As a young 15 year old in Tasmania, buying a car magazine from the other side of the world called "Car" in 1982 with the XR4i on the cover, and the accompanying article and photos, was life changing. I still have that magazine today. This car design was incredibly radical and futuristic, it is easy to forget (today) how influential this Ford was. Part of the reason I own a modest fast Ford today, a mark III Focus ST, and enjoy it's design and performance.
My Dad's workmate had an XR4i, and Dad had a white XR4x4i. When he first got it, I remember him saying, as we approached a roundabout at pace, that his friend had told him "you don't have to slow down for roundabouts in a four by four". After a quick left/right/left of the wheel, to the cries of my mother and sister, and my gleeful laughter as we flew about the cabin, he declared, "he's right! You don't!". Happy memories 😂
I remember when my Dad brought his brand new A reg Sierra GL home in 1982. It was so different to his previous car which was a V Reg Morris Marina. For a start it looked like a space ship. The seats were velour instead of the horrible plastic seating that out legs used to stick to and that would burn your skin off in the summer. Then there was the central locking. We found it amazing that all the doors locked when my dad locked the drivers door. It blew our 9 and 7 year old minds. Dad went on to have 3 Sierras. The A reg one in bright red, a D reg one in Burgundy and then my favourite one the G reg Sierra Sapphire. That Sapphire was the first car I drove solo after passing my driving test and if I had 40k spare I’d buy one tomorrow!
i thought the same has it was the first car the Ford dealer received to show all equiped also with a design well done that make them at the time almost unique and the first thing i noticed was the front not having a grill for air to flow through the radiotor or engine but one year after they changed that , the first was better looking and inside i remenber the dash like in a bmw i had , was turned a bit to the driver , refering to the central part of the dash where radio and air conditioned/sofage (heater) is. i couldn´t buy right away as i had a year earlier bought a good car so in the next year i was going to buy one but the front had changed and i didn´t liked it, as it had already a litle grill. In those years the cars weren´t like today that some have the same body and others are very similar , each brand had it own design and also way of driving and engine sound or better say nothing was common in two diferent cars, as an example in 1970 Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Citroen ,Jaguar by this order were like todays cars in confort and in safety , they say7 cars are more safe today but i see people dying in crashes that in a old 60´s or 70´cars it wouldn´t even be hurt, this at 40 to 60 kms/hour at the maxim speed, in other situation i know a person who crashed a 98 coupé from Mercedes a CLK into a wall very old so a meter wide ,he was driving at 220km´s hour and he said he remenber only before crashing being at 180 km/hour and one hand was damaged nothing else, because it was out of the airbags when they inflated to a ponit that he after 10 years he didn´t had recovered totally the hand movement, it´s only a example of a bad crash and for a miracle and Mercedes he didn´t died there, when i already saw a crash at very low speed ,60 km´s an hour and not the car or the persons were more than bit´s, while i was like 50 meters behind it and i could have taken a hit from one of the cars that crashed, a C2 diesel from citroen in 2014 and a renault twingo from around those years, i Remenber the Morris Marina and a friend saying " go for a drive , bought it just now" and my reply was , "thank you , but i have to go and get my girlfriend that she is waiting for me", i didn´t had the curiosity of driving it but i remenber seeing several on the roads ,so it couldn´t be that bad and with a regular size not a tiny car. , also i think there wasn´t a improved model like a Marina GTi turbo
My Dad was forced to give up Alfas by his 2 teenage sons need for legroom and the XR4i was the answer. He had it lowered onto Koni shocks because he didn't like the floatiness that you describe. The 4i gave way to a 4x4, then 2 Cossies. He LOVED the Cossies. It was a personal tragedy for him when he had to sell the last one to make way for a BMW. An 'Old Mans Car'. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I learned to drive in the XR4i and I have never driven a car faster.
As a dedicated performance Ford fan since the early seventies that still continues to this day my wife and I had all of the Sierra models( except Cosworth) over the years including the estate versions and 4x4 models. Absolutely loved them. Great cars! Thanks Ed, brilliant episode as usual!
Like wise here Phil, got a new XR 4x4 1986 & loved it, proper workhorse & very underpowered for that chassis, even tho it went well.uses to travel from Sheffield to Cornwall effortlessly , fully loaded 3 kids in the back. Loved it. Sold it when we went to Aussie, only to find the Price of Normal Sierras in Melbourne absolutely crazy, if Id have took my 4x4 it would have fetched a mint, as ythe car was Mint, Moonstone blue & very well looked after. Those were the Ford days !!
Absolutely brilliant mate ! Brings back so many memories for me. Your production and research as well as presentation are top draw. Please keep up your amazing work….
This is a trip down memory lane. Back in 83 (I was 22 at the time) I was a car cleaner/driver for Fords (Greys Guildford) I remember my boss telling me to take an old Austin 1100 into the depot and picking up the new XR/4 I a week before the launch. I really wasn't 100% sure what he was talking about. Well the smile on my face...... Happy days. Good video that stirred up old memories.👍
Aged 24, I traded my black XR3 for the exact same colour XR4i from Allen’s of Romford straight out of the showroom. To this day I maintain it was the best car that I have ever purchased. Only sold it to finance a wedding and a deposit on a flat. It’s only real weakness was its long throw manual five speed box. It was good for over 110 flat out, and the Cologne V6 would pull strongly throughout the torque curve. Watching this video makes me yearn for one all over again. I now live on the other side of the pond, where the XR4 was only ever fitted with a 2 litre turbo, and no.. not the Cosworth unfortunately,
Hi 👋 im viewing from New Zealand. This sporty Ford Sierra was never released on our car market back in the 1980s / 90s. We only assembled the Sierra Estate. We didn't have the saloon either. I worked for a company doing microfilming then , and the companies representatives drove Ford Sierra estates.
I had a silver XR4i exactly as in the video as a 21st birthday present to myself. Absolutely loved it, so much in fact that when I came off the road and wrote it off I replaced it with an identical one.
A wonderful reminder of my first car, sadly not a V6 or an XR4i, but a light blue 1982 1.6 Ghia (DKP212Y), sadly stolen in 1996 never to be seen again.
The early jelly mould was improved upon and later styling tweaks made it a lot better. I had a number of 4 doors including the later Sapphire and they were competent cars. The Saab 900 Turbo of the day was light years ahead.
Back in the day my friend bought an xr4x4 from a farmers wife. Under all that dirt, don't think it had ever been washed, was a car in mint condition after a massive cleaning operation. It was quick and handled very well
What turned me off the Sierra was driving one. You looked at the body and expected something special when you fired it up. When you did, it was very dull. They soon felt loose and floppy after a couple of years too. Good stuff Ed. You pretty much nailed it.
