1987 Ford Orion Ghia 1.6i

Summary:

Council estate limo - a sophisticated hooligan's car

Faults:

Core plug went and the car dumped all its coolant.

As it aged, the central locking proved unreliable - ended up playing central locking roulette, having to check what lock hadn't worked each time you secured the car - what is the point of central locking if you have to go round the car checking all the doors (and the boot) every time you lock up!!??

Rust - awful spearing rust in the door bottoms, floor pan and inner wings

Impossibly heavy unassisted steering.

General Comments:

Went well enough - roomy, but not really the BMW basher Ford fans would have you believe. My Dad had one a similar age at around the same time and kept it for longer than I did, and his just dissolved. And just for the doubters, Manchester is NOT by the sea - nor does it rain as often as people would have you believe - the rust protection was just awful. My wife's Fiesta of a similar age did the same.

The interior was quite nice, though the grey, hard and easily scratched plastics were VERY 80's.

On the whole, even for the time it was pricey, only reasonably economical, and performed fairly well, but just not good enough.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd November, 2013

13th Mar 2022, 15:07

Nice review. These cars remind me so much of 1980's and early 1990's life in the UK. Father had an Escort van from the same time period, was a reliable and tough enough van, but as you mentioned rust is not an 80's Ford's strong point, at only 8 years old it started to fail MOT's.

Cousin had an Orion LX and a later 1991 Escort Ghia that fared better and lasted over 10 years and 150K miles before they got scraped, but he garaged them, kept them cleaned and serviced like it was his trophies.

These cars were never worth much, but ironically now due to being so rare in 2022 it is thousands for a mint perfect example Ford from this time period; most rusted away to nothing.

In reply to 13th Mar 2022, 15:07

7th Jun 2023, 18:36

We had one in the family as well, good cars till about 8 - 10 years old, then the bad rust starts!

1987 Ford Orion Ghia Turbo Technics 1.6i petrol turbo

Summary:

Utterly fantastic retro rocket!

Faults:

Piston rings blew at high speed.

Rear arches rusty.

Sunroof jammed.

Central locking failed.

General Comments:

This car easily kept up with and quite often beat RS turbo's and the like. Very fast and fun to drive. Saw 140 on quite a few occasions without much hassle. 60 coming up around the 7 second mark. Easy to hit the speed limit on most roads, and sounds awesome when the turbo spins up. Don't make cars quite like this anymore unfortunately.

No power steering or fancy computers making decisions for you, just man and machine! The way it should be.

Great old skool styling. Comfy inside too with plenty of space and toys. Massive boot.

Built well, but prone to rust and gremlins, but what car isn't?

Quite rare nowadays, and wish I never sold it on.

Was very low compared to standard, so the ride was pretty harsh, but made the already great handling even tighter.

If you see one of these beasts for sale in good condition, just buy it! You'll never regret it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th April, 2011

20th Jan 2025, 16:11

I tried to buy one of these back in the day, but could never find any without any rust, even when they were not that old. Shame really - the Orion was a cost effective sedan offering from Ford that was value for money, decent to drive and look at (even for 1980's times).

Nostalgia aside, we have of course come a long way, but I miss when cars were this simple. Given better rust protection maybe more would still be around.