[nota]

The heart says RWD Falcon but my head (and wallet) lean toward the 380

Afaik a 380 is slightly faster than the basic Ford 6, and on LPG has 175kW vs 157kW (iirc) for the factory-gas BF

Not sure what you can squeeze out of a Ford dealer but have you seen those $29k driveaway deals (before haggling) on 380 'Platinum' manuals equipped with sunroof, sports suspension, mags & bluetooth etc? Whether manual or auto that's very tempting, and moreso in light of their reputation for quality and huge 10 year powertrain warranty, imho

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/...0_platinum.pdf

AS fpv_gtho points out, there's big value to be had in a 'slightly used' buy - apart from Falcons & 380s there's also those unique AWD Magnas to consider. But in the new-car context and in long-term ownership, a gas 380 should (I think) also prove to give very inexpensive motoring over the long run

I'm also unsure if Mitsu's factory dual-fuel is suitable for manuals (?) but would agree with your preference for LPG - even with the current price surge. The Falcon ZF auto is apparently an excellent gearbox, but so too is the 'adaptive' Mitsu 5-speeder