a great workhorse for pocket money (Ford Sierra/Sapphire)

Name: jimborulez

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Product:	Ford Sierra/Sapphire
Date:	08/06/02 (564 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: huge luggage space, great workhorses, great fuel economy for the type of car

Disadvantages: rust buckets, smokey engines, worth sweet nothing these days

I'm only 17, but sierra estates have been in my family for as long as I can remember. I think my dad has a soft spot for them... Not hard to see why, either. Our original sierra estate was an A reg, 1983 or something like that. It was a 1600cc base model, and to be honest, I wasn't too keen on it. That was until the 1.6 litre engine finally gave up at around 200,000 miles and was replaced by a 2 litre granada engine. To this day, I still cannot believe the improvement in performance this created. It went like stink, this was due to the higher geared rear diff that were present on the 1.6 litre cars. Coupled with a two litre lump, this made for impressive acceleration and a top speed of around 115 mph. Dont forget, this engine was even older than the car itself...
It wasn't long after this that the car failed another MOT and the rust damage was not worth repairing. The car went to the scrappers for a tenner, which I found very sad as it was a fast motor.
Our next investment was into a 1.8 litre estate. However, this car had many problems that were not apparent when we bought it and we soon offloaded it on some other unsuspecting gimp.
Our final sierra estate, the one we have to this day, has been going strong for 6 years now, and although the 2 litre DOHC engine is smokey, it still delivers the goods without fail. It has to be said, the MT75 gearbox is shot, and it has been for all the time we have had it. However, it still hasnt given up totally. The suspension on the car is totally knackered too but that doesnt bother us when we are tanking along the motorway at over 100 mph. Not bad for a car thats not worth a tenner to any scrap yard. The car has never had any major faults in the whole time we have had it. The timing chain was noisy after about 90,000 miles but that was sorted before any damage was caused. Other than that, and a noisy exhaust that is on its last legs, there is nothing wrong with the car, apart from heaps
of rust and central locking that works when it feels like it... and not in the rain! A total bargain, as a car like this will cost you about £100 now and a good example will set you back no more than around £600.

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