1989 Mk2 Ford Orion GL Goes for a Drive
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- Опубліковано 9 січ 2020
- Taking a 1989 Mk2 Ford Orion 1.4 GL for a drive
The Orion s for sale here - www.youngandpartners.co.uk
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There is something very lovable about Orions - don’t know why! Funny how every A-pillar crinkled over time 😂
Great view of a great car. I miss simplicity
Its that friendly face! I think they were crinkly when new
Like the Peugeot 305
They were wrinkly from new My mums new mk4 escort was like it from the
factory
Definitely were flat when new, I've sold loads of decent ones to replace rippled ones😂
that car has the wrong wheel trims on. those are from an L spec car, not a GL
spare switch blank was for either front foglights if you had them fitted, or heated front windscreen. i had LOADS of these back in the day.
there were NEVER a factory mk3/4 with power steering. its possible some disability vehicle converters could add it, but it was never offered from the factory.
there was never an RS orion. just bodykits.
My dad had a 1.6i Ghia, in red, with the pepper pot alloys. It got nicked three times in one year, and we still loved it :-) It was only replaced a few years later with a Sapphire Cosworth. Good times.
The 1.4 cvh like this car was much better than the earlier 1.3, but 1.6i ghia was the one everyone wanted. The pepperpot alloys were awesome.. brings back so many memories. Thanks for brightening up my day 👍👍👍
My mk3 cvh 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Tap tap tap here it ftom miles away n old burnt oil smell
Wish I still had it though .......shells worth 10k now
The coin tray is also a blanking panel where the trip computer isn’t.
Yeah, you had to have the Ghia Orion, or 1600E to get that. I think it was only an option on the Ghia Escort.
@@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabelsexactetement. C était très pratique. Mes parents avaient la 1.6d Ghia 1988, un 💎, gris mercure😊 ✌️🇫🇷
Not ashamed to say I bought a new Orion in the 80s. Although a little ashamed to say I bought a second :-)
Never be ashamed of your Ford heritage 😏
I'm a FORD bloke mate
Had a 1.4L Orion back in the day, good car, very comfortable, always liked the stubby indicator stalks. Good review.
I always wanted an Orion 1 6i Ghia when I was younger now I want a Capri lol. Passed my test in a Mk5 Escort. A mate of mine had a S2 RS Turbo it was an absolute rocket
Also love your enthusiasm for everything you review and your attention to detail and knowledge. You even make a glovebox lid sound exciting. Hilarious! Still these little buzz boxes are quite attractive as you tend to look over the dash and those rear door windows are so square the visibility is brilliant.
Here in Brazil we had "our" local version of the Orion.
But it was a bit different, there was no four-door version, it was only sold as a two-door sedan/saloon and had a different rear end style. It was made during the joint venture between VW and Ford, called Autolatina. Ford sold it under the name Verona and VW sold it under the name Apollo. The Verona had two trim levels (LX and GLX) and two engine options, the CHT 1.6L (it’s not the European CVH) made by Ford and the AP 1.8L made by VW, the Apollo also had two trim levels (GL and GLS) and the only engine available was the 1.8L. Back then we didn't have flex fuel cars, so you had to choose the gasoline powered version or the ethanol powered version. So considering which fuel you wanted, technically you had four options for the Verona and two options for the Apollo.
The Apollo was made from 1990 until 1992 and the Verona was sold until 1996 (the second generation from 1993 until 1996 was sold only as a four-door sedan/saloon).
Had a 1.6 injection Ghia version on an F plate.
Think the dropping of the Orion name was so Ford could bolster the escorts sales figures, by adding the booted version sales in. Didn't Vauxhall do the same thing with the Astra and the booted version which was originally called a Belmont?
I seem to remember the same, I think Vauxhall dropped the Belmont name first so Astra sales could compete more with the Escort, Ford wasn't going to be ousted off the top spot and followed suit pretty soon after.
I had the 1600E, on a G-plate. Basically, we had the same *type* of car, though mine had many more luxurious refinements.
I have Ford Orion
Greating from Serbia!!!
Watching this brought back a flood of memories of my 2nd car - a 1988 Ford Escort 1.3L. It was 10 years old when I bought it, but the original owner had added numerous optional extras - the 5-speed (an extra on the 1.3L), sunroof, same seat fabrics as that Orion Ghia, etc. and those stubby indicator stalks and to circular headlight switch were awesome. I loved that car.