Thank you for the mini doco, These are one of the cars that was always too rusted by age to crowd any road; but I've seen them everywhere I've lived. (East Midlands>Bay Are California>Regional Australia).
I traded in my Mk4 Cortina Estate for a Sierra GL Estate, and then about 3yrs later, swapped that for a metallic blue XR4i. I can remember that on the motorway at speeds in excess of 70 mph, you could see the fuel gauge needle moving.
Great up in the days of the sierra and one thing that I always remember is going on the motorway with my day to visit his friends, and we'd always do a 100mph run. Back then the noise, rattles and shacking, was thrilling to do a 100. A few years ago I had a leon ST FR, about 230bhp 7sp dsg. And the speed cream in that car was like hiring else, you'd be doing 80mph then all of a sudden you'd notice you was doing 120 plus, without even realise you was doing much over 70. We have come such a long way. My day died young 20 odd years ago at 42. I often wonder what he'd make of modern cars. The average farming car now is as quick as an exotic of the 80s. Ant 20x as refined.
The Sierra seems to be all over TH-cam suddenly. I think what makes it special is the shape and that it was one of the last non-premium RWD cars. You don't see as much affection for the later Mondeo, and certainly not the Telstar :) Growing up in South Africa, we had the XR6, XR8 and the Perana 3.4. While the XR6 is similar to the XR4 ( just with the Essex V6 instead of the Cologne ) , it did have a fairly sporty suspension which it seems the XR4 didn't, and also a large part of Sierra sales in SA were the V6 versions ( you could also get non-XR6 versions like the 3.0 GLX , 3.0 Ghia and even a cut price 3.0 LX which had the V6 but a basic spec ). When I was in college in Durban in the late 90s , one of my mates got his first car a used 80s XR6 , and we had fun thrashing that thing the one day ( when we should have been in lectures )
I was never a Ford fan, but these were neat cars in the US to me. Known as the Merkur XR4Ti, they were different, such a unique look and very rare. I never understood the fascination the UK had for the Ford Capri. They were imported as the Mercury Capri to the US and I never cared for them. The long hood, short trunk made the car look like a shoe.
Great video - many thanks. I always remember the advertising from the time saying it was "capable of 2 miles per minute" leaving you to do the maths yourself. The calculated number seemed pretty impressive compared the the XR3 and other competition at the time!
Oh how i loved the two Xr4i's i had back in the day ..... The 2.8 v6 with a cherry bomb exhaust under it sounded so good... and its 110kw with low end torque made it a great car to drive and fast when needed...
My cousin had an identical one of those, same colour, reg no A70ERA back some 34 years ago, I remember being green with envy as an 18 year old back then when I went in it for the first time - it was a pretty futuristic car back in those days - a massive step on from the Cortina - which I had a MK5 version of at the time. He had subsequent XR4i models in later years, I think he had 3 in total, a silver one, black one and a white one he loved them so much. I always used to take the mick out of him all the time about the orange petrol light being on - those things were serious gas guzzlers when driven with a heavy right foot - he'd always go up the garage and put a fiver in and a few miles later the petrol light would be back on again lol. It is frankly unbelievabke that this model is now over 40 years old - it still looks pretty modern even now, but then, the Sierra was ahead of its time when launched - so radically futuristic and aerodynamic compared to the Cortina, so it did take a long time to become dated. Lovely cars the XR4i - wish I could have owned one myself, but could never have afforded the insurance and less than 20mpg fuel economy. The one thing I really loved was that central display area with the green lit up diagram of the car with the little red warning lights all over it, and the bank of orange warning lights along the top , that only the top spec Sierras got - the poverty spec models only had a digital clock in that area and no warning lights for low fuel, washer fluid, coolant level etc. The later Granada Mk3 got the same graphic info display when launched in 1985. Its really pretty ironic that the XR4i, a car only launched in 1983 was outlived by the dated Ford Capri 2.8, but the replacement - the 5 door XR4x4 was simply not in the same league as the XR4i
Shame Ford didn’t gamble on an XR4i when the Sierra was face lifted in '87. I guess the more restrained 4x4 and GLS kind of ticked that box. The Cozzy was a different ball game altogether. Thoroughly entertaining review thank you.
Great video, well researched thoughtful opinions. My friend had the later xr4x4 which looked more bland but he would drive it like a rally car, mind he was young boy racer.
Well done , sir . May I suggest ? Bob Lutz and Francois Castiang deserve their own videos. Mr Castiang started as a young engineer working for Gordini himself.
Great video! I had a mk1 Sierra for a year (second hand, 12 years old……7 previous owners) it was great, agile and nippy enough for me. The boot was enormous and the driving position was quite low down which for me made it sporty to drive. My abiding memory of that car was the rear heated window didn’t work, but the blowers on the dash were so good, mounted right in the centre, if you put them on full power the warm air would shoot through to the rear of the cabin and de-mist the back window in about 2 minutes. Sadly the vehicle was written off in a tragic minibus/junction incident.
What a great example that is, I remember my dad getting a 1.8 lx from a ford dealer in barnard castle D reg, after his cortina estate this was plush. He was happy with it. But until he got his 1990 sierra sapphire 2.0 DOHC he was in love. That was a quick car for it's size in the day imo . The sierra looks tiny today. Another well informed vlog! You always have the audiences attention Edd.
A very early Sierra Ghia was a very smart looking car, I remember seeing one years ago with air conditioning, heated seats, and 4 electric windows finished metallic gold.
Always liked the XR4i I had an RS500 when I was 19 - Yes 19. Only kept it for 14 months as I couldn’t afford the insurance. I actually drove around for the last 3 months with no insurance 🙈 Traded it in at Gates of Woodford for a brand new Fiesta RS Turbo.
My whole childhood 80-95 was sierra for dad and the escort for mum. My first "car" was a 92 escort van, but I've never owned a ford since. I always liked the fiesta, focus and mondeo, but never got round to having any. A shame really as they don't sell anything now I'm actually interested in.
By people old enough to have been around, you couldn’t have missed them. But to the majority of people, who aren’t old enough to remember, the XR4i barely registers, lacking any meaningful pedigree or memorable features.
This is quite fascinating: over here in the States, a friend and client of mine is mad about this car (imported here as the Merkur XR4Ti), to the point that she's owned two: her first having been totaled by some guy in a Cadillac Escalade rear-ending her, after which she almost immediately went looking for an identical model as a replacement. Yes, the thing is silly-quirky, but it all has its own audience.
I love the look of the Cortina at 4:10 As an American we didn't get these nice tight designs in the 60s. Ours were always bloated - though sometimes muscular which was cool - in comparison.
Thank you for this video. Worth the wait. Good that you acknowledge an important and successful Ford model that is often written off as a half-baked RS500 or a failed attempt at making Americans like UK cars.
