A predictable result i guess..!!! Only has me thinking if the Falcon is considered better than the 380 , the series 2 380 better be damn good to make up for the understandable cost cutting in the interior.

http://drive.com.au/editorial/article.aspx?id=10744&vf=2&bg=1&pp=0

380 GT review

http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/mitsubishi-380-gt-review.htm

When is the 380 Series 2 due? Not for a while I imagine (probably two years for a facelift and an large facelift in 4 years) while an all-new Falcon is due in 2007 (and of course the new larger Commodore is coming next year.)

Considering its rivals are $7k more i think the LX is good value. Even if it does miss out on dual zone air con and reach control on the steering wheel.

Considering the two reviews posted, I would buy the 380 on price alone, even the GT is cheaper then the competition, and that extra money can be well spent on things like 20s,,,,hehehe :badgrin:

Well the boys at Ford asked to borrow a 380 VRX from me for a day, so in return I got a BF Falcon XR6 for the day, after driving it around for a day i come to the following conclusions:

Good Points:

Exterior still looks good
Seats are very comfortable
Big chunky steering wheel
Good looking cluster
Stering wheel mouted cruise, not stalk mounted


Bad Points:

Very heavy steering
Suspension is clunky, especially in the front
Gearbox (6spd) gets confused very easily and changes out of first stage too early
Driving position feels too crampt
Lots of rattles and squeeks (after only 700km on the clock)
Manual air conditioning
Poorly sealed interior plastics which exposed gaps
Seats are electric up and down only not forward and back
Centre console controls can not be easily used at a quick glance

In conclusion, if you drove the new BF Falcon, then drove the 380 immediately afterwards,you would be bloody crazy to go back and buy the Falcon.

I'm surprised you added the 6spd auto as a badpoint saying that it got confused easily. All the reviews i have read have nothing but praise for it saying that even under the most demanding circumstances the right ratio is picked. What did you do that confused the box?

Yeah I dont know how the 380 would go against the BF in Wheels Car of the Year - the previous NRMA "Australia's Best Cars" was against a BA MK2, not a BF - so it still had the old 4 speed auto in the xr6.

Regardless of all this praise for the Falcon the 380 still has a good chance of winning 'Wheels Car of the Year' for '06.

If not, Mitsubishi still has plenty of time next year to improve it stance for the '07 Wheels award when it hopefully (fingers crossed) updates some things on the 380.

A few key inclusions would be:
-Automatically Stability Control (If they made it standard on all models it would make the 380 superior then equipment levels in current Falcon and upcoming VE)
-Perhaps a high gloss silver centre column (aircon / radio controls,etc.) in GT and LX models
-190kw motor in VRX and 208kw motor on GT
-6 Speed Automatic (by all accounts the VE is having a 5 speed in V6 models and 6 speed in V8's)
-Automatic Headlights & Wipers, Memory steering column, mirrors and a high contrast dash (more like the one in the just releaserd Lexus is250 in terms of style)
-Possibly a 'Homelink' system on the GT models (a button when pushed opens your rollerdoor, so you don't need a remote to open it as the button is fixed in your car -- can be reprogramed as desired -- actually very cheap to fit to a car which has a bluetooth system, which the GT has)
-Biggest point of all, Inclusion of Curtain airbags along with front Head Airbags with the possibility of rear Head Airbags (this would give it a 5 star safety rating, making it the first Australian car to win this rating).
-Brake Assist would be handy; a feature available on other Mitsubishi models such as the Pajero and even the Colt

While this may seem alot to update for a newly released car; please take note that these are options/ideas for series 2. This series 2 model (of the 380) is what would be up against the BF Falcon and the VE Commodore for Wheels '07.

Speaking of the VE Commodore, what do you think of the front-end design anyhow? It is on the cover of Wheels this month.

Personally, I think that front end design of the VE is acutally a step-backward from the VZ. I honestly don't like it, the lights are smaller and it just looks out of place. Just wanting to know what others thought of the VE? I actually think that the VE may reduce Holden's volumes in sales after its initial release.

