe the AJA code of ethics should really be bought into play. Because its BS like this example

Honesty
Fairness
Independence
Respect for the rights of others

1. Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.

2. Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3. Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances.

4. Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5. Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6. Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7. Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8. Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9. Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10. Do not plagiarise.

11. Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12. Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

[prydey]

well, there goes most of the motoring journo's around.

[PoweredByCNG]

Personally, I can't believe that Ford aren't promoting EcoLPi. The original release would already provide 1000km (plus change) of highway range from full to empty on an 88L tank (based on 8.5L/100km). The FG MkII update brings even lower consumption and sees the range increased to nearly 1100km per fill on the highway - as good as a turbodiesel under those conditions. Someone tell me that you can't find a single working LPG filling station over 1000km+ travelling through 90% of places in Australia where people want to go?

[Nic85]

I fail to see how an Eco LPI Falcon is going to do 8.5L/100km on the highway. Ford's own ADR testing says 9.4L/100km for Extra Urban. I think a more realistic figure is about 10L/100km on the highway, which gives you a more realistic figure of about 750 - 800kms before the fuel light comes on, on a pure highway trip.

[Brute 33]

Wow 7 pages on a 4 cylinder Falcon!!!...so who on here is actually going to buy one ?....not me ....I own all Falcons and mostly V8's on LPG and travell around 45000 + k's a year so LPG is my friend and my hip pocket appreciates it.

I have travelled from Sydney to Perth and got LPG all the way across no problems...

People always talk about LPG blowing up , poor performance ...blah blah blah...I ask them do they cook on a LPG / GAS BBQ ?..answer "yes" ...well you have a NAKED FLAME about one metre from the gas bottle ....where as in a LPG powered vehicle the flame is inside the combustion chamber....how much safer is that ?.....so gets them rethinking.....After some talks and then actually converting there cars to LPG ....they come back and say "should have done this years ago...I am saving more than 50% in my weekly fuel bill"....and isn't that what we all want to do ....save money...

Just my 2 cents worth ....carry on