I had an XR 4X4 and a 2.0 Ltr Saphire GSi.. Both fabulous cars but the Saphire had all the Cosworth running gear and it was amazing as a cross country drive despite the lower power output..
I was wondering if anyone would mention those-I really hoped those would have done better over here. Ford really dropped the ball with how they sold those here, they were fantastic cars
Of course. I have a video written about the Cosworth where the Merkur becomes noteworthy, but it's really not a topic for a general Sierra video, as we'd be here all day if I talked about everything!
My father bought the xr4i & I got the 2L Ghia, we both had them for about 4years. I later got a Granada Ghia 2.8 myself which was mainly for business & only did mainly motorway work 3 days a week & averaged only 25mpg (with my early average fuel consumption instruments) It was hilarious looking at it. In the winter cold start 8mpg, rising to 14mpg in town & on a good run at steady speed 25mpg. Can't think why the old 2.8 Colonge engine fell out of favour😂 I must say I got the later 2.9 Cosworth version also, no better on fuel-but a damm site quicker. But the looks😮 was much better from the inside ( hey company cars, no real choices)
If Ed or anyone else is interested for extra detail, the Orion publicity shot at 15.00 is outside The Swan Hotel, Bibury. Who knows but maybe because the hotel was much loved by Americans? I remember it happening. Better still, a mile or two away from the Classic Motor Hub.
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
I had a white one , and my brother had a black one , great cars , a surprise as I wasn’t impressed with the 3i, but was with the 4i , cheers shane uk 🇬🇧
Remember driving one back in the day - the speedo was very optimistic! It would show 150 fairly easily - nowadays of course I would never try that sort of speed! Can’t say I would like now to be honest
Bought mine in 1987 A734 LLK. It was an ex-Ford demonstrator in white. By that I mean white alloys, 100% white bodywork, white lights (thin plastic strips on lens) and white sunroof. It also had heated seats and headlamp washers. The dogs doodahs at the time! Sold it and bought a new Renault 19 because my wife was pregnant. In 91 I got a Sapphire Cosworth G848 DKB..... #goodolddays
I had a 1990 Sierra. A GL 1.8. Loved this review Ed. I found my Sierra to be practical but dull. Everything about it was ok but nothing was good when it came to driver interaction.
The Mk3 Cortina is one of those cars where I noticed on the 4 doors that the rear door handles are so much higher than the fronts. I now can't un-see that.
This version of the Sierra was sold here in the United States as the Merkur XR4Ti. The North American versions were built by Karmann, and used a 2.3L Turbocharged I4 that was built in Brazil
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
21:00 Interesting views! As a touring car fan, I love the flat nose, split window Sierra XR4Ti coupe (or it's Merkur XR4Ti US version) and later slightly more conventional Sierra RS Cosworth coupe far above and beyond the more conventional looking sedan. I don't think I've ever seen a Sierra sedan here in Australia, whereas there are some RS500 race cars and private import RS500 road cars here and there.
The 4i was no hot hatch, it was the sound of the V6 which made up for the actual lack of "Hot". There were many things said about plans back then, it was supposed to become the Cosworth but due to luke warm reception of the 6 light shell firced a rethink, the Cossworth was always planned to use the shell it did and so forth. I had a janspeed version, it had the standard rear wing but the font end had been given the Cossie touch. I liked it, a mix of both amd bloody hell get to 3200 and hold on cause things would get wild. Sadly the stupid insrance price rise due to the booming "Joy rider" scene, these cars brought about, meant I had to sell, still was a great fun car though 😁. A proper research pice as usual, gregat vid Ed 👍
Where's our line that indicates whether a car is hot or not though? Ford's XR line was their performance line in the '80s, so this, by Ford's own definition, has to be viewed as a hot hatch. And because of the sheer capacity of the V6, an XR4i is faster than many bonafide hot hatches of the period.
@@TwinCam Ain't going to argue your logic, it was bagged and XR, so should fall into the category but that 2.8 ain't nothing special as for pace, it's got pulling power and is a great towing car however in reality the 4i was more than a GT car, and at that it was good. You could just sit back, waft and enjoy the sound of that V6. The 2.8 Capri was the same, nothing special as for pace, sound yes but the 80's saw Vauxhall bring a 150hp 2.0ltr to the table and there starts another chapter. This is the type of thing where you go into a pub with you at doors opening for a quick pint/chat and would be kicked out at closing wondering which way is home 😁 👍
A nice car, I've always loved the XR4x4. Haven't seen one on the road since I saw one in NZ in 2001. I know where there is a derelict one in red in mid Wales. It makes me cry 😢. I wish they did an XR4x4 estate, but the Ghia equivalent would be very similar so I can see why they didn't.
Second coolest police car after the SD1. The cars they use today I would want a blanket over my head before getting in the back, even if I hadn't been arrested.
I'm not a massive follower of police cars, but for me, it's between a V8 Rover P6 and the understated brilliance of a late MkII or MkIII Mini Cooper S.
Hard for me to believe that's a car from the 80's. Looks very contemporary. As a 114/15 year old kid I thought it was a really cool looking. That rear wing! Here in Canada it was called a Merkur XR4TI.
Damn where have the years gone I had one of these Thought I was the bees knees lol All I remember is the smell of burning anti freeze No handling And struggling to get to 5.5 k revs as it wanted to blow up Also burnt oil Leaked water And made me car sick A boat on wheels
i had a Austin 1300 GT in the 70´s and liked it, in the 90´s was still perfect but it got stoped and now is destroyd even got a new engine sent from England in 87, this because of the wosley showed which is very similar but longer as i think the Austin didn´t had four doors
the escort MKIII or II, i bought a RS1600 turbo ,the one showed earlier ,maybe mid 80´s, I was till 1983 , having started in 1971, a Ford Rally driver and drove always a Escort RS 1600 and RS2000 ,only can say that flight a lot with it and never broke as it was very easy to handle in gravel or compacted sand roads, in diferent stages was always ahead of the new Audi quattro, i think there is a missconception of what Audi achieved, yes it was a nice car but remenber seeing them stoped on the side of the road and at the time always were saying it should be Ilegall ,this from people from several brands, the Lancia was the better car till the 90´s, i had the road version of the Montecarlo coupé , i t was very nice and had great grip
I remember when these first came out was definitely futuristic and ahead of its time ...the 4i biggest problem was the 2.8i capri cheaper and more cooler 🙂
the 3-door XR4ti and 5-door Scorpio came to the U.S. under the separate brand name Merkur The Wife & I looked at buying a Scorpio 5-door that had been traded-in at a Ford dealer, in 2004
Here in the States they sold this as the Merkur XR4Ti. It didn't sell well. Mostly because nobody knew the name. If they had just called it a Ford or Mercury, it might've sold well.
