AU falcon vs VN/P

[greenfoam]

I've been driving both these cars everyday for a few weeks now, swapping cars a few times during the day. So I thought I'd give my thoughts on the differences. Now I've been swapping into my VP 5 liter but the story is the same for the V6 apart from a bit less power.

The AU is just smooth and nice to cruise the highway on, The VP is a pretty bumpy ride but it's alot more racey on quick changes in direction due to the FE2 suspension. But I have to say the AU handles better or has much more potential to handle better because I've had it sideways accidently a few times and you can steer out of the slide way more easy than I can in the VP, in the AU one little counter steer and you are straight again in the VP I tend to end up doing a few crazy fishies up the road before I'm back in control .

So the AU wins in handling. The brakes are good on the AU, better than a VN V6 but not quite as good as the 5 litres brakes (or FE2 V6), that's probably just because the AU's a couple hundred kg's heavier. The looks.... well although it's a later series of AU and looks ok it's not as pretty as either a VN or VP, but it's not too bad these days.

The interior is black in the AU and look styling as but I don't really like the shape of the dash compared to the VN/P which is way more classic and I'd say way more drugs were involved in the design of the AU's dash:P. AU wins on seats and VN/P wins on dash. I like the AU's Hazzard switch hiding behind the wheel better than the stupid triangle red button on the VY/Z but the VN/P's is in a even better spot.

Fuel use, well the AU wins that standing on it's head backwards, no comparason really against either the V6 or V8, it's very cheap to run a AU (great taxi :P)

Power, both the V6 VN and 5 liter VP are waaaaaaaaaaaaay faster than a AU, the AU goes ok though! pretty good for a family cruising machine, it has traction issues from a standing start but even from a rolling start it's not near as quick as the V6 although it definatly has decent power, it's just the weight keeping it that second and a half or so slower to 100.

Easy of driving, The AU has less brain stress because it rattles less, well not at all. Steers easy, brakes easy all the pedals are grandma friendly soft etc. When I get straight out of the AU into the 5 liter VP im like uRGHH heavy wheel, heavy throttle, massssssssive heavy steering, push throttle harder to go forward... rip a hole in the driveway etc. It just feels so much heavier and tank like even though it's 200 kgs lighter than the AU. Anyway that's my opinions of those cars

[NOGEN 3]

You forgot how boggy the AU's are down low compared to the VNV6 aswell...
The Hire car AU I drove after the VN (s)pakker I had handled like a meatball, imo???
And yes, the VN is muuuuch prettier...

[andynogo]

Greenie, don't tell me you have gone to the dark side!!!!!

[andynogo]

I must admit my VP is pretty agricultural compared to the VY I drive at work (about to be upgraded to a VE- we'll see how that is). I owned (preparing for flameage) an EB Fairmont Ghia 5L a few years back and thought it was probably a bit nicer than my VP...but... that fuel consumption! Terrible for the 302. Still prefer the looks of my dunnydoor to the fords, especially in wagon form.

[padrickz88]

i know what you mean greenfoam, when i drove my mates AU (was a manual but) the handling was better then the vn i have..... even though mine isnt hard to fix when it slides out (for some reason my steering is VERY light) so its not as bad.... there not a bad car really, but i drove and manual and i heard the auto's go like crap because of such a long 1st gear? oooooo well ill stay to my vn. thank god holden didnt make the mistake of putting a long ratio for 1st gear

[vq_statss]

how can u compare a newer car to a 15 year old car of course it will handle better being a new car.technolgy has changed a lot over the years..shouldnt u compare to a vt or somthing.i had a xr8 au 5 speed pursuit ute with tickford motor that i used for work..apprently they have 220/250 kw.yes it went hard but i reckon me staty has more down low and wouldve give it a good go.

[88GreenVN]

My dads AU is soooo slow (181000kms & gas). Say no more. Steers OK and with new rotors stops OK

The heavy steering on a VN/VP is generally the size and tread depth of tyre. Too big and worn out tyres = heavy steering. Oh and the amount of air in em.

[greenfoam]

how can u compare a newer car to a 15 year old car of course it will handle better being a new car.technolgy has changed a lot over the years..shouldnt u compare to a vt or somthing.i had a xr8 au 5 speed pursuit ute with tickford motor that i used for work..apprently they have 220/250 kw.yes it went hard but i reckon me staty has more down low and wouldve give it a good go.

