Ford Falcon Ute FG (2008-2014)

Perfect Ute – Well built, looks awesome, great for work and home, comfortable. Looks great with a set of mags. reliable around town and on ling drives. FG is the best contemporary Falcon made. 2011 MK2 Show details

Sweet Spot – I needed a ute that was comfy on the freeway for long drives 200km at a time but practical enough to carry stuff around the city when required. My FG does both in real comfort. Probably 90% close to a sedan for cruising comfort. The Ecolpi has more than enough power with an average freeway use of about 13lt/100km. A really impressive car that is… Read more

way undervalued compared to a lot of stuff out there and coupled with a sweet Barra motor. Probably the penultimate Aussie car, practical to maintain and run while having all the comfort of overseas cars......Very happy with it.

eco lpi – Swapped my fg petrol to the ecolpi fg mk2 what a difference more power, torque and economy. I was averaging 500klms a tank on petrol at around $100 a tank. Same kilometers and costs me $48 to fill. Only issue i have is some service stations aren’t selling Lpg so it would be a worry if i had to go country. Besides that it’s a falcon. Cheap parts tows great Show details

Love it – I love my ute . Ford xr6 LPG ute . Love it . I use my car everyday without fail. The colour is a Mystic Green pearl , tonneau cover but I want a hardlid. LPG E-gas engine one of a kind and is very economical. Filling her up costs $50-$60  Show details

No Falcon Worries – Just very reliable and very comfortable for a ute. I got the new LPG gas version, never a hiccup, and small car running costs. I am do disappointed I won't be able to buy a new one, and I hope the Asian utes will improve their ride quality to be remotely as good as the Falcon.  Show details

Work horse – I have a 2008 fg ute dedicated gas. Workhorse this ute has made me 500k + after five years of owing it and tows like a boss although I've just had to replace a motor a gear box. $4500.00 later... I really can't complain it been great and now its like a new car.  Show details

Vibration – Goes ok but has vibration at 95 kph, ford can't fix so they just call it a characteristic rather than a fault so that they can wipe their hands of the problem. No surprise that they can't sell enough Australian built cars to remain viable, they are useless.  Show details

Can't really fault it – I have an XR50 which I have modified a fair bit, now running around 275kw at the engine which is alright for a naturally aspirated 6. What impresses me is how well these utes are designed, no other ute apart from the Commodore drives and handles like it. Even though it's only a leaf sprung rear end, the springs are quite long and the gas shock… Read more

absorbers and two stage design means you can hardly tell.

The power the ute makes is amazing, I have done exhaust, headers, intake, reduction pulley and 98 octane tune + gearbox tune. Will do around 5.5 seconds 0-100. The engine is a gem - sounds sweet, has amazing midrange pull, huge torque and will rev out past 6000rpm without complaining. Such a shame we've lost it.

Gearbox is awesome, no problems apart from a replaced pressure plate which was likely botched in the factory because all the bolts were loose. That was 88000ks. Only other issues I have had with the ute is replaced the front suspension arms - only on the recommendation of my tuner because the ball joints were looking worn. Also the age old problem of Ford's shuddering discs - so i swapped the brakes for a set of slotted dba rotors and good quality pads which fixed the issue. Fuel economy? on the highway, sitting on a steady 110km/h it will do 7.5-8.5l/100km. City driving though is not so good, especially if you drive it hard. Expect 12 for normal driving and upwards of 15 if you drive hard.

I love the interior - seats are very comfy and infotainment/trip computer is comprehensive and easy to use. Small things like holding the cruise + or - buttons in raises or lowers cruise speed by 10km increments.

Other good points:

* amazing headlights - far better than current ute's H4 setups

* big tray - 1800mmL

* very comfortable

* pin sharp steering

* Cheap to service - costs me around the $180 mark for a full service

* Cheap to insure

* Parts are cheap and plentiful

* Airconditioner is like opening a door directly to Antarctica

Bad points?

* Seating is quite high compared to the Commodore

* Fuel economy not great in the city

* Front tires wear on the edges

* Fit and finish not quite up to European standards

I love it, I think I will always have a Falcon ute in my garage.

GREAT TO DRIVE – This car has awesome get up and go on the freeway , comfortable to drive and great fuel economy being a dedicated LPG engine . If your towing needs are modest (1700kg tow capacity) this could be a good all round vehicle as long as you are not planning off road use as this vehicle is not really designed for this (learnt this the hard way with a… Read more

rather expensive strut replacement service) . It is such a pity FORD is not making these anymore with the last one being the 2016 Model . I am looking at a MAZDA BT for my next car only because of this .

