My trip to Canberra - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Night_Lurker · 07-11-2004, 22:59

I just got back from a short trip to Canberra and thought I would share my thoughts on the experience. We drove up in a VY2 V8 Berlina stationwagon. It had under 3000km on the clock. First impressions were good. Seats were comfy and there was tons of room for 3 large guys and all the luggage needed for 4 days. We headed up to Canberra via Lakes Entrance (for a bit of spirited driving and sight seeing). When I got to have a drive I was both impressed and disappointed. First, the good stuff

1. It is a V8 stationwagon with a touch of luxury in it. I know it has been
done to death but Ford should have had it in their line up. We saw many
VY Berlina stationwagons.
2. When the power was needed it was there.
3. Fuel economy, I averaged 10.9 which was quite good and impressive
considering my heavy right foot. For a large V8 it's remarkable how
good it was. For the whole trip I think we covered around 2000km +/-
a few and we only used 2.5 tanks of fuel.
4. The drivers seat was great, very comfy and accomodating.

Now for the disappointing parts.

1. The quality of the interior was quite bad. The glove box wouldn't shut,
the auto gear lever was wearing off and the head rests on the front seats
was wearing quite badly (the stitching was coming undone).
2. The auto was a shocker, who did the gear ratios in it? It would change
when it wasn't necessary and wouldn't when it needed it. A real whiner
too, sounded like a taxi.
3. The steering felt dead. It needed an extra turn to get it to turn where
you wanted it to go.
4. The brakes are real bad, i thought they would bite good but nope, they
were quite weak.
5. The feel of the engine just didn't feel it had 225+kw. It needed a few revs
to get it going but I think that maybe due to the useless transmission.
When I drove a manual SS i didn't have this issue, it went quick.

Other than that I thought the car was great. As I said it was comfortable and cheap to run. Perfect for that long trip. I wouldn't mind trying out a V8 fairmont (sedan) to compare but thats for another time.

Now onto Canberra. I hated driving there. No offence to anyone that lives there but the roads are weired. Everything revolves around the "circuits" and "circles." The taxi drivers are like here in Melbourne, swerve here swerve there, don't indicate, cut you off, etc. There are some very interesting places that we looked at but couldn't get any fireworks :(
If anyone hasn't been to the war memorial or parliament I highly recommend checking them out. Anyways I thought it twas a great trip.

theman · 07-11-2004, 23:15

No fireworks!!! so why did you go their for exactly.... to stock up on porn? fair enough if thats the case, lol.

Night_Lurker · 07-12-2004, 00:00

hahah nah went up their to visit a couple of friends.

BlueAU · 07-12-2004, 00:56

I went to the war memorial during my recruit training at Kapooka about 5 years ago and loved it! My mate has just moced up to Canberra for work and if i get my act together and do a couple of exams i am thinkin about moving up as well. Cant argue with doubling my pay!

Perana XR8 · 07-12-2004, 01:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueAU

I went to the war memorial during my recruit training at Kapooka about 5 years ago and loved it! My mate has just moced up to Canberra for work and if i get my act together and do a couple of exams i am thinkin about moving up as well. Cant argue with doubling my pay!

Yeah the war memorial is great to look through, and isnt a bad city once you get used to going around in circles

galaxy xr8 · 07-12-2004, 02:59

It's been a long time since I was at Canberra, but I did go to the war memorial, highly reconmended.

Jamie XR6 · 07-12-2004, 04:15

I'm worried that you said the gearbox sounds like a Taxi's.

Considering that 90% of Taxis are Fords LOL!

Night_Lurker · 07-12-2004, 04:31

hehe yeah i know. i think it is more annoying than a problem. my BA does it as well. but those taxis get a fair mileage on them.

Rodderz · 07-12-2004, 04:43

i thoroughly enjoyed canberra when i was up there late last year. I drove up there and got there early afternoon, before my g/f's cousin finished work so we had a few hours to kill, i was surprised how easy it is to find your way around, with no street directory. If you're lost, look at the telstra tower, parliament house or the war memorial and you get your bearings again.