I reckon the front of the VE looks like the old astra from the front (if going by wheels)

I forgot to add my lack of understanding as to why the 380 GT wasn't tested??


Bad Points:

Very heavy steering
Suspension is clunky, especially in the front
Gearbox (6spd) gets confused very easily and changes out of first stage too early
Driving position feels too crampt
Lots of rattles and squeeks (after only 700km on the clock)
Manual air conditioning
Poorly sealed interior plastics which exposed gaps
Seats are electric up and down only not forward and back
Centre console controls can not be easily used at a quick glance

In conclusion, if you drove the new BF Falcon, then drove the 380 immediately afterwards,you would be bloody crazy to go back and buy the Falcon.
Well that contradicts with just about every journalist, but anyway.

In regards to COTY, the BF won't be considered because it's just a facelift, neither will the 07 380 upgrade unless it's as large as the AU-BA facelift. I'd say that the VE will make it into and possibly win 06 COTY and won't be considered in 07.
Cars are only considered if they are released in (fairly much) all-new form that year.
The 380 should have a good chance because there's not many other cars released (possibly the Focus, which won it's segment in the ABC awards) but I wouldn't be surprised if WHEELS wanted to give Mitsu a kick a long. Although one of the specs for winning is that the car has to be class leading, and by all accounts the 380 isn't so it'll be a controversial decision.

It's interesting to think about what makes a car 'class leader'.

It seems that lots of reviews have been favourable for the BF Falcon, and rightly so, it seems to be a great car. Having said that, there are some things as a buyer that are ultimately more important to me. Ie Mitsubishi's class leading warranty and the fact that you have to get into an XR6 before you get Fords new 6 speed auto whereas the mitsu still has the 5 speeder right through. And even when you do pay enough to get an XR OR Fairmont, the 380 starts to become far cheaper than it's holden/ford rivals anyway. To me, it all comes down to what you get for your money, and if that makes a car a 'class leader' then the 380 wins for me.

On another note, one writer recently commented that the 380 wasn't interesting enough and he wouldn't race around to show his mates like he would in an xr6. I find this strange. Personally I'd be much quicker to go show my mates if I had a new 380VRX because it's different. Seriously, who wants to be just another guy driving an XR6 or SV6. Frankly I'm sick to death of 'em.

I'm surprised you added the 6spd auto as a badpoint saying that it got confused easily. All the reviews i have read have nothing but praise for it saying that even under the most demanding circumstances the right ratio is picked. What did you do that confused the box?

Well if you put the foot down, it changes down, starts to get off its ass, if you then button off the accelerator the gearbox disengages gear, revs for about 3 seconds going nowhere then re-engages the previous gear. If you did the same action in the 380 it would not do this, our transmission is silky smooth.

From my first hand experience in the BF XR6, I think it would be an ok car if you were driving long straight roads..... I may be biased but I do not think the BF is worth raving about, it does not blow my hair back and i am sure the hardcore Ford fans will still buy it, but only because it is a Ford and not on the cars merits.

Further more, today Honda asked for the 380 LX, in return i got the Honda Accord L, 3.0L V6 VTEC, 177kW, leather, woodgrain, sat nav, all the bells and whistles, I had this car for the day, I honestly am struggling to fault it, the only bad bits i can pick on are the fact it is not tiptronic and it has very lazy traction control, what surprised me was how much grunt it had...... very quick I thought.

Honda Accords are very nice cars;but, personally I don't like their styling. They should seriously consider putting that V6 in the Accord Euro and it would attract more buyers. But, in terms of luxury performance and price the Honda is a good buy. Such a pity that the parts for a Honda are still retively expensive despite the increasing Australian dollar.

And for Wheels car of the year '06 the 380 should also have a significant chance because it is an all new model which thrashes both Falcon and Commodore in many areas (cruise control, climate control, 4xSRS airbags, price, warranty, reliability, durability, etc.). As said by someone before, the Falcon is just a facelift, and other the transmission, is basically the same car as the BA MkII.