Went For A Spin In The G6e Turbo

[hafadude]

Hey MGR,

Agree on what you said about the instruments. You'd expect them on a Hyundai Getz or even a Holden, ha! Rest of the car is very nice though

[Hey Charger]

I had my test drive last week of the G6E Turbo.

In the wet.

I’m glad in a way. I was my first drive of a car with that much power on tap. I was glad of its driveability in those conditions. It was the only way of convincing the wife that it’s a good buy, if she was going to be able to drive wet conditions.

[MGR]

My test drive was also in damp conditions. However there were a few dry patches around to give the GE6T a useful squirt. On one occasion the sales rep insisted I give it a boot-full up a slight incline in the damp. Of course the car broke into instant wheel spin so I eased the throttle and just dribble up the hill with the back tyres rotating faster than the front. It was good few seconds before the traction control decided that enough was enough and it brought the wheel spin to an abrupt halt.

The sales rep looked puzzled and quizzed me if I had disabled the DSC, which of course I hadn't. "It's never spun that long before?" he claimed. Perhaps it recognised the fact I was controlling the wheel spin by reducing the power with my right foot? When the TC finally did cut the fun it wasn't the most subtle system I've come across. Reminded me of the older model Late model camira TC systems in the company cars I used to drive. Comparatively the TC system in my current VZ SV6 works much better, however given the fact it's trying to control much less power and torque, perhaps that's not a fair comparison.

Apart from the cruddy resale value of Fords (and Holdens) - compared to other makes/models - it's difficult to find fault with the G6ET, especially it's aesthetics. I understand the XR6T is never going to be at the same level as the G6ET internally but there's a few things that just don't gel.

1. The Instrument Cluster

As I've said earlier, I'm not a fan of the new gauges. Of course the XR range is catering to a different breed of consumer compared to the G range, but I though Ford would've recognised that motor vehicles aren't driven by five year olds.

2. No sunglasses holder

I can live without leather, colour LCD, premium sound, fully electric seats etc, but why did they have to skimp on a $5 piece of plastic moulding? My 2005 SV6 has one and it's the most used storage compartment in the car. Simple cheap feature that made it into the 'G' series and should have been in the XR range.

3. 'Streetwise' trim

The red and blue trims are too tacky and the black too dark. The silver is a good compromise but it's overlayed with a black crochet looking knit. It's like my Nanna's made me some car seat covers I can't take off.

Could be worse I guess...

SS-V

I much prefer the interior of the VE SV6 and they have a Sportswagon version available soon which would be a better option for me in terms of practicality (kids, dogs etc). But the power of the XR6T is quite attractive and the massive torque would make it a good tow vehicle for the race car. But unless the Ford man can do the numbers I'll probably end up in another commondore.