For some reason, my Escort had the Orion grill and bumper instead of the more basic looking Escort bumper/grill combo. Which made it stand out a bit from the other Escorts.
floorpan on The Orion was extended around 6 inches, sharing the boot floor extension with the Escort Estate. the Gearstick should be sprung so you cant go 2nd to 5th if you dont press against the springing.
the Wheeltrims on that car are from the L model, not the GL (i had lots of these back in the 90s, and worked in a dealers back in the day)) the extra blank on the speedo cluster surround was for heated front widscreen where optioned (or you could add front foglights if you wanted them). the additional blank 'twist' part on the wiper stalk wasnt for rear wiper on Escorts it was for variable intermittent where available.
power steering was never available at all from factory on there (i believe some disability conversions had power steering added but they were so rare only a handful were made and were adapted escort 'chairman' vans) and ABS was also never standard, it was optional and absolutely RUBBISH (i had one equipped with it and swore never again) as it was a belt driven system on the front wheels only, and if the wheels were going to lock, it simply cut ALL pressure to the front brakes, almost. very scary to drive.
you care correct there was never an RS model, even the RS bodykit was an option, it was never standard on any model and i think was a dealer fit thing (we never sold one with a bodykit)
i have to say they were much better to ride in than the Escort, handled as well, once you knew how to work with them, looked better than the escort.
We loved coin trays in the 80s because coins were actually worth something then.
That colour was called Aqua Jade. In 1989 I had to choose my first company car. Ford were the best value on our scheme and although I liked the Orion, the hatchback Escort suited my needs better. We had to give 3 colour choices and I chose an Escort 1.8D GL with Tasman Blue, Aqua Jade and Magenta as my colours. W R Davies in Welshpool had a blue in stock, so that became my car for the next 3 years and 89,000 miles. It broke down three times; the dim dip headlamp relay failed and consumed part of the loom in a smoky encounter. The fuel pump drive belt snapped, and a fuel hose became porous and allowed air to enter the fuel system. I had it serviced every 6,000 miles by my small local Ford dealer, which meant I saw them about every couple of months. The service manager and I became friends due to the amount of time I spent there!
There was a similar green called "opaline green" i all ways wanted a mk2 injection ghia in that colour.
The brake master cylinder failed on my brothers Orion Ghia injection at three years old , resulting in no brakes when he was driving it. That was the last Ford he owned . He drives Japanese now.
I bought a 1983 model in 1987, off a 72 year old lady with 20,000 miles on it (was her late husband's and always garaged), it was 1.6i Ghia - wanted an XR3i, but they cost alot to insure and generally after 4 years were thrashed and knackered.
The Orion's were generally driven by the over 50's so were fully serviced and not thrashed, and handled as well as the XR3i.
The boot was enormous and far more useful than an Escort.
Brings back memories as a child this does. These kind of cars were on the roads when I was a child(80’s child).
Just to add, those strange rocker switches for the door locks you mentioned, my 2005 Toyota Avensis has those😜
Had a 1988 1.6 ghia as my first car when I was 18. It will always have a special place in my heart!
CVH's are well known for being tappety when the rockers and lifters are worn. The head is easy to rebuild.
@@acejavacoder78 No 2 engines are the same.
@@acejavacoder78 they had a change interval of 36000 miles/3 years.
@@acejavacoder78 the dealership i worked in had them listed as 36,000 miles from day 1. they still had the original literature about them when i was working there a few years later. the 1.8D had the belt intervals dropped from 48k to 36k because they DID have issues with belts on early engines.
Yeah, my MK4 Escort CVH was kippered.
Blast from the past. Bought one in 1987- the boot was a revelation after my MG Midget. Died of rust. Always liked the stubby indicator stalks. Thank you.
I had one of these as my 1st “proper” car. Good to see the familiar interior again after 😮 25yrs.
I had a 1.6i Ghia loved it at the time it was pretty nippy aswell . Rare cars now days keep up the top vids of old classic cars like these ✌️👍
I had the 1600E. Like yours, just that bit better.
My parents had one of these back in the mid-nineties (I was about 6 to 9 years old I would guess the time we had it). It must have been a lower spec though. It had the same sunroof and the speaker adjuster thing, but it had wind up windows and manual wind mirrors. (I think the headunit is still in my parents garage) That was back in Ireland though, and saloons were always more popular in Ireland (Live in Sussex now, not that far from Sussex Classics actually).