No mention of the Series 2 Sierras (immediately recognisable by the bigger headlights), including the 5-door XR4i (which had lost the double-deck rear wing) and its sister, the GLS 4x4 (both being 4-wheel drive). After a series of Capris (all V6), I had a Sierra GLS 2-litre twin-cam and then a GLS 4x4. The 2-litre GLS twin-cam was one of the best driving and handling cars of its era - far better to drive than the ever-understeering Cavalier, and far, far better than the Montego, which was even more understeery and had a horribly wheezy engine. The GLS 4x4 didn't handle quite as well as the 2-litre twin-cam (blame that heavy V6 lump up front), but nevertheless was a fast and very capable, sure-footed all-season family car. Its Achilles heel was fuel economy, nor was it much quicker than the (lighter, RWD) 125bhp 2-litre twin-cam version. Also worth noting that the twin-cam engine of the Series 2 was a vast improvement over the sohc Pinto engines of the Series 1. Although the 2.8 V6 in the XR4i and the GLS 4x4 was basically the same engine as that of the Capri 2.8i, it was detuned to 150 bhp in the Sierra from the Capri's 160 bhp.
It was the fuel costs that put people off, 11-18 mpg in normal driving, you could push 24 on a long run. The Manta GTE wasnt much slower and could average 30 normal driving and 38 on a run. Petrol escalated in cost 1985 sharply and big engine cars suffered in second hand value . I bought am metallic Blue B Reg xr4i in 1987 and once the novelty wore off sold it as it cost a fortune to run to get to work every day .
Non-Cosworth Sierras are often overlooked, good to see a nice synopsis of the 'cooking' models. That particular car has an odd stance, so I'm not quite sure what is going on with the suspension. XRs certainly shouldn't be wallowy or soft, so I suspect this one possibly needs new dampers and certainly new bushes - they are very much a wear part on Sierras, especially on the anti-roll bars. Although XR4is were never intended to be ultra-sporty, and instead were similar to Ghia spec, they were usually on the lower (Ford) springs and thicker ARBs. I saw it previously sold last year in the same "recommissioned" spec (the white indicators clearly don't fit very well) at £12,375. It has only done 5 miles since and is now up on Car&Classic at £13,995.
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
@@TwinCam the point of Merkur was to compete with German Q-cars. Ford mistakenly even gave Scorpio buyers a guaranteed future value equal to that of a 190E. Lutz always said that if Ford decided to market the car via LM dealers as opposed to multi-European franchises, the brand would fail.
@AutoAtlantica On paper, absolutely. But I’ve always had a suspicion that Ford knew Merkur was bound for failure before they got anywhere near American roads.
@@TwinCam no that’s actually the case as interviews with Lutz have always demonstrated. Ford’s abysmal marketing led to Merkur’s downfall. Selling a $30K Scorpio alongside a larger $15K Sable at a dealership where most customers didn’t care where the driveshaft was invariably would result in failure.
I think that the XR4i was most impressive marrying the Cologne V6 with the Sierra aerodynamics. It dispelled the myth about internal competition. There was room for it alongside the Capri Injection and Ford probably would not have attempted the RS Co'sworth without doing the XR4i first. The XR4x4 was another interesting spin off.
XR4i's were quite unstable on the road , due to the power under the hood, the back end could tend to do what it wanted , then the 4X4 came along , I had a new one & it was great. 1986 in Moonstone blue, massive improvement for the sierras
My Dad brought me home from hospital as a newborn in an Escort GT, then quickly got a Mk3 Cortina for the rear doors. A succession of Mk 4's as company cars followed, then Sierra arrived and our last 'tina was replaced with a Cavalier 1.8i CD. Dad has never had another Ford. When I got my first company car as a rep in the mid 1990's it was Mark 3 Cavalier and it was the release of the horrible Vectra finally took me back the blue oval with a Mondeo. Strange symmetry.
Even though it’s a totally different car it’s very similar to the 84/85 SVO Mustang. The SVO had the double spoiler, 2.3 turbo and 5 speed only and a funky headlight design with the beak hood. 86 SVO used the standard spoiler and a revised aero headlight design. It ended up being a massive failure compared to even base model mustangs.And while we got Merkur xr4ti’s in the states it should have been expected that it wouldn’t catch on considering the SVO was discontinued in 1986 but I guess they had a large stock of 2.3 turbo engines to get rid of.
I had a 1990 Sierra Ghia which was lovely to drive at the time. *The 3-door design just didn't work for me. The Sapphire version was my favourite looking back, but by then it was all over for the Sierra. I preferred the Escort Cosworth.
Usual thorough research, superb scripting, professional delivery and imaginative filming. Another Ed motoring tour de force. Thank you. Rob
Nice job again !
As a young 15 year old in Tasmania, buying a car magazine from the other side of the world called "Car" in 1982 with the XR4i on the cover, and the accompanying article and photos, was life changing. I still have that magazine today. This car design was incredibly radical and futuristic, it is easy to forget (today) how influential this Ford was. Part of the reason I own a modest fast Ford today, a mark III Focus ST, and enjoy it's design and performance.
My Dad's workmate had an XR4i, and Dad had a white XR4x4i. When he first got it, I remember him saying, as we approached a roundabout at pace, that his friend had told him "you don't have to slow down for roundabouts in a four by four".
After a quick left/right/left of the wheel, to the cries of my mother and sister, and my gleeful laughter as we flew about the cabin, he declared, "he's right! You don't!".
Happy memories 😂
Surely referred to as a "fourbe" rather than four by four?
@SB-vb8ch depends on your geography I think - I've heard "fourbefour" and "four by four" around here 🤣👍🏻
An early Saturday morning upload from Edd, brilliant way to start the weekend.
I remember when my Dad brought his brand new A reg Sierra GL home in 1982. It was so different to his previous car which was a V Reg Morris Marina. For a start it looked like a space ship. The seats were velour instead of the horrible plastic seating that out legs used to stick to and that would burn your skin off in the summer. Then there was the central locking. We found it amazing that all the doors locked when my dad locked the drivers door. It blew our 9 and 7 year old minds. Dad went on to have 3 Sierras. The A reg one in bright red, a D reg one in Burgundy and then my favourite one the G reg Sierra Sapphire. That Sapphire was the first car I drove solo after passing my driving test and if I had 40k spare I’d buy one tomorrow!
