From The Courier Mail
King hit
James Stanford
20feb02
THE Aussie V8 ute war has just turned nasty. For years, the Holden Special Vehicles Maloo ute was the undisputed king of performance utes – but not any more.
Ford has shoved its stroked 5.6-litre V8 under the bonnet of its Falcon Pursuit ute to create a true heavyweight challenger.
It's the same engine used by the T-Series Falcons and churns out a healthy 250kW of power and a whopping 500Nm of torque. The HSV Maloo, powered by a 5.7-litre V8, puts out slightly more power (255kW) but a bit less torque (475Nm).
PRICE: $54,250 (manual), $54,912 (automatic)
ENGINE: 5.6-litre pushrod V8 with cast iron block
POWER: 250kW at 5250rpm
TORQUE: 500Nm at 4250rpm
TRANSMISSION: Rear-wheel-drive with five-speed manual or four-speed-automatic
BODY: Two-door utility
DIMENSIONS: Length 5109mm, width 1870mm, height 1517mm, wheelbase 3096mm, tracks 1566mm/1547mm front/rear
WEIGHT: 1745kg
PAYLOAD: 400kg
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 5.97 seconds
The Ford power pack starts life as a 5-litre Windsor V8 imported from the United States before it is significantly reworked by Tickford engineers in Campbellfield.
"We built the engine for the T-Series cars, so we thought, 'Why not use it for the ute?'," Ford Australia president Geoff Polites said.
He said the result was a two-door sportscar that could be used for work and play.
The Pursuit ute has a carrying capacity of 400kg and a low ride height, similar to the Holden Maloo, which will keep it off most building sites and paddocks.
At $54,250 for the five-speed manual and $54,912 for the four-speed automatic, the ute is not cheap. It is $3200 cheaper than the Ford TE50 sedan and sits between the Maloo ($48,825) and Maloo R8 ($55,780).
The Pursuit comes standard with 18-inch alloy wheels and low-profile Dunlop tyres, leather seats and steering wheel cover, premium CD stacker, special body kit, cruise control and airconditioning.
Driver and passenger airbags are standard, as are anti-skid brakes with massive grooved discs. There also is an optional premium Brembo brake pack for $5350.
Owners can opt for either a fabric tonneau cover or a hard body-coloured one for $2750.
Traction control is not an option because Ford says the grippy tyres and well-sorted chassis make it irrelevant. It also says owners of these types of cars wouldn't want to stop the tyres from spinning anyway.
The hot Falcon ute still uses leaf-sprung suspension at the rear, while Holden utes have coil springs and independent rear suspension. The tough Ford system is preferred by most tradesmen and farmers but has been tuned for sporty driving in the XR and Pursuit utes.
"It's a misconception that you need coil springs for a sports ute to handle well," Ford Australia special vehicle operations manager Gordon Barfield says.
Tickford engineers took the XR8 suspension system and modified it slightly for the Pursuit ute, taking into account the lower ride height.
Ford says the Pursuit ute dashes from 0-100km/h in just 5.9 seconds and covers a 400m dash in 14.3 seconds.
It slurps premium unleaded petrol and the automatic model has claimed fuel figures of 16 litres/100km around town and 10.6 litres/100km on the highway.
PRICE: $54,250 (manual), $54,912 (automatic)
ENGINE: 5.6-litre pushrod V8 with cast iron block
POWER: 250kW at 5250rpm
TORQUE: 500Nm at 4250rpm
TRANSMISSION: Rear-wheel-drive with five-speed manual or four-speed-automatic
BODY: Two-door utility
DIMENSIONS: Length 5109mm, width 1870mm, height 1517mm, wheelbase 3096mm, tracks 1566mm/1547mm front/rear
WEIGHT: 1745kg
PAYLOAD: 400kg
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 5.97 seconds
King hit
James Stanford
20feb02
THE Aussie V8 ute war has just turned nasty. For years, the Holden Special Vehicles Maloo ute was the undisputed king of performance utes – but not any more.
Ford has shoved its stroked 5.6-litre V8 under the bonnet of its Falcon Pursuit ute to create a true heavyweight challenger.
It's the same engine used by the T-Series Falcons and churns out a healthy 250kW of power and a whopping 500Nm of torque. The HSV Maloo, powered by a 5.7-litre V8, puts out slightly more power (255kW) but a bit less torque (475Nm).
PRICE: $54,250 (manual), $54,912 (automatic)
ENGINE: 5.6-litre pushrod V8 with cast iron block
POWER: 250kW at 5250rpm
TORQUE: 500Nm at 4250rpm
TRANSMISSION: Rear-wheel-drive with five-speed manual or four-speed-automatic
BODY: Two-door utility
DIMENSIONS: Length 5109mm, width 1870mm, height 1517mm, wheelbase 3096mm, tracks 1566mm/1547mm front/rear
WEIGHT: 1745kg
PAYLOAD: 400kg
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 5.97 seconds
The Ford power pack starts life as a 5-litre Windsor V8 imported from the United States before it is significantly reworked by Tickford engineers in Campbellfield.
"We built the engine for the T-Series cars, so we thought, 'Why not use it for the ute?'," Ford Australia president Geoff Polites said.
He said the result was a two-door sportscar that could be used for work and play.
The Pursuit ute has a carrying capacity of 400kg and a low ride height, similar to the Holden Maloo, which will keep it off most building sites and paddocks.
At $54,250 for the five-speed manual and $54,912 for the four-speed automatic, the ute is not cheap. It is $3200 cheaper than the Ford TE50 sedan and sits between the Maloo ($48,825) and Maloo R8 ($55,780).
The Pursuit comes standard with 18-inch alloy wheels and low-profile Dunlop tyres, leather seats and steering wheel cover, premium CD stacker, special body kit, cruise control and airconditioning.
Driver and passenger airbags are standard, as are anti-skid brakes with massive grooved discs. There also is an optional premium Brembo brake pack for $5350.
Owners can opt for either a fabric tonneau cover or a hard body-coloured one for $2750.
Traction control is not an option because Ford says the grippy tyres and well-sorted chassis make it irrelevant. It also says owners of these types of cars wouldn't want to stop the tyres from spinning anyway.
The hot Falcon ute still uses leaf-sprung suspension at the rear, while Holden utes have coil springs and independent rear suspension. The tough Ford system is preferred by most tradesmen and farmers but has been tuned for sporty driving in the XR and Pursuit utes.
"It's a misconception that you need coil springs for a sports ute to handle well," Ford Australia special vehicle operations manager Gordon Barfield says.
Tickford engineers took the XR8 suspension system and modified it slightly for the Pursuit ute, taking into account the lower ride height.
Ford says the Pursuit ute dashes from 0-100km/h in just 5.9 seconds and covers a 400m dash in 14.3 seconds.
It slurps premium unleaded petrol and the automatic model has claimed fuel figures of 16 litres/100km around town and 10.6 litres/100km on the highway.
PRICE: $54,250 (manual), $54,912 (automatic)
ENGINE: 5.6-litre pushrod V8 with cast iron block
POWER: 250kW at 5250rpm
TORQUE: 500Nm at 4250rpm
TRANSMISSION: Rear-wheel-drive with five-speed manual or four-speed-automatic
BODY: Two-door utility
DIMENSIONS: Length 5109mm, width 1870mm, height 1517mm, wheelbase 3096mm, tracks 1566mm/1547mm front/rear
WEIGHT: 1745kg
PAYLOAD: 400kg
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 5.97 seconds