LAST OF THE OLD GUARD

FORD SIERRA

The irony for the Sierra was that for all its controversial leaps ahead of the market and subsequent retracing of its steps into mainstream acceptability, it was left outdated and outclassed by competitors hardly six years into its life. Introduced in 1982, the replacement for the Cortina was certainly radical. It was very aerodynamically efficient, with a drag coefficient of just 0.34, featured cleverly designed bumpers that minimised the cost of repairs, and a highly practical hatchback opening at the rear.

All these features would come to define the medium-sized saloon car segment in the years to come, but it was on the one feature it had to miss out that it was outmoded: it was still rear-wheel drive. In fact, it was only that the ambitious Sierra project had been escalating in costs so much that it was kept as more of an evolution of the Cortina than the revolution project head Bob Lutz had wanted.

Just after Ford had shored up mainstream appeal for the Sierra with the addition of the booted Sapphire saloon in 1987, competitors really started to hit back. Ford remained a strong contender, topping the sales charts repeatedly and never straying from the UK’s top ten even to its final year, 1993. But Vauxhall’s pesky Cavalier, its classic rival, beat it in 1984, 1985, and in those last three years. Then there was Peugeot’s 405, Austin’s Montego, Renault’s 21 and plenty more ready to show people what could be gained from a front-wheel-drive chassis and forward-thinking design.

However, that was then and now is now. Ask many of the enthusiasts in the market for a modern classic like the Sierra, and you’ll discover that rear-wheel-drive is a selling point rather than a disappointment. And let’s not forget that today’s buyer can do all sorts to their Ford to eclipse almost any dynamic advantage a contemporary rival might have once held