Great workhorse Ute fairly cheap motoring – The FG falcon ute is a great workhorse which I have enjoyed for the last 6 years. After the first test drive I fell in love with the silky smooth power from that straight six, effortless acceleration, higher ground clearance then the xr6 and cheaper 16 inch tyres and massive tray. This was perhaps one of the best falcons as it had the 4 pinion… Read more

m86 diff(without Lsd though) and the tremac 6 speed TR 6060 manual which was also used in the dodge viper and Austin Martin vanquish. Overall the Utes been reliable though and I've maintained it myself for the last few years. Several weak points in the design are the plastic pulleys in the engine bay, I had the water pump pulley let go, luckily spare parts are cheap and installed a Gates branded pump just to get me by for $60. The Ford branded pumps are much better quality though and by all accounts good for 200000km so Ill repair the old pump as a spare. The front upper control arm bushes are another weak point and if you get any front inner tyre wear these are probably to blame at around 60000km. These bushes cause all kind of issues besides the front the wear included vague steering and uneven disk wear causing a pulsating brake pedal. Ford control arms are ridiculously expensive nearly $350 each and are of average quality so I sourced some superpro control arms with newly designed bushes for $350 and seems to have sorted the front end issues for now although the lower control arm and castor arm are on their way out. These both have ball joints which are not replaceable so the whole arm is replaced. The ball joints were fairly worn at around 130000km and I might try to source some from eBay or the wreckers. The factory shock absorber were showing their age at 120000 so I changed them for a fresh pair of Oem Sachs units which were around $550. These seem to be of excellent quality and a parts dealer who sells Sachs and Monroe claimed he never had a warranty return on a Sachs shock absorber vs 1 in 10 Monroes failing. The koni shock absorbers seem like a great but expensive option and I decided against them . The rear wheel bearings were on their way out at 120000km also, the taxis always change the original Korean bearings to Japanese Timkin parts which seem to last longer. Some people have complained of front bearing failures also but I seem to have been lucky. The rear bush in the gearbox will also wear out eventually around 100000km and the slip yoke seal will fail causing oil to spray underneath the car. I believe this can be changed in situe for a tougher bronze bush from the V8 models and a fresh seal. The rear propshaft transmission coupling or rubber donut cracks and fails every few years and needs to be replaced or it can cause vibrations and wear other parts out faster. Gearbox oil needs to be changed around 50000 km as my oil was very black and overdue. Similar situation with the rear diff, when I changed the fluid it was definitely past its use by date. Ford fluids in general seem to be average at best and it's seems better to change the factory fill items early in the vehicles life to better quality items to save on maintenance later in the vehicles life. I use Nulon fluids after the warranty ran out and I believe there cheaper and much better then genuine. Spark plugs should be changed sooner then the 160000 in the manual states at around 100000 as the ignition coils seem to last much longer according to the taxi mechanics. Later FG Utes and the xr6 models gained traction control and 4 channel electronic brake distribution although the base model missed out on traction control and only had 3 channel ebd. Build quality is average but acceptable, the chassis is poorly painted and there is some rust starting in some panels behind the cab and sections of the chassis which were painted after treatment. Exhaust rusts family quickly as the coating isn't great. Interior is pleasant but the vinyl trim on the shifter and handbrake wears out quickly and flackes off. Roofling sags eventually also but many shops repair these cheaply. Overall a great Ute that has a few minor inherent issues.

Car has been great with the occasional trouble – Cars driving is exceptional with handling, braking and cruising along with very satisfactory fuel economy but to ruin all the good about my brand new at the time 2013 xr6 ford ute fg mk2 is the amount of times I have to visit the mechanics due to either power steering, alternator, bushes, battery and check engine warnings over three years.  Show details

Great Example Of Aussie Ute – I bought my ex gold coast council, ute via a dealer. I fitted tickford alloys which are load rated, a chrome sports bar and an fpv tonneau cover. Just love it. Power everything, steering, mirrors, windows, drivers seat. Steering wheel controls for cruise are easy, radio volume too. So much room, I can run the seat too far back, even with the… Read more

up/down, in/out adjustable steering. (I'm 188cm).

Sports auto, (which I never use, standard settings work fine), a word of warning, these auto's are famous for needing rebuild around 100000kms. Some bright spark at ford made them a "Sealed unit" so they never get serviced. Mine was rebuilt by the dealer, no issues in 30000km.

The suspensions a bit firm by car standards, (crashes a bit on carpark speedbumps), but great on highway and with loads in the back.

The bed liner is a good touch and the moveable load hooks are a brilliant touch, just twist and release then move them where you need them.

