2000 Holden Commodore v Ford Falcon comparison review
Commodore v Falcon - The big sixes battle it out
It is perhaps no huge surprise that between them the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon account for 75 per cent of all sales in the medium-to-large six-cylinder market sector.
That's a huge wedge of buyers' preferences, accounting not just for private sales but the big fleets that also appreciate these cars' size, cheap prices and low running costs.
The lowest price models - Holden's Commodore Executive and Ford's Falcon Forte - are the more popular and it is easy to see why. For a tad over $30,000, either manufacturer can offer big-six-cylinder engine power, automatic transmission, handy gadgets such as a CD player or remote central locking, and interior space not available in many more expensive cars.
The latest in the pack is Toyota's Avalon, and in many areas, it can trump both the established benchmarks, with greater refinement, an excellent ride and handling package and even more interior space. While this road test has been kept down to a two-horse race between favourites, it's worth remembering that the Avalon is more than likely to give either Falcon or Commodore a hard time on the sales charts.
The Commodore has been recently upgraded from VT to VX specification, and interestingly it is the base-model Executive that has received the lion's share of the changes. Apart from the subtly-altered front and rear-ends, improved sound deadening and slightly tweaked engine, the VX Executive is also a better value package, thanks to some important equipment upgrades aimed at matching the already well-equipped AU II Falcon.
On top of the VT Executive's list of driver's airbag, electric mirrors, a trip computer and electric height adjustment for the driver's seat, Holden has added anti-lock brakes (ABS), a power antenna, single-disc CD and steering wheel-mounted stereo controls. The Executive costs $29,610, with optional air-conditioning, taking it to $31,740.
The Forte costs a little less, $30,845, with its price including air and auto, plus it gets front power windows, dual airbags, a CD player, radio controls on the wheel and a split-fold rear seat. It's another $570 for ABS, and the boot lid spoiler is a $329 option, but feature-for-feature there's very little between either car in the value stakes.
Comparing how each car looks is an interesting exercise. Given that the VT Commodore was well-received, Holden has done quite a bit of work changing the front and rear bumpers, putting in new lights and giving the Executive's tail a fresh treatment.
With the AU II Falcon, Ford managed a squarer look to the bumpers and filled the wheel arches with bigger, 16-inch wheels. Still, the end result is that if you liked the VT, the VX offers no offence, whereas the basic shape of the AU Falcon remains, albeit with a slightly tougher look.
Holden has boosted the Commodore's 3.8-litre V6 by five kilowatts (kW) to 152kW, but it isn't the extra power that makes the difference. Detailed changes to the engine's inlet manifold, fuel injectors and computing capacity, along with a recalibrated transmission and a new driveshaft coupling, mean performance is delivered in a much smoother fashion, resulting in a nicer driving experience than the somewhat agricultural VT Commodore.
There's more pulling power low in the rev range and this helps the VX match the Falcon's strengths in this regard. Both are a good bet for city driving, because there's no need to wind either engine up to peak revs for best performance. Just leave the auto in "drive", plant the foot and off they go.
If anything, the VX now has a more lively feel than the Falcon, and that's despite the Ford having an advantage in power (157kW) and torque (357Nm versus the Commodore's 305Nm). Neither are what you'd call the last word in smoothness or quietness, with the Ford's bigger 4.0-litre engine becoming particularly noisy as revs rise, but as far as big, slogging sixes go, they're useful in both city and country driving and quite acceptable for the price.
Apart from how the engines deliver, both cars offer quite different driving experiences. You sit higher in the Falcon, its body rolls a bit more through corners, and on wet and slippery roads there's always the feeling the rear tyres are ready to slide sideways, so it has less of a sporty character than the Commodore's lower seating, grippy independent rear suspension and heavier steering.
All the same, the Commodore's ride quality errs on the side of firm and may not appeal to those looking for the Falcon's better ability to soak up bumps. And despite Holden increasing steering effort with the VX, the Commodore's steering still retains an off-putting combination of over-sensitive turn-in and a lack of feedback from the front wheels. The Falcon's lighter and more communicative steering works very well by comparison, even if the suspension itself doesn't offer quite the same accuracy in cornering.
Both cars have quite cavernous interiors, with big boots and cabin width for three in the back seat. In VX mode, the Commodore now gets a quite plush velour seat trim that only increases its interior's desirability over the Falcon. As with the VT, the Commodore has soft, comfortable and relatively supportive seats front and rear, and the dash-panel is angled towards the driver and has more of an upmarket look than the Falcon's bland and slabby interior. Given that the Falcon's rear seat folds down and the Commodore's doesn't, however, the Ford wins on practicality if not style.
When it comes to the crunch, the VX Commodore Executive is a step above the Falcon Forte. Not only has it been substantially improved from a driving point of view by being quieter and with a more refined drivetrain, but the value-for-money gap has also been narrowed.
Granted, that latter point is a close run thing and largely depends on whether the Commodore's ABS brakes are seen as being more valuable than (for instance) the Falcon's power windows. The Commodore's more upmarket interior is also a big point in its favour for owners, or employee-drivers, finding themselves in the base model of Australia's most popular cars.
There's not much in it, and inclusion of the Avalon into the equation could well skew the result. But for the moment, it's the Commodore Executive that has the edge on Ford's Falcon Forte.
All the details
Holden Commodore Executive
Price: $29,610 (as tested - $31,740)
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 152kW at 5,200rpm
Torque: 305Nm at 3,600rpm
Transmission/drive: 4-speed auto/rear
Kerb weight: 1,526kg
Wheels/tyres: 15-inch steel, 205/65
Features
Air-conditioning: optional
Remote locking: yes
Power windows/aerial: optional/yes
CD player: yes
Airbags (driver/pass/side): yes/optional/optional
ABS: yes
Cruise control: optional
How it rates: 4 stars (out of 5)
Ford Falcon Forte
Price: $30,845 (as tested - $31,744)
Engine: 4.0-litre in-line 6-cylinder
Power: 157kW at 4,900rpm
Torque: 357Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission/drive: 4-speed auto/rear
Kerb weight: 1,545kg
Wheels/tyres: 16-inch steel, 215/60
Features
Air-conditioning: yes
Remote locking: yes
Power windows/aerial: front only/no
CD player: yes
Airbags (driver/pass/side): yes/yes/no
ABS: optional
Cruise control: optional
How it rates: 3.5 stars (out of 5)