I also drive a VY almost every day but It's pretty much the same as a VN/P but a bit slower (still faster than the AU) and the VY has no rattles apart from that and equal brakes to the 5 liter VP it's the same to drive as a VN/P but really apart from the rattles they aren't much different

[pandaman]

how can u compare a newer car to a 15 year old car of course it will handle better being a new car.technolgy has changed a lot over the years..shouldnt u compare to a vt or somthing.i had a xr8 au 5 speed pursuit ute with tickford motor that i used for work..apprently they have 220/250 kw.yes it went hard but i reckon me staty has more down low and wouldve give it a good go.

Well if you think about it, in terms of suspension Holden has been using the same mcpherson strut front setup in the commdores for a long long time, with minor revisions. The IRS setup used from VP onwards didn't change an awful lot through to VY either from what I've seen of it.

The only difference if he compared it to a VT rather than the VN/VP would be that the VT gains back a little in terms of smoothness (although the ecotec is still a harsher engine than the ford I6) and loses out a little in terms of acceleration.

My own experiences lead me to agree entirely with greenfoams assesment of the two vehicles. I would also add that while he says the AU steers and brakes "easy" I find both to be far too soft for my liking. The firm pedal and steering feel in the commodores makes them a far better "drivers car" IMHO. Late model falcons make very comfortable highway cars though, lost count of the amount of times I've had this argument with dad, he reckons the VN isn't comfortable enough, I reckon his AU is a grandpa car. (EDIT: Just remembered that's ok, in two months time he will be a grandfather, poor bastard)

[greenfoam]

hhaah, yeah the VN is the better car to drive if you are into sporty for sure the AU well all Fords really have the brakes set up to come on very hard early in the pedal and then have not much left after the initial bite, that's something I don't like but you do get used to it. Holden tend to set the brakes up so you have no initial bite and you have to go deeper on the pedal, but it's more progressive.

Still I'm not saying the AU is good or VN's are good or anything, just the differences between them and all the Fords from EA to BF share alot of parts with the AU and I expect would be fairly similar to drive just like there's not alot of difference between the Commodores pre VE right back to the VB's (apart from the driveline).

My VH sle with a 202 still feels just like any other Commodore to drive except its also lacking in the VN/P's rattles

[88GreenVN]

My VH sle with a 202 still feels just like any other Commodore to drive except its also lacking in the VN/P's rattles

To fix some of the rattles I glue the clips back together with selleys all clear and let it set for a few days

[pandaman]

hhaah, yeah the VN is the better car to drive if you are into sporty for sure the AU well all Fords really have the brakes set up to come on very hard early in the pedal and then have not much left after the initial bite, that's something I don't like but you do get used to it. Holden tend to set the brakes up so you have no initial bite and you have to go deeper on the pedal, but it's more progressive.

Yeah the brakes are weird, the pedal is soft, but the buggers bite hard, it's shockingly bad pedal feel.

Still I'm not saying the AU is good or VN's are good or anything, just the differences between them and all the Fords from EA to BF share alot of parts with the AU and I expect would be fairly similar to drive just like there's not alot of difference between the Commodores pre VE right back to the VB's (apart from the driveline).

My VH sle with a 202 still feels just like any other Commodore to drive except its also lacking in the VN/P's rattles

E-series falcons are similar to the AU, but not as refined, basically the same as the relationship between new and old commodores, you're right, although with some there is a pronounced difference, for example the 3 speed CFI EA is just dreadful, whereas an EB (or even a later EA with mpfi and the 4 speed) in decent nick can be quite an acceptable performer.

[immortality]

i recon it's better to have a bit of road feel through the steering and i like a nice firm brake pedal. i still recon my early commodores are the nicest to drive which is why i'm going to build a VK with ecotec/t5 driveline etc. my old man has a ford mondeo st with 2.5 v6/5spd and it's a nice car. you need to rev it to get it to go and it's got great brakes. he turned down a BF falcon cause he recons the mondeo is better. funilly enough ford did a local test at pukekohe racepark a few years back with all new falcons and the mondeo and the only thing faster then the mondeo around the track where the V8 falcons and then not by that much.

[vztrt]

What AU Falcon was it?