i thought the same has it was the first car the Ford dealer received to show all equiped also with a design well done that make them at the time almost unique and the first thing i noticed was the front not having a grill for air to flow through the radiotor or engine but one year after they changed that , the first was better looking and inside i remenber the dash like in a bmw i had , was turned a bit to the driver , refering to the central part of the dash where radio and air conditioned/sofage (heater) is. i couldn´t buy right away as i had a year earlier bought a good car so in the next year i was going to buy one but the front had changed and i didn´t liked it, as it had already a litle grill. In those years the cars weren´t like today that some have the same body and others are very similar , each brand had it own design and also way of driving and engine sound or better say nothing was common in two diferent cars, as an example in 1970 Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Citroen ,Jaguar by this order were like todays cars in confort and in safety , they say7 cars are more safe today but i see people dying in crashes that in a old 60´s or 70´cars it wouldn´t even be hurt, this at 40 to 60 kms/hour at the maxim speed, in other situation i know a person who crashed a 98 coupé from Mercedes a CLK into a wall very old so a meter wide ,he was driving at 220km´s hour and he said he remenber only before crashing being at 180 km/hour and one hand was damaged nothing else, because it was out of the airbags when they inflated to a ponit that he after 10 years he didn´t had recovered totally the hand movement, it´s only a example of a bad crash and for a miracle and Mercedes he didn´t died there, when i already saw a crash at very low speed ,60 km´s an hour and not the car or the persons were more than bit´s, while i was like 50 meters behind it and i could have taken a hit from one of the cars that crashed, a C2 diesel from citroen in 2014 and a renault twingo from around those years, i Remenber the Morris Marina and a friend saying " go for a drive , bought it just now" and my reply was , "thank you , but i have to go and get my girlfriend that she is waiting for me", i didn´t had the curiosity of driving it but i remenber seeing several on the roads ,so it couldn´t be that bad and with a regular size not a tiny car. , also i think there wasn´t a improved model like a Marina GTi turbo
My Dad was forced to give up Alfas by his 2 teenage sons need for legroom and the XR4i was the answer. He had it lowered onto Koni shocks because he didn't like the floatiness that you describe. The 4i gave way to a 4x4, then 2 Cossies. He LOVED the Cossies. It was a personal tragedy for him when he had to sell the last one to make way for a BMW. An 'Old Mans Car'. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I learned to drive in the XR4i and I have never driven a car faster.
As a dedicated performance Ford fan since the early seventies that still continues to this day my wife and I had all of the Sierra models( except Cosworth) over the years including the estate versions and 4x4 models. Absolutely loved them. Great cars! Thanks Ed, brilliant episode as usual!
Like wise here Phil, got a new XR 4x4 1986 & loved it, proper workhorse & very underpowered for that chassis, even tho it went well.uses to travel from Sheffield to Cornwall effortlessly , fully loaded 3 kids in the back. Loved it. Sold it when we went to Aussie, only to find the Price of Normal Sierras in Melbourne absolutely crazy, if Id have took my 4x4 it would have fetched a mint, as ythe car was Mint, Moonstone blue & very well looked after. Those were the Ford days !!
I imported a Sierra from Germany in 1986 and loved it! Lightweight, fuel and space efficient, a ball to drive.
Absolutely brilliant mate ! Brings back so many memories for me. Your production and research as well as presentation are top draw. Please keep up your amazing work….
Still looks modern in 2024.
As does a 1982 Porsche 924.
Should have gone to Specsavers!
To this day I remember the first ones that I saw It was, when I was a child. They looked like nothing else.
This is a trip down memory lane. Back in 83 (I was 22 at the time) I was a car cleaner/driver for Fords (Greys Guildford) I remember my boss telling me to take an old Austin 1100 into the depot and picking up the new XR/4 I a week before the launch. I really wasn't 100% sure what he was talking about. Well the smile on my face...... Happy days. Good video that stirred up old memories.👍
Aged 24, I traded my black XR3 for the exact same colour XR4i from Allen’s of Romford straight out of the showroom. To this day I maintain it was the best car that I have ever purchased. Only sold it to finance a wedding and a deposit on a flat. It’s only real weakness was its long throw manual five speed box. It was good for over 110 flat out, and the Cologne V6 would pull strongly throughout the torque curve. Watching this video makes me yearn for one all over again. I now live on the other side of the pond, where the XR4 was only ever fitted with a 2 litre turbo, and no.. not the Cosworth unfortunately,
Hi 👋 im viewing from New Zealand. This sporty Ford Sierra was never released on our car market back in the 1980s / 90s. We only assembled the Sierra Estate. We didn't have the saloon either. I worked for a company doing microfilming then , and the companies representatives drove Ford Sierra estates.
Outstanding! Thank you.
I had a silver XR4i exactly as in the video as a 21st birthday present to myself. Absolutely loved it, so much in fact that when I came off the road and wrote it off I replaced it with an identical one.
Another fantastic presentation and description of a vehicle....Thankyou...enjoyable to watch as always
My old man had a F reg 2L GLSi back in the day. Brilliant engine and decent fast too.
Great video, with very good presentation and you’ve done your research 👍
Excellent video! I’ve said before you are an amazing presenter!
A wonderful reminder of my first car, sadly not a V6 or an XR4i, but a light blue 1982 1.6 Ghia (DKP212Y), sadly stolen in 1996 never to be seen again.
Someone nicked that?
The flake, twirl analogy is spot on. I totally get it.
The early jelly mould was improved upon and later styling tweaks made it a lot better. I had a number of 4 doors including the later Sapphire and they were competent cars. The Saab 900 Turbo of the day was light years ahead.
Back in the day my friend bought an xr4x4 from a farmers wife. Under all that dirt, don't think it had ever been washed, was a car in mint condition after a massive cleaning operation. It was quick and handled very well
As a kid, it was one of my favourite matchbox cars.
What turned me off the Sierra was driving one. You looked at the body and expected something special when you fired it up. When you did, it was very dull. They soon felt loose and floppy after a couple of years too. Good stuff Ed. You pretty much nailed it.
Thank you for the mini doco, These are one of the cars that was always too rusted by age to crowd any road; but I've seen them everywhere I've lived. (East Midlands>Bay Are California>Regional Australia).
In this spec it looks fabulous ! Great review - cheers from Brisbane
Still a good looking car. Remember when the Sierra hit the market.
I traded in my Mk4 Cortina Estate for a Sierra GL Estate, and then about 3yrs later, swapped that for a metallic blue XR4i. I can remember that on the motorway at speeds in excess of 70 mph, you could see the fuel gauge needle moving.
Great up in the days of the sierra and one thing that I always remember is going on the motorway with my day to visit his friends, and we'd always do a 100mph run. Back then the noise, rattles and shacking, was thrilling to do a 100. A few years ago I had a leon ST FR, about 230bhp 7sp dsg. And the speed cream in that car was like hiring else, you'd be doing 80mph then all of a sudden you'd notice you was doing 120 plus, without even realise you was doing much over 70.
We have come such a long way. My day died young 20 odd years ago at 42. I often wonder what he'd make of modern cars. The average farming car now is as quick as an exotic of the 80s. Ant 20x as refined.
