I'm not sure Ford has done itself too many favours by renaming half of the Falcon range. I can understand the need to differentiate the latest FG-series from the range before it - the Falcon is basically an update, whereas Holden's rival VE Commodore is all-new, so there's obviously a need to elevate the Falcon somewhat in a marketing/image sense.

The entry XT and ever-popular XR badges continue. But what exactly is the Falcon G6E I have in the driveway at the moment? I'm ashamed to have to admit looking this one up when I got the thing home, as it's the first FG-series I've had on test and I was a bit confused by the whole business.

Transpires the G-series basically replaces the Fairmont. There's a G6, our G6E test car and the top GE6 turbo. They're all sixes - the E has more luxury gear (leather, power seats, iPod integration, reversing camera, that sort of thing) and the E turbo has the same blown powerplant as the XR6 turbo, but comes in a more understated styling package. The G-cars have more brightwork (especially around the grille) and fewer wings-and-things.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Actually, Falcon - any Falcon - works quite well as a pseudo-luxury express. The G6E has a superb ride, wonderfully comfortable seats and a smooth six-speed automatic gearbox that makes it an adept long-distance cruiser.

The obligatory sporting edge is there, too. Falcon doesn't have the steering and chassis integrity of a VE Commodore at high speed, but up to 8/10ths it's noticeably more nimble and involving than its Holden rival. It's a really entertaining car.

I love the interior changes wrought on the FG-series cabin, too. Front and centre is the new colour information screen, which delivers the skinny on climate control, Bluetooth telephone connectivity (a doddle to set up, by the way) and audio in high resolution with simple graphics.

Ah yes, the audio. All Falcons have an auxiliary port for your MP3 player; in fact they've made a feature of it in the console, mounted high with a shiny surround.

But pop the centre console storage bin lid in the G6E and you'll also find full iPod integration. Plug in your Apple player, and you can then close the lid for good. The iPod stays charged automatically and the car's audio system (a premium setup in the E of course) gives you full access to the tracks and playlists on it. It's a similar system to that used by Hyundai (i30 and Sonata) and Jaguar (but only on the megabuck XF SV8) and it's absolutely brilliant.

For $50,990, the G6E sounds like the perfect luxury car for the unpretentious. And it kind of is. But you still have to accept that there's a taxi-in-waiting lurking underneath the posh dressing. The instrumentation and trim-inserts are nice but the interior mouldings are the same as any Falcon, which means a few cheap plastics around the place and the odd misaligned panel. And push the powertrain by all means, but ask too much and you'll get a coarse response from the engine and the odd bit of whine from the transmission.

But that's all part of the deal in an "everyman" Aussie executive car like this and the G6E is none the less appealing for it - especially at the price, when you've getting a chassis that shames some European cars.

Still, there's something I'd add. The G6E's 195kW/391Nm engine is fine, but once you've tried the 270kW/533Nm turbo version you'll be hooked. It's torquey and outrageously quick, yet take it easy and you'll still get decent economy for a big car: an ADR figure of 11.2 litres per 100km for the turbo, versus 10.2 for the standard G6E. You also get so-called "luxury performance" suspension and larger 18-inch wheels. Find the extra $5000 for the turbo if you can.