[greenfoam]

The one I drive? it's a series ii clasic? or somethin like that. I just drove it then and swapped it for my VP :P the VP is bad, it makes me drive a bit throttle happy. Anyways I survived the trip home while wishing I had a video camera in the car, pulled the thermostat all excited to put a 180 degree one in it and gain my 3rwkw:P but it allready had a 180 in it, graaa oh well

[holden#1]

as a ex taxi driver I have experienced Series 1 11 & 111 Au Falcons...

They do cruise nicely, that is the only thing I liked about them...
They used approx 25l / 100 kays of auto gas, they were very gutless..

I drove some with less than 100,000 kays which hadn't been thrashed - considering they were on gas they were still gutless...

Series 1 AU's have a interior similar to a EL, it was upgraded in the series 11, I would never buy a series 1!

I would have to say they are reasonably tough - I haven't broken one yet!

[vq_statss]

hey greenfoam.can u please explain how the thermostat gives u more kws is it because it runs cooler.

[greenfoam]

Yeah theres just 15F less heat in the motor and manifold whish give you a denser air into the cylinders which makes more bang, it's worth just a few kws, nothing major but it is all through the entire rev range so that's something worth having. But don't go cooler than 180 because you need a certain heat in the oil to make maximum power and if you go really cool like a 160 then some maps in the tune wont engage anymore unless you change the tune, also 160 is too cool for the oil and will increase acids in the oil and increase engine wear. 180F is the winner really, anytime you can gain a few kw for 15 bucks and 10 minutes of your time it's good right?

[vq_statss]

thanks greenfoam sounds good.myns a 5lt.is that for a six or eight.

[vztrt]

as a ex taxi driver I have experienced Series 1 11 & 111 Au Falcons...

They do cruise nicely, that is the only thing I liked about them...
They used approx 25l / 100 kays of auto gas, they were very gutless..

I drove some with less than 100,000 kays which hadn't been thrashed - considering they were on gas they were still gutless...

Series 1 AU's have a interior similar to a EL, it was upgraded in the series 11, I would never buy a series 1!

I would have to say they are reasonably tough - I haven't broken one yet!

Yeah the 4sp on the falcons arn't much chop even when the I6 has more torque than the equivalent Commo. But when a T5 is put behind them they go much harder.

Greanfoam - I think the classic is just a SE povopack Falcon. There's a big leap in the AU XR6 compared to this Falcon.

[greenfoam]

The XR6's pull almost the same times on the 1/8th mile as a VN V6 so they are much better than the base models

[immortality]

give me a 5 spd VN anytime, oh, hang on. i got one already

[holden007]

AU Falcons are pretty reliable but dont look great. They are smoother and quieter, but what I love in my VR is the roughness, just make its more enjoyable to drive.

BA/BF Falcons are pretty quick, but I have drove at work, after they hit 50k +, they sort of lose power, I driven VN's and they feel very powerful. These cars are regularly serviced and not thrashed (as most are lady drivers).

[Chilli_Red]

hhaah, yeah the VN is the better car to drive if you are into sporty for sure the AU well all Fords really have the brakes set up to come on very hard early in the pedal and then have not much left after the initial bite, that's something I don't like but you do get used to it. Holden tend to set the brakes up so you have no initial bite and you have to go deeper on the pedal, but it's more progressive.

Yes I definetly noticed this the few times ive driven friends commodores and statesmans. To be honest im used to driving falcons so I found it to be very diferent the first couple of times Ive driven commodores but ive definetly gotten used to it.

[xcop5l]

Being a *cough* ford specialist *cough* i can tell you all sorts of reasons why to steer clear of an au falcon but im not going to.

im going to make a coment about the brake setup. with the s1 au's the front brakes were single piston calipers, with the s2 and s3's they had twin piston calipers. this didnt change the inital braking "bite" that the au's have but it did give them slightly more better braking. the inital bite and not much after that caused a problem with the rotors and becoming too hot and warping giving you brake shudder and aslo causing loss of braking force.

some au's are worse than others. (most likly the way the driver brakes) but if you drive hard and brake late and hard (like i do some times in my comodore)
you will cause this shudder alot faster than others.
imop the comodore brakes have a better feel and grip compared to the au's. also i think the comodore brakes last longer.
some of the ba/bfs only get 40,000 out of a set of front pads. where as vy/vzhave been getting 60,000+ out of a new set (thats from my experence in the work shop) and just a bit of usless info alot of the popular toyotas (land cruiser,highace,corola ect) are all getting 100,000+