IF the entry level XT illustrates most graphically how far Ford has come with the BA Falcon, then the Fairmont Ghia - flagship of the short-wheelbase range - provides the most lasting impression of the new Falcon's accomplishments. In top-shelf, optional V8 guise as tested here, Ghia lines up directly with Holden's Calais V8 and gives us our first taste of Ford's sophisticated new 5.4-litre overhead camshaft V8. Look past the restrained, classical treatment of the masculine new BA shape and the blood-quickening V8 performance, however, and you'll find massive gains in cabin quietness, ambience, presentation and equipment, plus an entirely new independent rear suspension that delivers the perfect balance between ride quality and body control. Offering a combination of comfort, practicality, dynamics and performance usually found in far more expensive German cars, the BA Fairmont Ghia V8 is the best executed, most opulent expression of luxury family-size motoring Australia has ever produced.

Ford Fairmont Ghia
Released: September 98
Ended: August 2002
Family Tree: FalconSO new is Ford's $500 million BA Falcon that, technically, the 2003 Fairmont Ghia V8's most direct predecessor is the AU Fairmont Ghia, released in September 1998. The last new Falcon before that was the EF of August 1994, which became the EFII in October 1995 and then the EL in September 1996. The AU Fairmont Ghia V8 featured a 175kW 5.0-litre Windsor throughout its life cycle, including the AUII of April 2000 and AUIII of November 2001.
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