Ford FPV GT-P 2011 Review
We pay attention to the newest and brightest stars in the automotive world, asking the questions you want answered. But there's only one question that really needs to be answered, would you buy it?
What it is?
It is the best Ford Performance car currently available in Australia and will soon be superseded by the HO version, supposedly producing 375 kW (500 hp).
How many?
A sip! $81,540 plus on the roads.
What are the competitors?
HSV GTS and Chrysler 300C SRT8, the latter getting more cubes and power soon.
What's under the hood?
A 5.0-litre supercharged, DOHC V8 petrol engine delivering a claimed 335kW/570Nm of power through a choice (at no additional cost) of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels.
How are you?
Damn fast and fast, though the heavily inflated top gears in a manually operated car were useless for anything other than lazy cruising.
Is it economical?
Not really, if you drive carefully you might see 12s, if you're excited you'll see 30s.
Is it green?
Not really, especially consuming so much juice. A lot of gas will flow out of the four exhaust pipes.
How safe is it?
Receives a five-star accident rating on a par with the garden variety Falcon - a distant relative.
It's comfortable?
Surprisingly, in fact, perhaps too comfortable at the expense of sporty dynamics. The soft suspension allows the big, heavy GT-P to rock on undulating roads at moderately fast speeds. We need two modes - comfort and sport. The adjustable seats are great and there's a ton of stuff inside to make you happy.
What is it like to drive a car?
Disappointing due to soft suspension and weight. This is a big pig and the boundaries are clearly set as soon as you push too hard. While the "bimodal" exhaust sound doesn't wiggle like, say, the Benz C63AMG, the buzzing supercharger is pretty cool. The brakes and steering are fine, need wider tires to handle the weight and power of the engine. We'd go with an automatic because the top two gears won't be as useless as on a manual.
Is this value for money?
Not really, none of this type of car is. FPV stuffs it with luxury goodies to try and cover the price, but it needs to be a sharper scalpel rather than a big ax with a blunt ignition key and start button.
Would we buy one?
We would choose an FPV F6 turbo, something sporty from Europe or a turbo rice cooker.
Ford FPV GT-P
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
