ive had my series 2 for almost 2 years has never used a drop of oil unlike the gen 3. only prob was the clutch but that was due to abuse of course. gen 3s pull away in 3rd but first and second they got nothing on me, my manual, stock was good for a 14.8 uses bout 13.5L/100km lacks a bit of torque but its a small engine and easily improved ive done 14 hour drives and never felt tired cause of my leather seats steerings heaps better than my dads turbo feels sharper ba is i bit dull in comparison. its a bit feral too not smooth enuf to be boring always makes me smile everytime i go to work

but be prepared to hear crashing from the rear and only being able to carry one mate at a time but u can fit one in the supercab area the s2and 3 get the hand built motor .the other thing is that i always get called a bogan in it for some reason s**t happens tho

AU vs VT, yes.
BA vs VY, are you kidding me?
BF vs VZ, LS2 is the only saving grace, but it ain't enough against the turbos.

V8 Supercars?
We're winning that s**t too.

What winning edge are you talking about?

but you went off topic with the gen 3 comment so how is your point a "Valid piont" when its off topic?? the dude that started this thread asked for info on the ford.. EEERRR..

Well said.

Don't know about the AU vs VT one though.... for looks yes, but for quality, they are both on par with each other. Both have ordinary build quality. Performance is similar. It's only when Holden started dropping oil guzzling, piston slapping crate motors into the VTII is when the STRAIGHT LINE performance honours went the Commo's way for the V8's........

Well said.

Don't know about the AU vs VT one though.... for looks yes, but for quality, they are both on par with each other. Both have ordinary build quality. Performance is similar. It's only when Holden started dropping oil guzzling, piston slapping crate motors into the VTII is when the STRAIGHT LINE performance honours went the Commo's way for the V8's........until the oil ran dry, that is

whe looking to buy your ute look for a Tickford hand built plaque on the drivers side rocker cover, this will indicate that you have a car with the 200+ kw engine, my ute has it but unfortunately is an auto still kicks around abit under full load happy hunting

if yer after an AU3 XR8 ute my dads is for sale, immaculate condition

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i agree they are a very nice drive and in my opinion sometimes do feel better on the road than a BA/BF

AU vs VT ????
The AU (XR8) wins hands down, I have had the oppertunity to use both (I have an 220 AUII XR8 now) and find the interior and exterior way better then the Holden counterparts.

hsv interior is better than fpv interior hands down imo.

the HSV interior is better than an FPV WHAT!!! PLANET ARE YOU FROM!!! in my opinion the best interior ever in aford or holden is the au fairmont ghia with black leather trim BEUTIFUL

Can people please read thier post before submitting so that it actually reads in English!

Okay enough s**t slinging. I have an AU 3 XR8 and it is fantastic. Great build quality and awesome to drive. A Gen 3 is going to have more power and torque as it's a bigger engine with longer stroke.

IMO comparing apples to apples AU2/3 Vs VT/VU i think the AU is the better. The AU 1 is crap. Never buy generation 1, series 1 anything!

I sold my BA fairmont to go back to the AU3 xr8 as i was unhappy with:
A: Torque reduction
B: Interior layout (and Monte is better than Falcon for this)
C: Ride/Handling felt too synthetic

I have run an AU2 xls V8 for 6 years and have just sold it. Great vehicle but nothing on a Tickford. Bought an AU3 XLS 6 cyl which comes with the tickford XR engine. Great!

So now there's 2 AU 3 in the Garage and i couldn't be happier with them. Especially at the prices i paid for them.

Am I biased against the Holdens? Hell yes but i will recognise a good car when i see it. One thing the Holdens seem to keep trumping us at (not inc VT s1) is that they keep thier cars lighter. esp thier Sports/performance models..

So going back to the thread question: AU3's are excellant. Better than a BA. Prehaps not better than a BF but definetly great value to make up the differences. That and the Fact that the Windsor is the second highest Aftermarket supported car. Makes the choice easy for me.

Sorted!

be good if i could find 1 under 22 grand, manual of course

I got mine for $18k! A couple of months back. Some of the best money i have ever spent.

Theres a Supercharged AU1 xr8 in very good nick for $20k odd. Vortec, Rebuilt for charger etc. Looks great.

When i bought my XR there was an AU2 220 (end of series) for same price with TE50 side and back and xr50 front. Leather, Sunroof etc. Liquid Silver. Almost bought it but the one i got was closer Syd Vs Melb and in slightly better nick.