Another superb and exemplary researched video. Very much enjoyed this one
My grandad had the very rare original base model that had a unpainted grey ‘grill’ and light surround with smaller lights
Very rare car nowadays. Base Sierras always cause a stir when found at car shows.
@@TwinCam Did you see the one at last year's FoTU, with the extremely sun-baked interior? Up to that point, I didn't even know they existed.
@Zeem4 Afraid I wasn’t there last year 😭
The Sierra seems to be all over TH-cam suddenly. I think what makes it special is the shape and that it was one of the last non-premium RWD cars. You don't see as much affection for the later Mondeo, and certainly not the Telstar :)
Growing up in South Africa, we had the XR6, XR8 and the Perana 3.4. While the XR6 is similar to the XR4 ( just with the Essex V6 instead of the Cologne ) , it did have a fairly sporty suspension which it seems the XR4 didn't, and also a large part of Sierra sales in SA were the V6 versions ( you could also get non-XR6 versions like the 3.0 GLX , 3.0 Ghia and even a cut price 3.0 LX which had the V6 but a basic spec ).
When I was in college in Durban in the late 90s , one of my mates got his first car a used 80s XR6 , and we had fun thrashing that thing the one day ( when we should have been in lectures )
Great video keep up the good 👍 work
Great review!
I was never a Ford fan, but these were neat cars in the US to me. Known as the Merkur XR4Ti, they were different, such a unique look and very rare. I never understood the fascination the UK had for the Ford Capri. They were imported as the Mercury Capri to the US and I never cared for them. The long hood, short trunk made the car look like a shoe.
Great video - many thanks. I always remember the advertising from the time saying it was "capable of 2 miles per minute" leaving you to do the maths yourself. The calculated number seemed pretty impressive compared the the XR3 and other competition at the time!
Oh how i loved the two Xr4i's i had back in the day ..... The 2.8 v6 with a cherry bomb exhaust under it sounded so good... and its 110kw with low end torque made it a great car to drive and fast when needed...
My cousin had an identical one of those, same colour, reg no A70ERA back some 34 years ago, I remember being green with envy as an 18 year old back then when I went in it for the first time - it was a pretty futuristic car back in those days - a massive step on from the Cortina - which I had a MK5 version of at the time. He had subsequent XR4i models in later years, I think he had 3 in total, a silver one, black one and a white one he loved them so much. I always used to take the mick out of him all the time about the orange petrol light being on - those things were serious gas guzzlers when driven with a heavy right foot - he'd always go up the garage and put a fiver in and a few miles later the petrol light would be back on again lol. It is frankly unbelievabke that this model is now over 40 years old - it still looks pretty modern even now, but then, the Sierra was ahead of its time when launched - so radically futuristic and aerodynamic compared to the Cortina, so it did take a long time to become dated. Lovely cars the XR4i - wish I could have owned one myself, but could never have afforded the insurance and less than 20mpg fuel economy. The one thing I really loved was that central display area with the green lit up diagram of the car with the little red warning lights all over it, and the bank of orange warning lights along the top , that only the top spec Sierras got - the poverty spec models only had a digital clock in that area and no warning lights for low fuel, washer fluid, coolant level etc. The later Granada Mk3 got the same graphic info display when launched in 1985.
Its really pretty ironic that the XR4i, a car only launched in 1983 was outlived by the dated Ford Capri 2.8, but the replacement - the 5 door XR4x4 was simply not in the same league as the XR4i
Shame Ford didn’t gamble on an XR4i when the Sierra was face lifted in '87. I guess the more restrained 4x4 and GLS kind of ticked that box. The Cozzy was a different ball game altogether. Thoroughly entertaining review thank you.
Great video, well researched thoughtful opinions. My friend had the later xr4x4 which looked more bland but he would drive it like a rally car, mind he was young boy racer.
Well done , sir . May I suggest ? Bob Lutz and Francois Castiang deserve their own videos. Mr Castiang started as a young engineer working for Gordini himself.
Great video!
I had a mk1 Sierra for a year (second hand, 12 years old……7 previous owners) it was great, agile and nippy enough for me.
The boot was enormous and the driving position was quite low down which for me made it sporty to drive. My abiding memory of that car was the rear heated window didn’t work, but the blowers on the dash were so good, mounted right in the centre, if you put them on full power the warm air would shoot through to the rear of the cabin and de-mist the back window in about 2 minutes.
Sadly the vehicle was written off in a tragic minibus/junction incident.
What a great example that is, I remember my dad getting a 1.8 lx from a ford dealer in barnard castle D reg, after his cortina estate this was plush. He was happy with it. But until he got his 1990 sierra sapphire 2.0 DOHC he was in love. That was a quick car for it's size in the day imo . The sierra looks tiny today. Another well informed vlog! You always have the audiences attention Edd.
I loved my old sierra 1600 ghia,same colour as this,very comfy and lovely to drive 👍🏼
oh! i had a white xr4x4i 15 years ago, it is an understatement that i regret selling it.
A very early Sierra Ghia was a very smart looking car, I remember seeing one years ago with air conditioning, heated seats, and 4 electric windows finished metallic gold.
Always liked the XR4i
I had an RS500 when I was 19 - Yes 19.
Only kept it for 14 months as I couldn’t afford the insurance.
I actually drove around for the last 3 months with no insurance 🙈
Traded it in at Gates of Woodford for a brand new Fiesta RS Turbo.
My whole childhood 80-95 was sierra for dad and the escort for mum. My first "car" was a 92 escort van, but I've never owned a ford since. I always liked the fiesta, focus and mondeo, but never got round to having any. A shame really as they don't sell anything now I'm actually interested in.
Never forgotten...had a red one back a long time ago.... superb car.
By people old enough to have been around, you couldn’t have missed them. But to the majority of people, who aren’t old enough to remember, the XR4i barely registers, lacking any meaningful pedigree or memorable features.
This is quite fascinating: over here in the States, a friend and client of mine is mad about this car (imported here as the Merkur XR4Ti), to the point that she's owned two: her first having been totaled by some guy in a Cadillac Escalade rear-ending her, after which she almost immediately went looking for an identical model as a replacement. Yes, the thing is silly-quirky, but it all has its own audience.
I love the look of the Cortina at 4:10
As an American we didn't get these nice tight designs in the 60s. Ours were always bloated - though sometimes muscular which was cool - in comparison.
Thank you for this video. Worth the wait. Good that you acknowledge an important and successful Ford model that is often written off as a half-baked RS500 or a failed attempt at making Americans like UK cars.
I had an XR 4X4 and a 2.0 Ltr Saphire GSi.. Both fabulous cars but the Saphire had all the Cosworth running gear and it was amazing as a cross country drive despite the lower power output..
Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth was the most beautiful car Ford built.
I personally prefer some of their '60s and '70s cars, but out of the Sierras I thoroughly agree.