One thing I remember though my aunt had an Orion as well at the time (both were the same green metallic colour as the car in the video). We were at my aunts house and Dad went off to the shop on his own in the car. But with out looking he unlocked, started and drove off in my aunts car with the keys for his car. When he came back (he realised he had his sisters car by the time he got back), she tried her keys in his car, she could unlock it and start our car no problem with her keys.
A few years later (around 2000 i would guess), my oldest brother started driving and got an escort mk4. My parents had a Sierra at the time, and you could use either set of keys to start them.
The Sierra has the last ford my parents had, after that they have had Peugeot's and Renault's the last 20 years. Weirdly my Dad's has had quite a few cars designed by Patrick Le Quément, without even knowing it.
I had a '89 1.4 back in the late '90's. I paid 1200 for it sold it to my parents for 750 on 2001. It had 127k on it. The boot kept filling up with water and it blew a lovely cloud out the back if you took it over 3k rpm. They took it down to London after 6 months and tried to flog it off for 1000. They gave up in the end and sold it to a dealer for 500. It had nearly 140k on it by then. It was well appointed and well built compared to what I was used too.
I had 4 orions through the late 80,s and 90,s,two mk1,s a 1.6l and a 1.6gl, and two mk2
injection ghia,s loved them all cracking looking cars
The switches on the Orion brings back memories of my old Mk4 Escort, With the switches, below the rear fogs and heated rear window, the blank switch was for the originally optional heated front windscreen which ford bought in with the 1985 Granada and the Mk4 Escort and Mk2 Orion. The ring at the end of the wiper switch was for the time delay for the variable delay intermittent wipers that was on the later upper range versions, to activate the rear wiper on the Escort you would push the wiper switch back then push it back further to activate the washers. The Escort and Orion of this generation was never available with power steering, not even an option. The ground breaking features on this version was the ability to option a mechanical anti lock breaking system, first in the class and the option of a heated front windscreen, still used by Ford today.
actually the heated screen had been around long before the 1985 mk3 Granada. i had one in my 1982 mk2 Granada Ghia X. how i wish it hadnt gone banger racing, looking back.....
I had an Orion 1.6i Ghia in the late 80's. Loved it. Also worked in Ford Halewood for a bit where we made these along with the Escort.
The idea of this was ported over to the Sierra which became the Saphire.
All the final '90s Escort saloons that I drove had a wiper for the rear window with the pivot going through the glass.
I had a 1990 1.4GL Orion that was metallic Gold. It was great, the boot swallowed up my young son’s (he’s 32 now!) buggy, support equipment & weekly supermarket shop. It was great, I eventually traded it up for a Mondeo hatch back.
Brings back memories, my father's company had Orion diesels as pool cars in the 80's. His very kind boss would often take pity on him when his old bangers were in the garage and would lend him a pool car, also he used them if he was on works business. I remember a red and light blue mark 1 Orion and a lovely mark 2 metallic blue F reg with the tilt and slide sunroof and the joystick balance control, both of which seemed very cool at the time. I still remember the distinctive Ford smell. I bought a rather worn out C reg diesel in the mid 90's which had that smell. I would love another Orion.
Recall that these were maybe a little bland back in the day but it looks great now. Good to see one in such great condition.
I remember working for a company in the late 80s & they had a new rep join. They bought him a new Orion LX but he wasn't happy because the other rep already had a GL lol.
Great video. Very well done. I had the Ford Orion 1.6L in Biscayne blue. It was a 1988 car on the 'E' plate. I bought it in 1998 and although it was already 10 years old, it really enjoyed it.!
I remember my dad's orion in the 90s. Driving all the way from teesside to the Portsmouth before getting the ferry to Isle of Wight is one of the memories I have
My grandfather had a new A Reg mk1 Orion 1.6 ghia in gold with beige velour interior 😀 He used to wear stringback driving gloves, overcoat and a cap when he went for a drive. Bless him.
I'm glad to hear those back seats are comfortable since my mum gave birth to my brother in the back of my dads Orion :)
My Dad had 1986 "C" reg 1.6i Ghia in black & it looked beautiful, not a spec of rust on the body at all... The chassis on the other hand , yeah it was rather breezy underneath (there may have been a rather large hole under the carpet). He sold it in the late 90's, that car ran on for a good few years after that with the new owner,
In 1996 I had one of these and it was an upgrade from my short-lived first car. Despite it being an odd cream colour with a light brown interior and had far too many miles on it, I loved it. I drove it ragged for 2 years, except for some oil and lightbulbs it didn't need anything and I sold it for the same money I bought it for when I moved to London and didn't need a car for a while.
