The 1982 Ford Sierra and it's competitors

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Nothing is left to coincidence in press car shots.

 

Someone please fax this information to MG.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Nothing is left to coincidence in press car shots.

 

Someone please fax this information to MG.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I have never driven any of the cars in question, but I suspect the R18 was a better car than the Sierra or the Chavalier in most respects.

 

I'm also intrigued by the fact that there is no Peugeot/FIAT (or SEAT)/Toyota in the comparison. Alright, the Vauxhall was the biggest competitor, and the comedy Ital is there because some buyers would have 'British' brand loyalty, but I can't see the 626 being more popular in the UK than the 305 and/or 505.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I have never driven any of the cars in question, but I suspect the R18 was a better car than the Sierra or the Chavalier in most respects.

 

I'm also intrigued by the fact that there is no Peugeot/FIAT (or SEAT)/Toyota in the comparison. Alright, the Vauxhall was the biggest competitor, and the comedy Ital is there because some buyers would have 'British' brand loyalty, but I can't see the 626 being more popular in the UK than the 305 and/or 505.

[ProgRocker]

Is it me or do those front seats in the Ambassador look oversized? They are probably seats from a Rover SD1.

[pandamonium]

I can't speak the the early 80's, but my '89 Cavalier feels much more modern, faster and just better than the '93 Sierra I had previously!

[AnthonyG]

The Renault 18 was a pretty mediocre car even when It was launched, a bit like the 14. Not at all like the major advance the 16, 12, 5 and even the 6 were. By 1982 it would have pretty dead in the water in most markets except France and Spain. I think the 21 was delayed by at least a year due to major financial losses, possibly even by two years.

 

Out of all of those I probably would have gone for the Audi or the Cavalier. But back then Audi's were just VWs with a bit of extra chrome and nicer upholstery, the 'premium' brand started with the Quattro's and '82 100 really. An 80 CD or Sport was a nice place to be, although not particularly special to drive. But they would have felt a lot better made than most of the others.

 

With regard to early Sierra build quality, I remember talking to a bloke who worked at a major Ford dealer as a dealer sales manager when the Sierra was launched. Their early Sierra stock was from the Cork assembly plant, he said the quality was dire, a lot of customers walked in for a Sierra and walked out with a Cortina Crusader or Escort GL/Ghia!

[AnthonyG]

 

I'm also intrigued by the fact that there is no Peugeot/FIAT (or SEAT)/Toyota in the comparison. Alright, the Vauxhall was the biggest competitor, and the comedy Ital is there because some buyers would have 'British' brand loyalty, but I can't see the 626 being more popular in the UK than the 305 and/or 505.

 

Very true, the Montrose 626 was a rare car, there were plenty more Accords around for a start. Fiat 131 still going then, albeit with pretty minuscule sales post 1981 or so. No UK Seats until 1984.

[AnthonyG]

God knows how ancient an Ital must have felt in comparison

 

Drive a 1.7 or a 2.0 with auto box. You will be surprised.

 

Did they change the suspension at all with the Ital?

[gtd2000]

[Junkman]

God knows how ancient an Ital must have felt in comparison

 

Drive a 1.7 or a 2.0 with auto box. You will be surprised.

 

Did they change the suspension at all with the Ital?

 

Not conceptually, but they refined it from the Marina. Twice actually, since there is something like a MKII Ital.

All I can say is that I was downright taken aback when I first drove an Ital, it was a hire car, a 2 Litre auto, that

I got while holidaying in England in 1984.

Especially considering the reputation the car had even back then, I had expected something completely different.

Mind you, I have driven them all, Cortinas, Sierras, Audi 80s, Passats, the lot (I have yet to own a Japanese car though).

 

I am fully aware how difficult this is to believe for an Englishman, but Marinas, and later the Itals, sold relatively well in

EFTA countries and there were quite a few knocking about in Austria.

The owners always praised the ride and handling, ease of maintenance, loooong maintenance intervals, and actually

hung on to their cars for a long time, despite after BL Austria was closed, spares supply became a bit problematic.

 

Those cars, actually all cars made in Britain, enjoyed a completely different reputation there, than in their homeland.

The latter is also true for the Allegro, believe it or not. My sister bought a new one in 1983 and thus became the envy

of many young folks, much to my frustration, since I was laughing stock with my beloved 1951 Opel Kapitän at the time.

