1994 Ford Orion Ghia 1.6i 16V from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great performer with a low price

Faults:

Offside balljoint and pinion bearing in the gearbox.

General Comments:

I LOVE this car! So far I haven't done any upgrades on her, but I plan to!

Handling is a dream, acceleration is what I would call pretty fast and she LOOKS good too!

I was a bit annoyed when my first service came up and they had to replace the balljoint, brake discs and pads (although the brakes were more wear and tear anyway) and then I was also rather annoyed when I was forced to get the whole gearbox reconditioned, but so far she's not let me down and hasn't once refused to get me from A to B.

Petrol consumption does seem to be rather high though. I've discovered it doesn't matter how I drive, the same amount of fuel is guzzled. I can get about 300 miles to a tank of petrol which at the time of writing (18 September 2000) costs me about £35. Not the most fuel efficient car you'll agree, but I still wouldn't trade her for the world!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th September, 2000

22nd Oct 2003, 08:24

Hi.

I wrote the original review above just over 3 years.

Since then unfortunately it all went down hill, I've had to have a suspension column changed because of creaking (rubbers worn), numerous wheel bearing changes as well as I've had to put in another new gearbox/clutch/exhaust although obviously a lot of this is wear and tear.

The final note was that unfortunately the car was stolen a few weeks back. Putting it simply the door locks/security on this car are pathetic. They just pierced a whole in the door and triggered the central locking. Unfortunately there is no immobiliser on this car as standard. Insurance deemed it a write off when recovered. If you do buy one of these, fit an immobiliser!

7th Nov 2005, 07:49

Ford are crap for security, why do you think insurance is so high. thief target in and out in 2mins.

1994 Ford Orion LX 1.4i from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Front bushes started to wear rather rapidly.

The bottom ball joints are constantly going.

Noisy engine.

General Comments:

Petrol consumption seems to be high, general storage and space is excellent, plenty of room in the back seat to move for me and my girlfriend.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th May, 1999