Really nice and honest review. I've actually always preferred the look of the older Mk3 Escort over the Mk4 as I found the rounder design on de Mk4 a bit too soft in my opinion. I currently have a red '82 Escort XR3 for weekend motoring. I really love the roughness and simplicity of the car.
This review really temps me into looking at an Orion as a second daily driver.
The Mk3s are getting so rare now. Hang on to the old carb.
@@CherylCold Not planning on selling it anytime soon. Before I bought it, I actually hadn't seen one on the road for years.
That interior takes me back to the days when i drove an Escort combi van .....unusual colour that Orion....nice...
Loved Orions - much less road noise and rattles than an Escort, because of the boot (enclosed cabin). I still prefer saloons to hatches!
Another superb video. You're easily my favourite UA-cam channel. I do miss your comments on the smell of car interiors, which you used to do all the time. Sounds odd but the smell of a car interior brings back a lot of nostalgia for me. This generation of ford seem to have a kinda sweet powdery smell. Vauxhalls from the mid-2000's to now seem to smell like a McDonald's burger IMHO.
Anyway, keep up the good work and remember there is a nice Fiat Grande Punto multijet Eleganza with leather to review here in Southampton. 😁
Not forgotten, trying to find time to get down your way soon.
And Ill remember to sniff the car next time - sniff test coming up!
If you can go lock to lock with the palm of your hand at a standstill, then it will be assisted, but I know my 1.4 Orion back in the day did not.
Interesting memory of my girlfriends dad, telling me shouting for me around 4am, that my car alarm was going off.
Didn't have an alarm, but some scally had broken my steering lock, shorting the horn contact pins in the process.
Lucky bit of Ford design that stopped it being nicked.
You got very lucky there!
So many memories when I was 19 driving an Mk5 Orion 😎
Enjoyed seeing an Orion review; don't see many these days, especially the Mk1. Looks like a great example and the 1.4 is up to the job.
I had 2 Orion's back in the mid 90s; a 1990/H 1.6 LX then a 1990/G 1.6i Ghia (Efi). The 1.6i was the best package, in my opinion. Great blend of performance and refinement, nice exhaust note, smart pepper pot alloys, practical and decent trim/spec. I did hanker after the rare 1600E but couldn't afford one at the time.
A lot of companies wanted saloon cars for sales reps because the separate boot offered better security for samples. Hence the Orion and Sierra Sapphire. I thought the Orion name was dropped because it split the sales figures between two models for essentially the same car. In 1989, I could have had an Orion 1.6 GL or the larger Sierra L or Cavalier L. I wanted a Peugeot 405. Only when I pointed out that the 405 was built in Coventry wax it added to the list. That handled and rode beautifully and had the all important electric sunroof in lowly GL spec.
My Dad got an E reg mk 2 Orion 1.6i Ghia just after I passed my test and got my MK 3 Escort. It had a trip computer in place of the coin tray and an amplifier for the stereo. It got nicked and eventually turned up on a playing field minus it’s pepperpot alloys. It was written off but my Dad didn’t want to part with it so he bought it back off the insurance and got a replacement set of alloys. I didn’t get to drive it for about seven years as it was too expensive to add me on the insurance, but when I did eventually get to drive it I thought it was a cracking car.
I do love a trip back to the 1980s - my childhood era. There were so many of these. I always thought that the rear light clusters were essentially pinched from the last Cortinas - very similar in style
yes, it was an evolution of that onto the Granada then trickled down to these
They were swappable. Don't know if the wiring had to be adapted, but the clusters fitted both cars.
I loved my Orion 1.6 Ghia, to me that was the XR3i in saloon form. It had all the qualities of the hot hatch and drove like a rocket. 4 attempted car thefts made me decide to say goodbye😢 it was a G reg in silver. Wish I’d kept a pic of that wee beauty.
We had a red automatic orion with the CVT gearbox that made it sound like a spaceship, two major problems with it were that it suffered from "Red Paintitis" which caused it to turn pink and eventually the boot lid turned white and the other problem was that due to problems with poor engine breathing it kept sucking oil into the carb. All the best, Stevie
My sister has a 1987 Orion 1.6i ghia.
