We have the FPV F6 E sports sedan powered by a blown six motor that produces 310 Kw and a massive 565 Nm of Torque driving through a ZF six-speed high-torque automatic transmission with sequential shift.  The MLP is $79,740

A Luxury executive express sedan with subdued styling.

I was looking forward to driving the F6 E as I had read a bit about it and really liked the style. Well it looks even better in the flesh, has a reserved subtlety that is very appealing and hides a beast of a car underneath. It has awesome performance, which very little gives a clue to in its exterior. 

It went mostly unnoticed around our normal driving haunts, but the aficionados noticed and I guess in that sense FPV has achieved its design criteria. It is also very smooth for a six-cylinder motor that pumps out over 565 Nm of Torque and 310 Kw of power.  

Apart from a couple of niggles internally and a bit of a loose bum the FPV F6 E pleasantly rewarded me. The subtle style housing such power is a winner for in my books.

What’s Good

Smooth performance

Comfortable interior

Subtle style

What’s not so Good

Centre Display is frustrating – simply not intuitive

Loose rear end

Poor boot floor design (yes I know nit picking)

The theme for the F6 E is subtlety. It is almost a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Other than a couple of FPV badges now taking centre stage front and rear, a couple of F6 E badges, the ultra low profile tyres and massive Brembo callipers there is little to announce the stunning performance that lies within. 

The subtlety extends to a refined lip spoiler, softer colour palette and more luxurious finishes and trim than its stablemate F6. The F6 E maintains as low a profile as the 35 series tyres it rides on.

The upper radiator and lower bumper grille mesh are finished in black chrome, while the front driving lamps are highlighted with a high chrome bezel and complemented by full body coloured bumpers.

The 19-inch wheel design was custom matched to the F6 E’s premium Brembo brake package and the ‘shadow chrome’ alloy finish and are fitted with 245/35ZR19 Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres.

The F6 E is available in a subtle exterior palette of nine colours - Winter White, Silhouette, Lightning Strike, Velvet, Sensation, Steel, Ego, Seduce and the new Mystic.

The FPV F6 E has an overall length of 4955mm, wheelbase of 2838mm, width of 1868mm and height of 1453mm. Tare mass is 2207kg and the turning circle is 11.0m.

Sitting inside you immediately realise that the electronically adjustable FPV Nudo leather luxury drivers seat with leather bolsters is very comfortable and in combination with a height and reach adjustable sports leather steering wheel with multi controls, you are able to obtain a good driving position. The seats also have an embossed F6 E logo.  

The drivers seat is 8 way power adjustable with 3-position memory and lumbar support for both driver and passenger. Passenger seat is manually adjustable. The interior of the F6 E is charcoal and receives a dark walnut wood grain finish on the dashboard as well as the doors 

So generally there is a tick for the interior and drivers relationship to driving controls. The adjustable pedals were a big plus. I like that idea. 

In front of you is the instrument cluster with a blue dial illumination with white LCD and FPV welcome message on start up and FPV logos embedded.  The multi function trip computer is easy to use and read with all the usual indicators. 

The centre console houses the FPV build number badge with unique model identifier and the unique FPV Starter Button. Above that is the Premium audio system with 7” colour display, AM/FM radio and 6-disc in-dash CD with iPod® integration Bluetooth® mobile phone integration, auxiliary Audio plug-in (MP3 capability).  

The Control system is just not intuitive and in all the time I had the car I was unable to get the screen to stay on the display I wanted. It was either sat nav or the agreement screen that did the exact opposite of what it was trying to prevent. It was totally distracting.   

Maybe I didn’t get it right but usually I can work these out fairly quickly and as I change cars every week I have a fair idea of how they operate. The FPV system was not pleasant to use and frankly the remote control was awkward. Um maybe I should have read the instructions but being a bloke I hate doing that.

Other features include dual zone temperature control air conditioning, front and rear power windows, and memory adjustable pedals with alloy pedal controls. Overall visibility was excellent and the reverse camera was helpful.  

Rear passengers are treated the same in terms of comfort and luxury as the front and room is the same as the base model.

The F6 E boasts a 5 star ANCAP safety rating with features that include Front seat side head/thorax airbags^, Driver and front passenger airbags, Beltminder technology for both the driver and passenger, Intelligent Safety System, Dynamic Stability Control incorporating Traction Control, Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Reverse sensing system, Driver fatigue warning.

To help prevent theft the F6 E is protected by a remote alarm and FPV’s ID Datadot identification.

Unlike a lot of other performance sedans we have driven lately which have been V8’s the F6 E is powered by the high performance 4.0-litre turbo-charged DOHC 24 valve in-line six.  

This sweet motor produces maximum power of 310kW at 5500 rpm and maximum torque of 565Nm from 1950 to 5200 rpm. This is up there with the Chrysler 300C SRT8 and the Lexus IS F but squeezed out of a blown six.

The F6 E features the ZF six-speed high-torque automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift as standard. It is smooth and well mated to the motor.  Stick the transmission in sport and it is awesome.

The combination boasts a fuel economy figure of 12.1L/100km (ADR Combined). However when we played with the right foot this quickly dropped to around 17L/100km around town but is pretty economical on the freeway.

The F6 E receives performance 355 x 32mm cross-drilled and ventilated front rotors with Brembo 6-piston callipers and 330 x 28mm cross-drilled and ventilated rear rotors with Brembo 4-piston calliper as standard. They pull the F6 E up in a flash every time and under normal driving conditions resist fade.  

The FPV performance independent double wish bone front suspension and performance control independent rear suspension teamed up with the new Sachs mono-shock damper provides the perfect balance between a firm, dynamic sports performance feel and maintaining ride comfort while cruising. 

The steering is relatively heavy, the ride is very firm and with the 35 series profile tyres you feel every bump and ridge in the road. However the F6 E sits flat through sweeping corners and bends. A particular feature I like is the adjustable accelerator pedal. You are able to adjust the position to allow you to get a better angle for your foot, helping to prevent ankle ache.  

One feature that provides a bit of fun and yet is quite disconcerting is the tendency to slide the rear end out in corners. A dab on the accelerator at an inappropriate time and you will quickly find yourself correcting a siding bum. It’s fun when planned, scary when not. Other than that the F6 E is stable and simply hugs the road.

I reckon that FPV have cleverly marketed the F6 E to a niche that appreciates performance without some of the gaudiness that sometimes goes with it. While having the same power output as its sablemates the F6 E delivers the fun in a more subdued package, the fun however is not subdued. 

Most people that asked us about the car liked the style. It absolutely has something about it that is appealing over the vehicle on which it is based. There were many raised eyebrows when we spoke about performance, and more if we went for a drive. 

At a MLP of around $80,000 it is not cheap and there is a bit of competition however for those that don’t like to be noticed but are happy to bask in the self confidence that they are driving one of Australia’s premier sports sedans then it is definitely worth a look.