Ford Falcon G6E Turbo is carsguide's Car of the Year 2008

Ford Falcon G6E Turbo is carsguide's Car of the Year 2008

 New Falcon also wins People’s Choice Award

 The large Australian family sedan is back with a vengeance, with the team of editors at carsguide voting for the Ford Falcon G6E Turbo to be 2008’s carsguide Car of the Year.

The G6E also won carsguide’s People Choice Award 2008, winning 27 per cent of the votes.

Carsguide believes Ford might just have built the best car ever to be manufactured in Australia. Editor of carsguide.com.au, Karla Pincott, said Ford had bucked the trend against traditional large family cars such as the Falcon. She said it would have been easy for the team at Ford to drop the bundle as they worked towards producing a new car for a market segment that was shrinking before their eyes.

“However instead of throwing in the towel Ford has built not only the best Falcon but a contender for the best car Australia has ever built - full stop.”

While the G6E Turbo - which sports a turbocharged 4.0-litre straight-six engine - is the official carsguide Car of the Year, the plaudits extend to the entire FG range.

One huge box the G6E Turbo ticks – along with the whole FG range - is safety.

The FG Falcon is the first Australian-built car to win five safety stars from the Australian New Car Assessment Program. Carsguide’s national editor, Paul Gover, said that for a family car, such a safety achievement could not be overstated.

“The attention to engineering detail on the FG shone through from start to finish,” he said.

 “This is an extraordinary achievement by Ford, a slam dunk – the traditional Australian family sedan is back.”

 The Falcon was a whopping 77 points out of a possible 80 in the final voting by carsguide editors.

The Jaguar XF came in second while the BMW 135i Sport came in third. Runner up in the People’s Choice Award was the Holden Sportwagon SS with 16 per cent of the vote followed by the Honda Accord Euro 2.4, which scored 12 per cent.

For more information visit – www.carsguide.com.au/coty.