The lpg system is the cheapest ford could get away with, there is very little adjustment.

Occasionally backfires on startup. Ford know about the issue, their answer? They've fitted springs to the airbox bolts so the plastic airbox doesn't split.

Running on lpg is the bomb. $45 for 400+km of mostly suburban use.

A true Aussie ute – I bought this ute new in 2009 on a novated lease and paid it off three years later. I optioned it with all the goodies such as climate control, communications package, etc. and fitted it with a tipper tray (twin hydraulic ram & alloy tray) and a towbar. I have only used it privately (I'm not a tradie) and it now has 120,000km. It has never missed… Read more

a beat, carried a number of loads of garden soil, rubbish to the tip, etc. and been a comfortable highway cruiser. There are times when I would have liked to have had 4WD but otherwise this Falcon ute has been terrific and extremely cheap to run. It is a great vehicle; a real ute not just a two door pretend sports car.

FG MkII XR6 EcoLPI Auto – Purchased this car with 20,000km's and have now clocked up just over 100,000km's and overall this car has been fantastic. Thus far I have had nothing on the vehicle fail, the only issues I have had are some noise in the diff which only appears once in a blue moon when turning from a complete stop and 2 or 3 times it has come up with a "COMMS… Read more ·  1

SYSTEM FAULT" on the dash, which disappeared within a few minutes of driving.

Performance is great, especially in comparison to traditional gas vehicles, the gearbox is amazing, noise inside the cabin is a little louder than I'd like, handling is good, visibility can sometimes be tricky with the size of the A pillars and I would suggest having a reverse camera installed due to this thing being pretty damn big. Economy is dependent on the sort of trips you do, using the freeway and even in stop start traffic, mine sits on about 13.2L/100km but it can sit on 15.7L/100km if I'm doing a lot of driving in built up areas. If you tow regularly, then don't choose the EcoLPI if you want good economy, with a lightly loaded trailer on a freeway it'll do 17-18L/100km.

Reliability has been flawless, which for me is paramount along with safety features which this ute also has covered. Service costs are a little higher than the petrol versions because of the LPG system, however getting 550km's out of a tank for less than $40 more than offsets this cost.

Seats are comfortable, dash screen is easy to use, bluetooth syncs easily, ipod connectivity is great, all in all I'm extremely happy with this car, be warned though, the front bar sits quite low for a factory car and scrapes on a lot of car park curbs.

kloster ford service – For four years I had a vibration in the rear of my ute. Kloster ford finally replaced the drive shaft, the vibration is reduced but still there. I wish this problem was addressed immediately. I think the damage has already been done after four years. Has anyone had vibration issues in the rear of there ute so I can submit my concerns to Kloster ford.  Show details

XR6 Turbo FG MKII - – 2012 Model - So far it has done 83k kms and I have been pretty happy with it. It has had a new diff put in it by Ford which has now fixed the issue for now. Original Diff went at 60k kms, i have heard these are an issue with all the ford utes. Other than the diff i have had no other major issues. Positives: Looks great, comfy ride, lots of… Read more

power, auto is great very smooth and fun to drive.

Std equipment is pretty good although a reverse camera would be great!

Negatives:

Wind noise, this is a problem ford have said it is the wing mirrors that cause it and no fix.

Seating position too high

Plastics look and feel cheap and build quality is fairly average inside the cabin.

For what it is, it is a good all round ute with lots of power and a good drive train.

Sad to see them finish in 2016.

Love my XR6 EcoLPi – I bought a 2013 XR6 EcoLPi ute great car plenty of power and love it at the pump cheap to run no power different being on gas go our and buy one you won't regret it  Show details

Very thirsty – I bought a 2013 FG MkII XR6 ute, it has now got 16000 ks on it and is using around 13.6 to 14.1 ltrs to the 100 ks using premium unleaded. At the service centre they said it was fine and all was well. Is that the right fuel economy for this car? I think this is very thirsty. The car is great drives and handles well and plenty of power Fuel economy Show details

Love my XR6 Limited Edition FG ute – I have an XR6 Limited Edition FG ute built late in 2012. It is my first Ford, and I absolutely love it. This ute has absolutely won me over. It looks fantastic in Kinetic blue with a factory hard lid, the sport bar and those sexy 19" wheels. The tyres are waring really well, still on the originals after 23,000km. I cannot understand so many… Read more

people buying those naf 4door utes, with their small trays and uncomfortable back seat, why bother? Grab an Aussie icon, a Falcon ute, before they are all gone. Looks great, comfortable, all the features I need, carries a load without complaints, powerful, economical

Keeping this one, buying another! – Bought a FG MK2 EcoLPi Ute in 2012 - done 80k in it now. A couple of niggly problems but nothing major and the local Ford dealer fixed it no problems. The gas engine and ZF box is a perfect match! Plenty of performance even as I lug around 500Kg (all the time), 500k to a tank city, 700 country, $50 to fill. Looks good with the ARB canopy,… Read more ·  1

handles better than any other commercial vehicle (Holden Ute excepted). Superb build quality, nothing has broken or fallen off - done a LOT of country/dirt roads. Very comfortable over long distances - you will not be fatigued in these cars.

