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Ford FG Falcon - Class Leading Space in All New FG Falcon

Staff, Friday April 11, 2008.

Page 1 of 1

Click Here for Images of the All New FG Falcon
The all-new FG Falcon introduces all-new exterior and interior architectures and designs, which provide a stylish, safe and refined occupant package with class-leading space in a host of key areas.
The new FG Falcon vehicle package has been designed to provide improved ingress and egress with larger door openings and wider door opening angles, a roomier vehicle interior, enhanced vision for the driver and improved safety and structural performance.
"Not only does the new FG Falcon improve on the packaging of it predecessor, but it also provides the most head room, hip room and shoulder room, front and rear, in its class," Ford Australia Falcon & Territory Vehicle Line Director, Russell Christophers said.
"It delivers improved ingress and egress for front and rear occupants, a refined cabin environment, enhanced visibility and optimised primary controls, along with class-leading luggage space and rear seat flexibility.
"This outstanding packaging is also a direct expression of the cockpit-like interior delivered by the design team, which provides sporty, encapsulating seating down low with expansive room higher in the cabin."
The wide range of package improvements developed for the FG Falcon program have infused the new model range with greater occupant space, comfort and protection.
The new FG Falcon provides customers with the most user-friendly overall vehicle package amongst the large car class, incorporating greater interior space, luggage capacity and towing capability with the safest body structure of any Australian-built vehicle and a world-class package of safety features.
Vehicle Package
The overall vehicle package links seating and ergonomics with the mechanical package, to develop a vehicle architecture that delivers minimum space for the hardware and maximum space for the occupants.
This design principle is achieved through the optimisation of the seating package, luggage/cargo package, external visibility, ingress/egress, mechanical package and ergonomics.
"For the FG Falcon, our team of designers and engineers have created a spacious occupant environment that is supportive, versatile and engaging for the customer," Ford Australia Vehicle Package and Ergonomics Supervisor, David Walton said.
"With a minimal increase in the vehicle footprint and silhouette, an enhanced passenger environment has been developed courtesy of improved ingress and egress, particularly for the rear seat, along with improvements to visibility, safety and refinement."
The new body structure architecture has a superior A-pillar position, which has been moved forward and outboard at the top, increasing the size of the door opening and creating an ‘airier’ cabin feel.
The A-pillar section has also been optimised in terms of thickness and shape to reduce driver vision obscuration, without compromising structural integrity and performance.
The header intersection between the top of the windscreen and the interior roof lining has also been repositioned, to improve forward-up vision by three degrees and enable tall objects, such as street signs and traffic lights, to be more easily viewed.
"A flatter roof section with tighter edge radii than the previous model has reduced the roof curvature and tumblehome, for increased head room and improved visibility," Walton said.
"The rear of the B-pillar has been moved forward, allowing greater rear door length and swing for a wider opening and improved rear seat ingress and egress."
The C-pillar contour has been redesigned, enabling the larger rear doors and windows to extend further into the C-pillar region, which also improves rear seat ingress and egress for occupants, as well as delivering improved side visibility.
Rear wheel arch intrusion has been reduced, creating more room in the area next to the rear seats for occupant space, a wider door opening and better ingress/egress.
The new door structure has produced larger door opening angles, with the swing-open angle on the front doors increasing by 5.5 degrees, while rear door swing has increased by 8.5 degrees.
Inside, the cowl has been redesigned and moved forward, enabling the dashboard and instrument panel to also be moved forward, creating more space for the driver and allowing improved placement of the instruments.
The new roof structure and vehicle silhouette, in conjunction with the new roof rails and interior seating position, has increased head room all around � particularly at the rear where it is up by 13 mm.
The new door structure and interior trim designs have increased front and rear shoulder room by 10 mm and 24 mm respectively, while front and rear hip room have increased by 25 mm and 22 mm respectively.
The new rear seating position and redesigned front seat backs have increased rear leg room by 10 mm, while the new instrument panel, new steering column shroud and redesigned footwell have improved driver knee room.
"The all-new single piece body side on FG Falcon is 4 mm wider, yet intrudes less into the occupant space, having less curvature and being more upright for better head room and general interior roominess," Walton said.
"The FG Falcon roof section also has less curvature and is therefore higher at key points, enabling inclusion of advanced safety items, such as side curtain airbags, for improved occupant protection.
"The front door opening has been moved forward, has a wider opening angle and better head clearance from the flatter roof line, while the rear door opening also has better head clearance, as well as less curvature at the rear and less wheel arch intrusion.
"All of these design features enable the FG Falcon to have better ingress and egress, improved interior room and a greater sense of spaciousness than its predecessor, while it is also now the leader for overall vehicle package amongst its competitors."
In addition to the wide range of improvements to the passenger area, the new luggage compartment on FG Falcon has class-leading space and functionality, offering a larger volume, flexible and fully useable luggage area compared to its competitors.
FG Falcon provides a 535-litre capacity luggage compartment when fitted with the standard temporary use spare wheel/tyre, combined with boot lid hinges that do not impinge on the useable load area and a 60/40 split-fold rear seat for added flexibility.
When fitted with the optional full size spare wheel/tyre combination, luggage capacity remains class-leading at 505 litres.
Primary controls
The feel, function and location of key controls and systems has been improved and optimised on the all-new FG Falcon, to give customers a more intuitive feel for major controls and reduced operating efforts.
A number of exterior controls have been improved, with the most noticeable being the new pull-type European-style door handles � the first time they have been featured on a Falcon model � in lieu of the flush-mounted type used previously.
The opening motion of the new pull-type door handle is more natural and requires less effort, improving overall operability.
Other improvements include a new electronic release switch on the boot lid of sedan models, which enables easy one-touch access to the luggage area.
When pressed, the soft-touch pad on the underside of the boot lid garnish (beneath the Ford badge) will open the boot lid providing the vehicle is unlocked.
On the inside, the ergonomics of the gear lever position have been improved, along with switch position and feel for a number of key functions.
The gear lever has been raised and angled to position it closer to the driver for improved operating comfort, while the centre console has also been raised to support the driver’s arm, creating a better relationship between the steering wheel and the gear lever for driving activities.
A new park brake has been developed for FG Falcon with an integrated self-adjustor mechanism that reduces the required travel angle of the lever when pulled into an active position.
The new features means there is less effort required to apply the park brake, as well as less lever intrusion when it is applied.
The switch for adjusting the exterior mirrors has been moved from the window sill to the driver’s door armrest, optimising its placement for easier reach and operation for the driver.
Switch location and feel for other functions has also been optimised to improve overall cabin ergonomics.
"The material, surface textures, weighting and feedback of each control is varied depending on its function, providing quick identification of the control function and improved control feedback," Walton said.
Click Here for FG Falcon Dimensions and Capacities
For further information, contact:
Justin Lacy Public Affairs Brand Manager Phone: (03) 9359 8486 Email: jlacy4@ford.com

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