Ford Falcon XF

The XF represented the last of the fourth generation cars, and featured softer, more rounded styling with revsions to the grille and bumpers, and new tail lamps.

The XF had big shoes to fill, the XE having taken Ford to the top of the sales charts, however Ford needed the XF to be something special with the General's VK Commodore quickly closing the margin.

The Ford enginners gave the XF a softer styling treatment, and even a new dash which presented a far more modern look than the outgoing XE.

Very popular, the XF would remain in production for 3 and a half years, from October 1984 through to February 1988. During its run, Ford made numerous improvements, and for the first time offered a 5 speed manual gearbox to most models.

The design was almost entirely new forward of the front pillars, and the rear had the obligatory tail lamp revision.

Other less noticeable inclusions were the padded head rests, adjustable steering column on all models except the GL, and a fold down panel in the centre of the rear seat to allow long items to extend through from the boot.

The Ghia went one further, fitted with beautifully elegant alloy wheels, a body coloured grille, cruise control and one of the most impressive ever electronic dash displays. Having a long production run meant revisions were the order of the day, and the XF was available in Family Edition and S-Pack.

The Family Edition featured a centafold front bench seat and two-tone paint scheme, while the S-Pack featured firmer suspension, was lowered 10mm and fitted with alloy wheels shod with performance tyres.

The fuel injected six cylinder engine, introduced in the previous model to replace the V8 received new management systems, and midway through the production run were modified further to allow the use of unleaded fuel.

September, 1985 saw the release of the special 25th Anniversary Falcon, featuring a choice of three colour schemes and unique badging and interior. 2000 were sold. Ford did have something to celebrate.

The XF was finally replaced by the 5th generation Falcon, the EA, in February 1988, however the utes and vans would continue in production and, in April 1991, an S version was made available complete with sports wheels and wider side body stripe. Power steering and a five speed manual gearbox was fitted as standard on all versions, and all this happened over 3 years after the last XF sedan had rolled off the production line!