Cheaper to run than a Mazda 3 or Corolla and will last, hence why taxi companies use them.

Going to buy the last Falcon Ute, and keep this one in storage just in case! Then that's it for me, won't buy another new car after that.

A big thanks to the people of Ford Australia who designed, engineered and built it. Reliable. Quality. Very cheap to run. Too low to the ground!

Pulls sick burnouts - Great work horse – I bought one of theses a few months back and i have to say it is a great work horse. I tow my boat with it on the weekends no problem! I've gone through a few sets of rear tyres as it is very easy to spool up the turbos and smoke them rears. I give this ute 5 stars for hecticness bro. Smokes hard rear tyres wear out quickly Show details ·  1

five Falcon utes – After five Falcon utes I think I can say I have been nothing but happy, and it will be a sad day when I will not be able to buy my next ute.I have had 1x rtv gas, 2x xl gas ,1 x xr6 gas and the latest and sadly last is a gs 5ltr supercharged. Any dramas I have had have all been minor. All items have been attended under warranty no drama's. … Read more ·  1

Great to drive just like a car and and hassle free. The gs ute is just a fantastic drive , a sad day when all we have is one real Australian ute option and stuck with truck like performance and handling. car like ride and performance no longer manufacturing after 2016

Could be so much better – This car had two torque converters and a new gearbox by the time the first free service came around. At 4000k the tyres and rims were replaced because of vibration which came back two weeks later. Despite it being a 4.0L, this car is a wheezing old biddy and the auto hasn't got a clue. The trip computer and HVAC controls etc. are easy to use… Read more

and well laid out and the seats are comfortable with the 3rd seat coming in handy for small passengers on short trips. Sadly these are the only good points. The boss paid for it. Drive train issues, poor interior finish

Ford Falcon ute – We purchased several Falcon XR6 Limited Edition's in Sept 2011, one ute and one sedan, both manual. So we expected trouble free driving from new cars, well true to the word, they developed drive train problems straight from the car yard and both cars have been back for warranty work on several occasions. Great car though, but dealing with… Read more

Ford is a horrible experience, once they have your money, then its don't come back.

Brand new cars that develop problems, then the dealers want to charge you for a loan car, that you need because the product is faulty.

Do yourself a favour, go and buy something Japanese, it isn't worth the effort for a Ford.

Bad warranty experience

Good – Overall Ford utes are very tough and I had never had a problem with mine. It was very practical being able to carry large weights on the back tray and had great storage behind the seats. This ute had alot of power and considering the engine size, also good fuel economy. Could carry alot of weight in the tray, great storage space behind seats. Good… Read more

fuel economy for a 4L engine, good safety rating/features Uncomfortable seating, not much leg room or glove box space.

Good – Compared to japansese utes, this is a bigger, more comfortable, more drivable, more safe choice. While many people may talk about taking it back to the dealership, you can expect much cheaper repairs than an import. Drives like a Falcon - comfortable, powerful, great on the highway. Much better seating (good height and length adjustment), features… Read more

(trip computer, cruise etc.), safety (similar to the sedan). Good sized tray. No 4 door option. A bit thirstier than expected on the highway - I struggled to get under 10L per 100km in a trayback, when I can easily get under this in a sedan. Shows the difference aerodynamics make I guess.

OK – The basic Gas version could have received a bit more power. 'Performance mode' gear box feels slower than 'normal' shift. Feels solid overall. Will have to seriously think hard about another one next time. Looks ok. A few more mods and cons and luxuries, always nice eg, MP3, climate control. Lower seating position. Plastic dress bits along the… Read more

bottom, easier to repair? Getting in and out of it - New ANCAP requirements maybe? - seat is behind cabin 'B' pillar and dash appears to protrude out even further making it a pain to get in and out of, its like I have to squeeze into to and out of it. If the sedan is like this I am sticking with my BA. Thumbs hurt at the 10 to 2 position as the steering wheel has sharper edges. Auto takes forever to get into reverse. Make blue tooth available across the range, the ute is my office...