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BA Futura I6 Vs BA Fairmont V8

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  XTS220 
#1 ·
G'day,

This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to test drive a 2003 BA Futura I6 auto as well as a 2002 BA Fairmont V8 (5.4Lt).

Futura

I had the Futura for about 24 hours so I had a good test drive. My thoughts as follows:

This engine is a ripper with plenty of go, and I was very surprised with the gear changes. For a Non XR model this thing was very good. It really does have a very smooth and fairly quick gear change. As others have mentioned on this forum I also found it to be sluggish off the line. However, the loss of good pick up and go from standstill was made up for when the car is already going.

Overtaking other vehicles was easy. The DOHC VCT Engine was also pretty smooth and obviously pretty powerful. While driving, the car does feel heavy but isn't anything scary as I felt very comfortable and safe in it. With only 14,000 kays on the clock, brake shudder was very noticeable especially when braking from highway speeds. I'm not sure if Ford has a permanent fix for the BA brake shudder, anybody?

The suspension set-up on this BA was fantastic. Lots of grip from the rear Control Blade suspension. I was very surprised with how well it handled bumps and corners. I found that it takes a lot to get the wheels spinning with amount of grip on hand.

V8 Fairmont

I wanted to see the how much of a difference there was between the DOHC I6 and the 3-valve 5.4 Lt V8. The difference in response and go from the V8 was bloody unbelievable. The sound of the V8 at full throttle was something to die for. The way this thing threw you back into the seat was unbelievable. The big V8 was also very smooth. I had sore checks from the smile that couldn't be taken off my face while driving this V8. Just MAGIC!!! I was very surprised with how a V8 Fairmont went that I couldn't imagine what an XR8 or XR6T would be like.

Now I know why the BA was voted 2003 car of the Year. Only if Ford offered a V8 with the Futura. The BA really is a great drive regardless of which model or engine combination you get.
 
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