A car for all seasons (Ford Sierra/Sapphire)

Name: blackbob

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Product:	Ford Sierra/Sapphire
Date:	09/02/04 (4530 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and plentiful, looks good still, spacios

Disadvantages: small engines slow, old

Last November,needing a car because my much despised Nissan Sunny despite running for months with a bodged carb had finally ground to a halt.I reluctantly put aside £60 for a replacement carb when my mate told me about a trade-in Sapphire that had recently come in.Now being a car fanatic that has had though I've never actually counted over 60 cars the words £50 set alarm bells ringing in my head,the first thing that automatically comes to mind is - what's wrong with it?I had about 10mins to make a decision so checking the state and level of the oil and water,telling my mate to rev it and then to hold it at 3000rpm for half a minute or so to see what came out the exhaust then running my hands along the sills to check for rust bought it.

The Ford Sierra was brought out in late '82 as a replacement for the much loved Cortina.The Cortina had been the No.1 best selling car for years and a fleet market favourite since it came out and the Sierra was not that well recieved and probably did more for Vauxhall,their new Mk2 FWD Cavalier had not long been introduced but was already a big hit.The new and maybe unfairly dubbed 'jellymould' styling was a bit too much of a departure for 'the middle of the road' fleet market/private owner who'd bought the Cortina in droves and the management at Ford were no doubt remembering Ford of America and their infamous Edsel.Comparing it to the all new Cavalier the 'jellymould' styling while radical hid what was a very convential chassis with engines/drivetrains lifted straight out of the Cortina parts bin,though the Sierra had independant rear suspension which Vauxhall never used until the introduction of the Vectra,except in the GSi and 4x4 models.

Initially introduced in 3 and 5-door hatchback and 5-door estate versions it had the option of 1.3 and 1.6 (standard or economy versions) or 2.0ohc pinto engines with 4 or 5-speed manual g/boxes or a 3-speed autobox these
plus the 2.3 V6 cologne .Then in keeping with the rest of the model came the unusually styled XR4i with plastic mouldings halfway up the doors and wings and bi-plane rear spoiler.Though based on the 3-door shell which had one large rearside window the XR4i had an unusual two window set up.It used the tried and tested engine/drivetrain out of the 2.8i Capri but never really replaced the Capri in the hearts Capri owners until the introduction of the fabulous RS Cosworths.

In late '84 an 1800 version of the pinto was introduced soon followed by a fuel injected version of the 2 litre pinto using the Bosch L-jetronic injection system with the Ford EEC IV management system which was far more flexible than the mechanical Bosch K-jetronic mechanical injection system or the KE-jetronic both being used on XR3i's,2.8 Capri's and the XR4i.However the pinto engine while compotent enough was by the mid '80's rather rough and ready and was never a match for the Vauxhall Family II SOHC engines in the contemorary Astra's and Cavalier's.I personally think having owned many Capris,Cortinas,Astras,Cavaliers,Escorts,Fiestas and a few Sierras that when compared Vauxhall make far superior engines to Ford.Although I don't include the Cosworth engine in that statement I do include the Zetec.A badly designed camshaft spraybar,the holes that sprayed the oil on the camshaft were too small and if the oil was not regularly changed would soon block up starving the camshaft of oil which would wear out quickly - when buying any pinto engine Ford though the 1.6's are the worst,listen for knocking from the top of the engine as this is most likely a worn camshaft.The pinto never liked being revved and coupled with the un-nessecarily complicated VV carb on the 1.3 and early 1.6 models could be hard to start,here's a tip though - unlike most auto choke versions which you depress the throttle twice to engage the choke DON'T touch the throttle on VV
carbed version this carb is bad enough(personal opinion) when started normally.Later 1.6's use the Weber 28/30 DFTH carb,1.8's - CVH and pinto - use a Pierburg 2E3,2.0 initially used a Weber 32/36 DGAV but later a Weber 30/34 DFTH and the later 2.0 Dohc used a Weber TLD while the 2.3 used a Solex twin venturi carb -all these carbs being of the twin choke type except the VV which was a single barrelled carb and the Solex is a twin carb not a twin choke meaning both barrels open together whereas only one barrel opened first and once it's opened so far the second opened till they both were fully open at full throttle.

The vastly underpowered 1.3 was stopped in '86 and the 1.8 pinto was replaced by the 1.8 CVH in 1987 though the 1.6 wasn't replaced with a CVH until 1991.1989 saw the 2.0 pinto replaced with the I4 Dohc,which though the designation implies a 16V engine it is an 8 valve engine with twin cams.Late '88 saw the 2.8i used in the then XR4x4 replaced by the 2.9 version of the same engine.