It was a really nice drive and the steering was very light for non assisted.
It also has a lovely exhaust note. As did my montego 1.6LX I had at the time too.
Hi Matt, enjoyed the review on this Ford Orion,this was seems really tidy,these cars modified were awesome with the alloys and higher engines back in the day.
I loved the Escorts and Orions of this era. I've always found the A-pillar trim quite disturbing in these cars though, it really looks like they dragged an offcut of pvc 'leatherette' out of a parts bin somewhere and wrapped it round the metal as an afterthought!
Many thanks for your reviews on the most humble, unsung hero's that were common on the roads back in the day. Sadly reduced to unicorn status or scrap nowadays. All the best for 2021, looking forward to watching your future videos with more trip down memory lane classics.
Great vid, I had a blue 87 1.6 Orion Ghia for a year or so in the late 90s and replaced it with a white 96 1.8 Ghia X Escort saloon which I had for 6 years
Great video, I've loved orions for years, since my dad had a mk1 1.6 injection ghia back in the 90s, I had one when I was 18 and now 36 I still have one, although not used daily anymore. Orions are very underrated, but that keeps the prices sensible and gets you a really good 80s practical family car. I would absolutely love for you to test drive mine, be a bit different to this one I can promise that 😂
I remember driving a Orion GLS basically a booted XR3i ! Enjoyed it!
Always like the Orion square shape I had a 1600 diesel,not fast but the mpg was amazing compared to today’s diesels.
In the early 90's, I learn't to drive in an 86 1.6 Ghia. Happy memories. They all had the wrinkly A post trims after a few years due to the body/chassis flex lol. :)
My father had the 3 door estate version of the Escort a mk3 1.3 Pop plus and a mk4 1.3 L .......he drove them both and us as a family to spain and back ...........i still love that shape to this day
I had mk3 1.3L death trap .......i called it the Dagenham disaster, just an old car , a tired car .....wish i still had it though !! Alas foresight
Mk3 shells worth 6 to 10k these days !!!!
Yep! One of my Son's first car. Took his test and passed 1st time in it. When he eventually upgraded I bought it off him, it did a whole lot of very comfortable miles before being retired to the Banger-Racing Freternity ;-)
My late two uncles living together, lived on a farm (both where farmer in Wales).
Had a first generation Ford Orion, on a C reg plate.
A cow one day went mad, and damage the offside front door (drivers door), the engine bonnet. My uncles never bother fix the damaged door and the bonnet.
Very farmer think to not bother fixing it!
I had a lot of Mk3 Escort XR3i's in my time, very similar to the Mk4 really. Simple car, lovely feedback form the wheel. Fab times!
Another great video of a car we rarely see anymore. I would love to see you do a review on a Vauxhall Astra Belmont. Can't remember the last time I saw one of them...another rare classic. 🙂👍
My parents bought a RedMK2 Orion in 1991 on an E plate but it had the same wheeltrims, it was the first car I remember from my childhood because we had it for 4 years which was the longest they had owned a single car
Mint looking Orion someone from work had a Ghia model Orion F Reg in Red many years ago loved it
The front rounded bonnet - excellent for collecting stone chips.
A gutsy family car, took one to France in 1986, did 500+ miles - never an issue.
However, it did have a digital radio which attracted scrotes and charvers on home turf. Lost six in ten days. Local constabulary couldn't cope. I suggested to the Ford dealership they should disguise it as a book, or a salad sandwich.
My dad had a H mk2 Orion 1.4L as a company car from new in 1990-1993. It was quite quick and never broke down. We could fit loads of stuff in the boot whenever we went shopping, holiday or moving house. It's a shame his firm swapped it for a Rover 214SLI as it was a duff one. The ECU packed in after 6 months. To this day he misses that Orion and so do i.
God I love these retro cars lovely car fair play thanks for showing this beaut great job
Equivalent dial to the lights switch on the right hand side was variable windscreen wiper speed on higher specs. No power steering on this mark, only on the next version. ABS was available but only an option. I had a metallic blue G reg Orion Ghia injection from new and loved it and it’s pepper pot wheels! Was a complete come down 3 years later and had to have an Astra belmont🙁
My family's first car! Good memories. They're so rare now here in Finland.