In 1988 my father bought a new 1.8 LX facelift in saphire blue, having traded in a 1985 XR2 for it. I still remember the new car smell!
Not to forget they sold this car in the USA as the Merkur XR4i. V6 was replaced with a turbo version of the 2.3l pinto.
I was wondering if anyone would mention those-I really hoped those would have done better over here. Ford really dropped the ball with how they sold those here, they were fantastic cars
@@dannork1240
It was the XR4 ti in the US.
Not a pinto engine but very similar, Lima engine 👍
@@lewis72 a neighbor of mine had a white one when I was a teen. I thought it was just about the coolest car ever
Of course. I have a video written about the Cosworth where the Merkur becomes noteworthy, but it's really not a topic for a general Sierra video, as we'd be here all day if I talked about everything!
My father bought the xr4i & I got the 2L Ghia, we both had them for about 4years. I later got a Granada Ghia 2.8 myself which was mainly for business & only did mainly motorway work 3 days a week & averaged only 25mpg (with my early average fuel consumption instruments) It was hilarious looking at it. In the winter cold start 8mpg, rising to 14mpg in town & on a good run at steady speed 25mpg.
Can't think why the old 2.8 Colonge engine fell out of favour😂
I must say I got the later 2.9 Cosworth version also, no better on fuel-but a damm site quicker. But the looks😮 was much better from the inside ( hey company cars, no real choices)
Lovely lovely motor
If Ed or anyone else is interested for extra detail, the Orion publicity shot at 15.00 is outside The Swan Hotel, Bibury. Who knows but maybe because the hotel was much loved by Americans? I remember it happening.
Better still, a mile or two away from the Classic Motor Hub.
I always thought of Sierra as a big car, but seeing them now, next to modern cars, they're just not. Great video, thanks.
We had this in the States as a Ford Merkur XR4Ti. Used to see a few around.
The XR4Ti was considerably different, and built by Karmann.
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
I drove a Sierra break diesel for a while years ago. It could power slide like nobody's business, it didn't need an XR badge to have fun 😆
I had a white one , and my brother had a black one , great cars , a surprise as I wasn’t impressed with the 3i, but was with the 4i , cheers shane uk 🇬🇧
Remember driving one back in the day - the speedo was very optimistic! It would show 150 fairly easily - nowadays of course I would never try that sort of speed! Can’t say I would like now to be honest
Bought mine in 1987 A734 LLK. It was an ex-Ford demonstrator in white. By that I mean white alloys, 100% white bodywork, white lights (thin plastic strips on lens) and white sunroof. It also had heated seats and headlamp washers. The dogs doodahs at the time! Sold it and bought a new Renault 19 because my wife was pregnant. In 91 I got a Sapphire Cosworth G848 DKB..... #goodolddays
Great video!
I had a 1990 Sierra. A GL 1.8.
Loved this review Ed.
I found my Sierra to be practical but dull. Everything about it was ok but nothing was good when it came to driver interaction.
There were fuel pumps that also operated vacuum pumps for the windscreen wipers.
The Mk3 Cortina is one of those cars where I noticed on the 4 doors that the rear door handles are so much higher than the fronts. I now can't un-see that.
This version of the Sierra was sold here in the United States as the Merkur XR4Ti. The North American versions were built by Karmann, and used a 2.3L Turbocharged I4 that was built in Brazil
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
21:00 Interesting views! As a touring car fan, I love the flat nose, split window Sierra XR4Ti coupe (or it's Merkur XR4Ti US version) and later slightly more conventional Sierra RS Cosworth coupe far above and beyond the more conventional looking sedan. I don't think I've ever seen a Sierra sedan here in Australia, whereas there are some RS500 race cars and private import RS500 road cars here and there.
The 4i was no hot hatch, it was the sound of the V6 which made up for the actual lack of "Hot". There were many things said about plans back then, it was supposed to become the Cosworth but due to luke warm reception of the 6 light shell firced a rethink, the Cossworth was always planned to use the shell it did and so forth.
I had a janspeed version, it had the standard rear wing but the font end had been given the Cossie touch. I liked it, a mix of both amd bloody hell get to 3200 and hold on cause things would get wild. Sadly the stupid insrance price rise due to the booming "Joy rider" scene, these cars brought about, meant I had to sell, still was a great fun car though 😁.
A proper research pice as usual, gregat vid Ed 👍
Where's our line that indicates whether a car is hot or not though? Ford's XR line was their performance line in the '80s, so this, by Ford's own definition, has to be viewed as a hot hatch. And because of the sheer capacity of the V6, an XR4i is faster than many bonafide hot hatches of the period.
@@TwinCam Ain't going to argue your logic, it was bagged and XR, so should fall into the category but that 2.8 ain't nothing special as for pace, it's got pulling power and is a great towing car however in reality the 4i was more than a GT car, and at that it was good. You could just sit back, waft and enjoy the sound of that V6. The 2.8 Capri was the same, nothing special as for pace, sound yes but the 80's saw Vauxhall bring a 150hp 2.0ltr to the table and there starts another chapter. This is the type of thing where you go into a pub with you at doors opening for a quick pint/chat and would be kicked out at closing wondering which way is home 😁 👍
Totally agree on it being a tourer rather than blaster. It doesn’t have that attitude many of us associate with hot hatches.
A nice car, I've always loved the XR4x4. Haven't seen one on the road since I saw one in NZ in 2001. I know where there is a derelict one in red in mid Wales. It makes me cry 😢.
I wish they did an XR4x4 estate, but the Ghia equivalent would be very similar so I can see why they didn't.
Another gem bro 💯👍🏼
Any chance that you’re interested in doing a review of the mk2 Ford Granada or Renault 25 in the near future ?
Second coolest police car after the SD1. The cars they use today I would want a blanket over my head before getting in the back, even if I hadn't been arrested.
I'm not a massive follower of police cars, but for me, it's between a V8 Rover P6 and the understated brilliance of a late MkII or MkIII Mini Cooper S.
Hard for me to believe that's a car from the 80's. Looks very contemporary. As a 114/15 year old kid I thought it was a really cool looking. That rear wing! Here in Canada it was called a Merkur XR4TI.
