The 2002 Ford Fairlane AU Sportsman has become one of the most affordable pieces of luxury money can buy, often overlooked in favor of its sportier cousins. The owner, Zane, notes that the AU Falcon has acquired national stardom as probably the most Australian car there is, with its endearing, subjectively ugly looks having nearly reached full circle and become cool again. Zane chose this particular model over the Falcon for its objectively better and more refined styling, drop-dead gorgeous leather interior, and the impressive price of under $3500. While most people might argue these cars have always looked cool, reports from twenty years ago would say otherwise, highlighting how current taste has shifted.
Size and Comfort
Separating the Fairlane from the Falcon is more than just different styling; it actually uses the same floorpan from the wagon, resulting in a super-long wheelbase and an overall massive car. Measuring up to 5.1 metres long, it sizes up things like the Nissan Patrol and 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser while having the same roof height as a Toyota Camry. Despite its size, sitting behind the wheel, it just feels like you’re scooting around in a standard medium-sized sedan, made a whole lot easier by parking sensors and an aftermarket reversing camera. The fact that the wheels were so far apart, and the car weighed in at 1700kg, meant it seriously soaked up any bump on the Australian roads.
The cabin inside this land-barge is a study in preserved history. The one purchased by Zane had around 400,000km on the dash but was a one-owner-from-new car. The leather had been meticulously maintained and showed signs of maybe 100,000km in the seats. Everything inside still worked, from the AM/FM radio to the LTD-optioned sound system and even the multi-disc CD player.
All of the front-row electrics still allowed for the seats to be set into place, and the LCD screen for fuel economy and climate controls worked a charm. The suspension, which had been refreshed just before purchase, saw such a plush ride that only modern cars could dream of now. Being a control freak who hates being a passenger, Zane found himself throwing the keys to friends and simply lounging in the back of this vehicle.
Performance and Reliability
Zane opted for the six-cylinder over the more common 5.0-litre Windsor V8 engine, selecting the pinnacle of Australian engineering at the time. This version of the Intech is the same motor that powered the sportier XR6 Falcon, with VCT (variable valve timing) that the Tickford engineering firm had its hands on. It meant he could have a car that put out 7kW and 25Nm less than the thumping V8 while saving on fuel. This choice stood in contrast to the American engines that powered the Holden Commodore, representing a distinct peak in local automotive development. However, as is the case with a lot of these old Falcons, issues showed up after a few thousand kilometres.
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The window actuators started having issues with being stuck down, requiring the entire door card to be torn off to put the windows back up manually. The climate controls simply stopped working because it was electronically controlled. The worst of the worries came from the four-speed automatic BTR gearbox, known as the worst of the worst when it came to Australian cars. This transmission resembled more of a sieve than a housing; you fix one leak, and it starts from another spot.
It ended up getting so bad that gearbox overheating became common, eating into fuel economy and flat-out refusing to shift. Luckily, this gearbox can be picked up on any classifieds site for a case of beer and replaced over a weekend. The engine, while strong internally, also suffered from Ford’s TFI module issues—the sensor that told the computer when to fire the spark—and the coil, two commonly failing parts that were in the worst-to-reach spot.
For the owner, the practical reality of driving a car this large is a unique mix of isolation and luxury. There is a distinct sensation of being cocooned in a massive machine that barely reacts to the road surface, which changes how one approaches driving entirely. When the mechanical headaches are resolved, the vehicle offers a level of ride comfort that feels almost alien in the modern era. It forces a slower, more deliberate pace, where the act of moving from point A to point B becomes less about the journey and more about the experience of being enveloped by a heavy, quiet, and insulated environment.
Conclusion
Once all of these issues were fixed, the car just drove like a dream—almost causing a wave of sadness to wash over the owner as he knows nothing like this will be made by Aussies again. As much as he’d love to modify the living daylights out of it, it’s a strange enough car that the only thing that would somewhat improve it for his usage would be some stiffer springs in the rear so it actually tows.