They used to be common? I don't remember seing many even in the 80's here in sweden. There was one in my neighbourhood in Gold/Rust.
@@rimmersbryggeri I don't think they were that uncommon. 1988 was the best year for Orion in Finland. Over 2000 sold. On the other hand almost 4000 Escorts were sold that year so Orion was never exactly a "common" car but I still saw them even in the early 2000's.
@@Nitrobotti Yeah you used to have many cars that we didnt. Especially american models though. Maybe you had assebly plants in finland for GM and Chrysler?
@@rimmersbryggeri We actually never had any American assembly lines which is funny considering how many American car enthusiast there are in this country. Even our family had a Chevy for a short period of time. Finland built Saab for few decades and now we have Mercedes.
@@Nitrobotti Saab I know about.That was Valmet? People with family in finland some times bring hideous 80's examples of american cars to sweden when realives die that's why I was wondering becasue finnish people usually have pretty good taste and I couldnt see such cars being imported there.
Just watched this again today back to back with the 1990 Rover 414 SLi. They both seem to drive really well with comfort and both seem to trounce the BMW 3 Series for rear headroom and legroom. Rover and Ford Teashelfery masterclass. Both in very attractive colours.
I have an 1.4 Ghia mk2
I've advanced sightly the timing.
And gained a little bit of top speed too. But this car is perfect cruising at 80mph
It's a sofa with wheels. Mine was originally stratos silver, but painted it moon dust silver in 2015. And rocking 14" RS rims with Goodyear efficient grip tyres.
Thanks for this video, good choice and I've always liked the Orion
I think it's time to introduce a tea-shelf rating system :) As always, great car, great video, great channel!
hmmm, mugs out of 5 perhaps?
Nice video! This is actually my 1st car. Have it for 2,5 years now :D
Was really happy to see someone taking a look at the Orion and was looking forward to seeing the vid, but after roughly two minutes i found the editing to be quite an annoyance which really for me spoiled what could have been a decent video
Cracking car, decent price too. I had a '89 Sapphire, I loved it. Have to agree with you - lovely simple controls.
I've seen that colour recently - next door has a sporty Fiesta van - same(ish) colour.
My step son bought one of these shortly after passing his test in 1999. It was the same year as this one but looked like it had been tarted up by the previous owner. He asked me to get it ready for the MOT and I gave the sills a poke with the handle of a screwdriver and found there was more filler than metal! I would have welded a pair on it but then I noticed that the rear arches were also a bit frilly. I opened the back door and gave the stepdown panel a good thump and it totally fell apart! Old newspaper and more filler. A rear shunt and the whole thing would crumple like an old coke can. I insisted it went straight to the scrapyard. That car was barely twelve years old. Then Ford introduced the Ka and we all know how that went!
Everyone moans about Italian cars and BL rusting but Fords were terrible years later
I completely agree - this Orion represents the best of the Escort/Orion range. Later Es/Os weren’t as good and didn’t even match the equipment levels available on some Mk2 Orions. The not-too-rounded edges of the late 1980s cars appealed to those who thought the Sierra was too soft, and in many ways the Orion strikes the most pleasing silhouette with faint whiffs of the Mk5 Cortina.
As a child who grew up in the UK in the early ‘80s, I was a big fan of the Escort and Orion range from that era. I remember seeing an Orion at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1982 or 1983 and being impressed with the styling and shape, clearly Escort derived but different enough to feel more gentrified.
My family moved to the USA in the mid-1980s where, strangely, no such booted version of the Escorts existed until the early 1990s. Then again, the US Escort was a heap of junk compared to the sleek European ones, even though they were vaguely related. It was truly for entry level car buyers who would prefer a blue oval to a ‘foreign’ nameplate. It does have to be said that the US Escort was a better car than its rivals from Chrysler (Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon) and GM (Chevy Chevette).
Coming back to the UK for a two week holiday in 1989, we hired a mid-level spec Orion and my father was very impressed with it. He liked the driving position, comfort, dashboard and drivability of the car, all the things you touched on in this video. I don’t recall which engine we had but I can echo your sentiments: the back seat was a comfy place to spend time. The car was well-made and equally comfortable cruising on the motorway all day or on the twisty roads of North Wales. Great memories! Thank you for the video.
I had the same colour mine was a 1.6 ghai , also they done the 1600 E which was nice , another great video 👍
Haha, this was my second car, and I loved it! Fun to drive and very reliable.