Allegros were considered 'chic' and a tad exotic, sort of uber-minis.

[Pillock]

I see the Cavalier comparison was carefully chosen - they pitted the Sierra 1.6 against the Cavalier 1.3 and marked all the bits where the Sierra was better! The Cavalier with the same size engine was more powerful and torquier.

 

Externally I think the Sierra was a neater design, fresher - but then it would be as the Cavalier was getting a bit old hat by then. Internally and mechanically the Cavalier had it which is to be expected also since models tend to have feature bumps and spec increases as the shape gets older, so the Vauxhall had a few bumps under its belt by then.

[Shep Shepherd]

I've driven both Sierras and Cavaliers and although they both have a lot going for them, I find the Sierra to be more 'me' for many reasons, not least the visual impact the early models had on me as a pup in 1982

[gtd2000]

I am fully aware how difficult this is to believe for an Englishman, but Marinas, and later the Itals, sold relatively well in

EFTA countries and there were quite a few knocking about in Austria.

The owners always praised the ride and handling, ease of maintenance, loooong maintenance intervals, and actually

hung on to their cars for a long time, despite after BL Austria was closed, spares supply became a bit problematic.

 

Funnily enough, an older Austrian colleague (he's late 60's now) of mine said one of his favourite cars was a Princess.

 

He normally drives Mercedes and BMW.

[fordperv]

 

i would make jelly every day if I had a jellymould like that

[RichardMoss]

Nothing is left to coincidence in press car shots.

 

Someone please fax this information to MG.

The very same thought went through my mind.

 

Re: Hyundai Stellar - wasn't there quite a lot of Cortina DNA in its underpinnings?

[Junkman]

I am fully aware how difficult this is to believe for an Englishman, but Marinas, and later the Itals, sold relatively well in

EFTA countries and there were quite a few knocking about in Austria.

The owners always praised the ride and handling, ease of maintenance, loooong maintenance intervals, and actually

hung on to their cars for a long time, despite after BL Austria was closed, spares supply became a bit problematic.

 

Funnily enough, an older Austrian colleague (he's late 60's now) of mine said one of his favourite cars was a Princess.

 

He normally drives Mercedes and BMW.

 

My father drove R16s from when they were introduced in 1966 until their demise. When he needed a new car in 1980, there weren't any left in stock anywhere in .at/.de. He then gave a Princess serious consideration and was impressed by the comfort and ride it provided. But he then bought an R20 simply on the grounds that it had a tailgate and the Princess didn't. Mind you, we never really had to make use of the feature, since my mother had a small fleet of R4 vans and an H van for her business, but it was a selling point. To build the Princess without a hatch was one of the biggest mistakes BL ever made, it must have cost them a gazillion sales.

I was still a punk kid at the time and always felt he had made the wrong choice. Your father owning a Princess you could have bragged about at school, for him owning an R20, you got beaten up. He must have felt the same, since after having five R16s, one R20 was enough to finally break his loyalty to Renault. His next car was an SD1, which again would have made me socially acceptable at school, but unfortunatley by this time I already had reached an age where owning one's own car was the only way to score, a chance I seriously fucked up by selecting a clapped out 1951 Opel Kapitän over a clapped out Manta.

 

Oh, and contrary to me, my father would have never given any Ford or Vauxhall/Opel a second glance. The Sierra could well be the only Ford ever that caused a reaction with him. A raised eyebrow.

[gtd2000]

Nothing is left to coincidence in press car shots.

 

Someone please fax this information to MG.

The very same thought went through my mind.

 

Re: Hyundai Stellar - wasn't there quite a lot of Cortina DNA in its underpinnings?

 

Quite a decent read here about the Cortina chassis etc.

 

http://petrolblog.com/2010/07/20/whatever-happened-to-the-hyundai-stellar/

[gtd2000]

Your father owning a Princess you could have bragged about at school

 

Funnily enough, in the late 70's my father had a Ford Cortina.

 

At the time, one of my friends fathers had a Princess, he was one of the upper management at the BL Bathgate plant and this was a company car.

 

As far as I remember it was a top of the range car and it appeared to be so luxurious at the time - especially in comparison to my Fathers PVC seats in the Cortina!

 

Lucky bastard!

[gtd2000]

i would make jelly every day if I had a jellymould like that

 

 

I checked ebay but no joy there!