A Ute For Every Purpose
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday June 2, 2004
LONGREACH is a town in Queensland's central west, roughly halfway between Barcaldine and Winton, and home to the Stockman's Hall of Fame.
Longreach was also the name given to Ford Australia's XG model utility sold between March 1993 and March 1996.
Ford has always been big in commercial vehicles and back in the early 1990s the Longreach was pretty much the standard by which full-sized utes were measured.
So come for a walk down memory lane as we revisit Longreach (the car, not the town) in this week's Preloved Wheels.
TYPE/MODELS: The words ``Aussie ute" can mean just one thing: a car-based workhorse with room for two (or maybe three) up front in a comfortable cabin and plenty of space behind for the tools, the dog or maybe even the motorbike or jet-ski.
And that was Longreach to a ``T".
There were plenty of model choices thanks to a range starting with the entry-level GLi, growing to the heavy-duty Outback before moving on to the quasi-sporty ``S" and topping out with the very raunchy XR6.
Think of a ute for every purpose and you pretty much have Longreach down pat.
ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS: Ford's 4.0 litre, fuel-injected, single overhead camshaft, inline six-cylinder was the mainstay motor for XG Longreach and buyers could have it in one of two states of tune.
For GLi, Outback and ``S" the 4.0 litre developed a comfortable 148 kilowatts at 4900rpm and 353 newton metres of torque at 3000rpm.
Buyers opting for the XR6 variant were given 161 kilowatts at 4600rpm and 366 newton metres at 3500rpm.
Transmission choices were a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Interestingly, the auto shifter could be had with either a floor change or, if the three-person bench seat was optioned, a column shift, but only on GLi and Outback.
STYLING: Realising that the words ``ute" and ``styling" should probably not be used in the same sentence, we can say the XG looked pretty good. For a ute.
It had the basic front-end (bonnet, mudguards, grille, bumper, valance, headlights, windscreen and doors) from the Falcon sedan and station wagon models but was obviously totally different from the trailing edges of the doors back.
There was an interesting little quarter-window behind the door glass to break up any heaviness that might have been created by the rear pillar, the rear windscreen was a flat glass panel and the load area was a nice rectangular box complete with black tonneau cover.
GLi and Outback had steel wheels with chrome trims and ``S" and XR6 had standard alloy wheels.
Outback inclusions ran to a hefty 'roo bar and a higher stance courtesy of raised, heavy-duty suspension and XR6 inherited the quad-headlights, colour-coded bumpers and red body side mouldings.
INTERIOR: Falcon floorpan, Falcon front-end and, it almost goes without saying, basically a Falcon interior layout.
Instrument panels and dash layouts were a standard carry-over and so were the front seats and centre console. In other words, ute buyers got what passenger car buyers got which meant no loss of comfort despite the obvious workhorse overtones.
Standard equipment in the GLi and Outback included power-assisted steering, a two-speaker audio with cassette player and cloth trim on the two bucket seats (or optional bench seat).
Moving into the ``S" brought sports-style buckets, a more expansive centre console and better quality carpet.
OTHER INCLUSIONS: Outback had a long-range fuel tank, engine sump guard and Hydra-Trak limited-slip differential and XR6 was given a limited-slip differential (but different to the Hydra-Trak) and firm sports suspension.
CHASSIS: The 4.0 litre, six-cylinder engine was a longitudinal fit under the long bonnet and the drive was to the rear wheels.
Suspension was by upper and lower arms, coil springs and telescopic dampers at the front and six-leaf semi-elliptic springs and telescopic dampers locating the rigid rear axle.
Brakes were power-assisted discs front and rear and steering was a power-assisted rack and pinion set-up.
DIMENSIONS: Built on a 2957mm wheelbase, the XG Longreach was 4920mm long, 1388mm high and 1860mm wide.
HISTORY: The XG Longreach was launched in March 1993. In August that year Ford standardised its SmartLock security system and added a one-tonne load option which basically meant beefing up the suspension.
Longreach XR6 was introduced in October 1993 and the Outback was added in June 1995.
The range was superseded by the EL Falcon-based XH utility in April 1996.
VERDICT: Chalk this one down as a genuine ``good thing".
It was tough, willing, able and comfortable with a good, reliable engine that was big enough to give the ute plenty of power without breaking the bank at the bowser.
Minor oil leaks were common but were more of a production glitch than an engine malady.
Demand from buyers intent on being part of the ute cult have helped keep prices buoyant.
PRICES: GLi pricing starts at $6000 to $7000 for a 1993 model and works upwards in approximate $1000 increments for succeeding years with the 1996 model running to between $9000 $10,500.
For ``S" utes add about $500 to the appropriate GLi prices while the Outback (June 1995 March 1996) should cost between $8000 and $10,000.
And the XR6? Try $10,000 $12,000 for 1993 and 1994 models, $12,000 $13,000 for 1995 examples and up to about $14,000 for a 1996.
ALSO CONSIDER: Holden Ute.
© 2004 Newcastle Herald
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