My dad had a two tone red and grey Orion 1.6i Ghia was pretty nippy!
I remember my friend's dad back in the late 80s buying a 1.4 LX Orion. I remember thinking how comfortable it was with the velour seats. 😁
I’ve always loved the Orion. My neighbours back home had an Orion mk2 and a mk3. What was the 4-way switch by the choke for?
Loved the Mk2 Orion. Always wanted a 1.6i ghia. Had to settle for a 1987 Escort 1.6 GL. Mum had the XR3i in 88 which I thrashed about with much glee.
My friend had a new Orion 1600E - it was stunning with full black leather and silver bumpers with a reddish colour, think it was an H-reg
the silver and red insert stripe? I think I had that on a mk3 Escort special edition
I'd love a 1.6i Ghia one, in gold, with brown bumpers & brown velour interior.
2020 is here and also the same boots! Have a great year!
Maybe Ill get a new pair this year, but they'll be the same
'used to love these cars and had several including at one time one of the cleanest about.
Couple of pedantic fyi's for anyone interested; There never was a full RS version, although I believe Ford did make a prototype. Sadly it wasn't to be so the 1.6i ghia was the best we got aside from the limited 1600e.
On the matter of power steering, it's highly unlikely the model in the video had it although it was available as a very, very rare option to aid those with disabilities.
And as for those that question whether the mark 4 escort really was just a mark 3.5 I suggest trying to face lift a mark 3 yourself... I did it once but the differences are actually pretty huge under the skin... as an example the front wings were wildly different meaning that to fit a mk4 front bumper required either large scale modification of the bumper or replacing the weld fitted mk3 wing with those from the mk4. Changing the dashboard necessitated rewiring the cluster and updating tye speedo cable as the mk3 didn't reach and there was a laundry list of other details that had to be updated to make it convincing!!
I need to YT the 1600e. Can remember but need more food. Sure they were 2 tone silver and noo... can't remember the blue name. Getting old.
I owned a silica gold 1986(D) Escort 1.4 GL in the late 1990s. I had my heart set on a Vauxhall Astra or Rover SD3. The dashboard is very familiar to me! I managed to snap the stubby indicator and the driver's seatbelt locked up. Both items replaced and refitted fairly easily. I sold it for scrap in late 1999 as it needed a lot of welding. This very nice Orion was likely made out of higher quality steel so it looks like a good buy. No power steering unless you go up to the Ghia spec iirc.
How did you break an indicator?! I had a Mk4 Escort Ghia, dont remember it having power steering though
@@furiousdrivingI think that I was just too heavy handed with it on one occasion.
@@furiousdriving The Series 2 RS Turbo was the only one with standard power steering, not available on any of the others, at all. Not even an H plate 1600E had it.
takes me back to ours we had a red 1.6 h reg. with same wheel trims
My mates brother had a new 1.6i ghia with full RS kit his dad bought for 17th birthday. I wonder if he still looks back at stuff like this, last time I saw him he was driving a new Aston. Always liked the Orion but I went Lancia, had the booted delta called Prisma, still have an old Delta now. Man would be nice to go back to the 80s early 90s. Cars were so cool.
They were quite modern and popular back in the day.
We are so spoiled these days! but cars these days have come leaps and bounds in technical evolution since.
My Dad had a H reg Orion Ghia in this colour. Nice car. They look so small now compared to modern cars in that class
The mk2 orion ghia 1.6i was a great looker with good performance for its time.......
You forgot about the special edition Orion with leather trim basically a 1.6 injection Ghia....the 1600e
My Dad had an E reg Escort version. Blast from the past. CVH sounds a bit noisy though, either the hydraulic lifters or exhaust leak? Sounds more like an old HCS!
To me, it looks like a Mazda 323 of the 80's. Love the dash. And the Focus also sold the sedan (saloon) here in the US 🇺🇸 as well as the Fiesta, although I prefer a hatchback, but I really like a versatile saloon; you never know when you are going to have to fold the seats for cargo hauling!
I think they were actually related Fred.
@3:39 to 3:45 the blank switch was for the heated front screen. Late 1.6i Ghia and XR3i EFi and RS Turbos were fitted with it standard. There were never front fogs on mk2 Orions, well, from the factory.
They had the spot lights on sporty cars, but yes, I had the heated windscreen on a 1.4 Ghia Escort. Nice car that