I had a mk2 Cavalier diesel Estate as my work vehicle in the late 80's
Damn where have the years gone
I had one of these
Thought I was the bees knees lol
All I remember is the smell of burning anti freeze
No handling
And struggling to get to 5.5 k revs as it wanted to blow up
Also burnt oil
Leaked water
And made me car sick
A boat on wheels
i had a Austin 1300 GT in the 70´s and liked it, in the 90´s was still perfect but it got stoped and now is destroyd even got a new engine sent from England in 87, this because of the wosley showed which is very similar but longer as i think the Austin didn´t had four doors
my xr4i had a extra round vim tag on front panel any idea what it was as i have not seen one on another ????
the escort MKIII or II, i bought a RS1600 turbo ,the one showed earlier ,maybe mid 80´s, I was till 1983 , having started in 1971, a Ford Rally driver and drove always a Escort RS 1600 and RS2000 ,only can say that flight a lot with it and never broke as it was very easy to handle in gravel or compacted sand roads, in diferent stages was always ahead of the new Audi quattro, i think there is a missconception of what Audi achieved, yes it was a nice car but remenber seeing them stoped on the side of the road and at the time always were saying it should be Ilegall ,this from people from several brands, the Lancia was the better car till the 90´s, i had the road version of the Montecarlo coupé , i t was very nice and had great grip
I drove a Sierra fully loaded, all the way from south east England to Germany and back in the nineties. With a broken anti-roll bar. 😲
I remember when these first came out was definitely futuristic and ahead of its time ...the 4i biggest problem was the 2.8i capri cheaper and more cooler 🙂
the 3-door XR4ti and 5-door Scorpio came to the U.S. under the separate brand name Merkur
The Wife & I looked at buying a Scorpio 5-door that had been traded-in at a Ford dealer, in 2004
The CAPRI was Fords most radical design imo
Here in the States they sold this as the Merkur XR4Ti. It didn't sell well. Mostly because nobody knew the name. If they had just called it a Ford or Mercury, it might've sold well.
Awesome to have this back I love it Ed sierra was fantastic I did drive a cosworth once now I drive a rare Astra gtc ltd edition 2017 it's great
No mention of the Series 2 Sierras (immediately recognisable by the bigger headlights), including the 5-door XR4i (which had lost the double-deck rear wing) and its sister, the GLS 4x4 (both being 4-wheel drive).
After a series of Capris (all V6), I had a Sierra GLS 2-litre twin-cam and then a GLS 4x4. The 2-litre GLS twin-cam was one of the best driving and handling cars of its era - far better to drive than the ever-understeering Cavalier, and far, far better than the Montego, which was even more understeery and had a horribly wheezy engine.
The GLS 4x4 didn't handle quite as well as the 2-litre twin-cam (blame that heavy V6 lump up front), but nevertheless was a fast and very capable, sure-footed all-season family car. Its Achilles heel was fuel economy, nor was it much quicker than the (lighter, RWD) 125bhp 2-litre twin-cam version. Also worth noting that the twin-cam engine of the Series 2 was a vast improvement over the sohc Pinto engines of the Series 1.
Although the 2.8 V6 in the XR4i and the GLS 4x4 was basically the same engine as that of the Capri 2.8i, it was detuned to 150 bhp in the Sierra from the Capri's 160 bhp.
The facelift Sierras are discussed.
Nice car
Mk3 Cavalier was a good car and very popular
It was the fuel costs that put people off, 11-18 mpg in normal driving, you could push 24 on a long run.
The Manta GTE wasnt much slower and could average 30 normal driving and 38 on a run.
Petrol escalated in cost 1985 sharply and big engine cars suffered in second hand value .
I bought am metallic Blue B Reg xr4i in 1987 and once the novelty wore off sold it as it cost a fortune to run to get to work every day .
Not forgotten to me as the hot young female P.E. teacher at my Upper School had one in Red. Loved the teacher & her car.
Non-Cosworth Sierras are often overlooked, good to see a nice synopsis of the 'cooking' models. That particular car has an odd stance, so I'm not quite sure what is going on with the suspension. XRs certainly shouldn't be wallowy or soft, so I suspect this one possibly needs new dampers and certainly new bushes - they are very much a wear part on Sierras, especially on the anti-roll bars. Although XR4is were never intended to be ultra-sporty, and instead were similar to Ghia spec, they were usually on the lower (Ford) springs and thicker ARBs.
I saw it previously sold last year in the same "recommissioned" spec (the white indicators clearly don't fit very well) at £12,375. It has only done 5 miles since and is now up on Car&Classic at £13,995.
This looks exactly like the XR4Ti I owned back in the day, in Canada....
The XR4Ti was actually considerably different, and built by Karmann.
The Merkur is, of course, Sierra-based, but it's an interesting blend of European XR4i and eventual RS Cosworth. You could say that Ford were using the non-critical US market as a test bed for the chassis modifications that later made it into the touring car.
@@TwinCam the point of Merkur was to compete with German Q-cars. Ford mistakenly even gave Scorpio buyers a guaranteed future value equal to that of a 190E.
Lutz always said that if Ford decided to market the car via LM dealers as opposed to multi-European franchises, the brand would fail.
@AutoAtlantica On paper, absolutely. But I’ve always had a suspicion that Ford knew Merkur was bound for failure before they got anywhere near American roads.
@@TwinCam no that’s actually the case as interviews with Lutz have always demonstrated. Ford’s abysmal marketing led to Merkur’s downfall. Selling a $30K Scorpio alongside a larger $15K Sable at a dealership where most customers didn’t care where the driveshaft was invariably would result in failure.
I think that the XR4i was most impressive marrying the Cologne V6 with the Sierra aerodynamics. It dispelled the myth about internal competition. There was room for it alongside the Capri Injection and Ford probably would not have attempted the RS Co'sworth without doing the XR4i first. The XR4x4 was another interesting spin off.
XR4i's were quite unstable on the road , due to the power under the hood, the back end could tend to do what it wanted , then the 4X4 came along , I had a new one & it was great. 1986 in Moonstone blue, massive improvement for the sierras
My Dad brought me home from hospital as a newborn in an Escort GT, then quickly got a Mk3 Cortina for the rear doors. A succession of Mk 4's as company cars followed, then Sierra arrived and our last 'tina was replaced with a Cavalier 1.8i CD. Dad has never had another Ford. When I got my first company car as a rep in the mid 1990's it was Mark 3 Cavalier and it was the release of the horrible Vectra finally took me back the blue oval with a Mondeo. Strange symmetry.
I think the Sierra XR4i is the car "The Professionals" would have driven if it had continued through 1984-85.
Even though it’s a totally different car it’s very similar to the 84/85 SVO Mustang. The SVO had the double spoiler, 2.3 turbo and 5 speed only and a funky headlight design with the beak hood. 86 SVO used the standard spoiler and a revised aero headlight design. It ended up being a massive failure compared to even base model mustangs.And while we got Merkur xr4ti’s in the states it should have been expected that it wouldn’t catch on considering the SVO was discontinued in 1986 but I guess they had a large stock of 2.3 turbo engines to get rid of.
I had a 1990 Sierra Ghia which was lovely to drive at the time. *The 3-door design just didn't work for me. The Sapphire version was my favourite looking back, but by then it was all over for the Sierra. I preferred the Escort Cosworth.
The Cosworth car went like a rocket: saw one as a cop car disappearing into the distance years ago.