Early 1987 saw the entire range face-lifted and the 4-door Sierra Sapphire model introduced which gave the car a more complete look,it is a 1991 J plate 1.8 CVH Sierra Sapphire Chassuer that I have recently bought.

The car I bought for a massive £50 has turned out to be a revalation.I once owned a 1987 XR4x4 with a 2.8 engine and while I found it a comfortable,well specified and reasonably quick car it was a dissapointment compared to the 2.8 Capri I had previous to the XR4x4.So that and the cheap price I paid for the Sapphire left me not really expecting too much from my new purchase.It is well specified,it has electric front windows - all round tinted windows,comfy seats though I replaced these with a set of half-leather Recaros,slide and tilt manual sunroof,central locking,boot spoiler,dark tinted rear lights and standard 4-spoke alloy wheels.

The engine which is the CVH version is suprisingly tractable at s
low speeds and though not a high revving engine (what CVH ever is except for an RS1600i engine) is suprisingly torquey.I think the fact that although based on the American 1.9 version the 1.8 is basically a long-stroke 1.6 is why the engine produces power the way it does.You'll never win a traffic-light drag race unless your against a Metro or something but at wet roundabouts there's plenty of torque to get the car sideways.Motorway driving is relaxed,quiet and smooth and I've seen 120mph out of it though side winds seem to upset the car especially over 95mph.It is when pushing the car down A-roads and minor roads that the engine shows it's limits above 4000rpm it struggles and over 5000rpm there is no extra power to speak of.


1.8(R2A) engine

capacity 1796cc
89bhp at @5250rpm
108lbft at @3000rpm
compression ratio 9.3:1


The modest peak power output at @5250 rpm and reasonable torque output at @3000 rpm explain it's general behaviour,without the data to verify I believe the car has combination of a high final drive ratio 3.92:1 with a 5-speed g/box where 5th is an overdrive and maybe a close ratio box would make the car more suitable for someone like myself who mostly drives on A roads as opposed to morotway/city enviroments.The g/change is a bit slow and notchy which doesn't like to be hurried but the clutch is light.Curiously,considering the overall set up the car doesn't have power steering which can make it heavy at parking speeds but provides for positive and nicely weighted steering at open road speeds.The limited characteristics of the engine are the only complaint I have with the driving ability of the car because it is with out a doubt the best handling RWD Ford I've ever come across(with the exception of the Cosworths).I far prefer RWD cars and my myriad of Cortinas and Capris leave much to be desired when compared with the IRS of the Sierra
anyone brought up on a RWD Ford would surely not miss that huge live rear axle clattering and banging over every lump and bump in the road,indeed it was the way that the four wheel drive felt on the road that I disliked so much with the XR4x4.In fact the car has superior handling and grip plus nicely balanced steering which inspire much confidence unforetunetly the brakes are just good enough,pulling you up straight but there not that quickly - I have classic disc/drum set up and I'm sure the ABS versions will be far better,funnily enough I have an ABS warning light in my dash.

The cabin is airy,light and very spacious which would be a massive plus for long family treks down the motorway.It has the original Ford 2006 radio/cassette with factory speakers that are good enough though the bass response won't win any sound off competitions.The boot space is cavernous taking enormous amounts of luggage/shopping or whatever you need.Behind the wheel everything is in reach and visibility is good and I like the fact that the windscreen washers are independant of the wipers unlike most modern cars which wipe automatically when you use your washers - sounds and probably is trivial but I get annoyed in summer when wanting to clear my dusty w/screen the waters gone in a swipe and the last couple of swipes squeal across a dry w/screen.There's an intermittent setting but it's not changable.The lights are great especially the full beam which has seperate spotlights within the h/lamp and the dash is clear and readable at night and has a standard rev-counter though no low fuel warning light(higher spec cars will have).

Despite what the book says you can expect fuel returns of 28mpg combined and on recent 350mile round trips to Glasgow on mostly d/carriage way and motorways about 34mpg a full fuel tank gives about @420-450 miles.Against this it cost me about £300 to insure a year fully comp(I'm 31 with full no-claims but 6 points) while a full
exhaust system costs me from manifold back £40.Overall it is a cheap car to run.

I fully recomend the Sierra/Sierra Sapphire range of cars to anyone who needs a good reliable car.I've had mine now for about 2-2.5 months and it's never not started in the morning first turn of the key despite being under 2ft of snow and given me no cause for concern.In fact when I have paid of my debts later this year I fully intend going out and getting the biggest bank loan I can so I can buy myself an Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth and fulfil a long held dream.

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