As should every car! I parked next to some yoof earlier this week, outside Screwfix. He was listening to what sounded like someone talking into a biscuit barrel while someone else rhythmically bashed themselves over the head with a tea tray.
I've had two Mk3 Granada hatchbacks - a D-reg ('84/'85) and an L-reg ('92) - both the 2.9i Ghia model. Used as my daily drivers both were supremely comfy, well specced, quick and exceptionally reliable cars which I enjoyed owning and driving, and that V6 at full throttle made such a wonderful sound. The only downside was they were pretty thirsty but I still loved them.
Though a "GM guy" here in the USA, I greatly respect the Ford designs of the 1980s, not just outside, but within. Those ergonomic buttons for windows and on the steering wheel were never bettered, IMO. As usual, an absolutely spot-on assessment of the common cars of yesteryear. Many thanks, as usual!
I had the 2.4GL V6 hatchback. It was roomy and seemed surprisingly well put together, and was probably the biggest car I've ever owned. Only good memories of the Granada
I had the pleasure of driving one of these from London to Paris and back on a boys outing many years ago. Being a Sierra fan I loved this Granada, having a Mk 1 and a Mk 2. The trip to Paris was so comfortable and a nice quiet ride.
Love this! My Dad had 4 mk2 Granada’s throughout the late 70s & 80s & in 1990 he got a saloon preface lift 2.9 12v Scorpio (his first company car) I passed my test in November 92 & my first day driving was in the Scorpio with my mates, armed with the company fuel card! 😂 (it was insured for any family member) He changed his job in 94 & bought himself a facelift Lreg which he kept until 2001 (he hated the bug eyed mk4) Can’t agree with the non robustness of the leather interior though the Hreg car had 113000 on the clock by 94 & the Lreg had 165000miles on it in 2001. Both interiors were still in excellent condition & everything still worked, they were both very reliable. Thanks for the memories & a great video as always 👍🏻
I love the old Granadas. My parents both drove them at one point in the mid-90s (a 1988 1.8 for my mum, a 1993 V6 Scorpio like the one in the video, albeit a hatchback, for my dad) and they were lovely big comfortable cars for long motorway trips to the south coast and to visit relatives. I miss the days of floaty, wafty cars now that BMW convinced everyone that hard seats and sporty suspension are what you need for a trip to the seaside, that's why I own a Volvo 240 (also an incredibly comfortable ride). Good to see big saloons and estates finally getting some love from people other than banger races now that the segment has almost been entirely replaced by the dreaded 'crossover' SUV.
Had a 88 2.4 Ghia and 89 2.9 Ghia in the 90s. They are lovely, lovely cars, one auto and one manual. Bought them out of the "off to auction corner" of a dealership for tiny money. Big value though the 2.9 was thirsty!
I was just talking about this very car today, around 1988 I was driven from Fort William to Inverness in a brand new 2.8i Granada traffic police car and the drivers nickname was lead welly, I also think he still holds the record for that trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. The man could drive.
I have one, there isn't a grain of wood anywhere, it is all cheap plastic made to loosely resemble wood,. very comfortable seats mind you, and an incredible motorway cruiser...
@the Game, Review and Reallife Channel Our older Fords were fine on build quality, nothing wrong with them. Not sure what you’re talking about but whatever
Its got even better looking with age, always preferred the Granada to the sierra. Bit weird that the Granada is now smaller then the current Mondeo, which originally replaced the sierra.
Output of 4s is now easily that of 6s with better fuel consumption and lower cost to build. Easier to package too and the 4 cyl cars perform better in crash. I have a V6 Granada Scorpio.
@@lewis72 i hear you mate, but to me i think we are getting conditioned to pay more for cheaper products, mercedes now has 6 cylinder s500s for example which i think is taking the piss ps i bet you love the 6 cylinder scorpio and would never swap it for a 4 banger granada
Yeh uncle had one but the mk 2. He the 2.9 injection ghia x top of the range and it was a big beautiful beast of a car. I used to love it when he come and picked me up then go cruising in it. Because he never had his own kids he treated me and my brother like his own sons as he is my mums brother we were the closest thing to having his own boys, so he spoiled me and my brother rotten. He had a well paid management job as a maintenance director for the council so money and what we wanted was no object. Used to love going to his, then down too his caravan with him and his wife my auntie Chris, and they literally buy anything we wanted😂 we’d come back home in his big Granada with new BMXs, Nike, adidas shell suits, music CDs he even brought us a Sega master system when they first came out.
I've got ab E plate 2.9i Scorpio. I think that the Vauxhall/Opel Senator was a better car overall. That 2.9i engine in the Ford is as old as the hills: iron block and heads, single camshaft, 2 valves/cylinder. Many otehr manufacturers were DOHC & 4 valves/cylinder by then.
I was 19 when I had my ist mk2 granada 2.8 ghia x,then at 21 I had a mk3 1988 2.0 pinto efi ghia auto .then I had a 92 mk 3 2.9 24 v boa v6 cosworth saloon. I only owned that for 7 weeks before it was stolen. I replaced that with a run out model 1998 Scorpio ultima 2.3 estate in the same colour as your film car . I kept that for 2 years before p.x changing it for a e38 bmw 728i .a few years later I got the chance to own another mk3 granada. It was a 94 2.0 dohc efi auto hatchback. Just something about the granada and the sierras of that time .they drove so good and made you feel so special. I must have had over 40 cars since passing my test and its fair to say the bulk have been sierra's and granada's .my current classic car is my home built 1988 ford sierra once a 2.0 efi pinto ghia estate. Its now a full and complete sierra cosworth replica estate with full cosworth running gear including a HARTPOWER 406 bhp yb cosworth turbo engine in 2wd form .got to say I love my old fords and I'd love to have that granada sat beside my sierra in the garage at home .
Lovely car. Very factory-original. A top-spec executive with a dash of fun for the family, being an estate. Nouveau Red was a very attractive colour on all early/mid-'90s Fords, really suits them. I've not seen these alloys on a Granada for ages, either. Most remaining examples now have RS 7-spokes or the dished 5-spoke 24v wheels.
These were great value 2nd hand and we got a 2.9 Ghia to replace our 1.8 Passat. H reg. After that it did indeed feel quick! That 2.9 was a little gruff compared to the 24 valve version which my grandad had (that was incredibly quick) but still sounded like it meant business. It would certainly overtake well. Only 150bhp but plenty of torque. Ours had cloth interior and I would argue it's nicer than that black leather. Lovely velor seats. Incredibly comfortable. Loads of room. It was a bit wallowy on country lanes but cruised very nicely indeed on motorways. It was replaced by a BMW 535i which didn't actually feel that much faster but handled a lot better and felt much more solid inside. Compared to the Granada though it was cramped. Ours had the pre facelift interior which I think actually felt a bit more plush.
I remember my dad being given one of these as a courtesy car, probably around 92/93. I’d never seen so many buttons in a car! If I remember rightly he was very reluctant to give it back...
For those who may not be aware, the Granada of this era would have been akin to the modern-day British Mercedes E class driver. It was usually a company car for middle to upper-level execs who were reluctant to choose the German rivals. Obviously, that has completely changed and Ford has pretty much had its day in the UK.
I had a 24v estate company car when I was working for a Ford main dealer back in the day and I absolutely loved it. I don't know why so much is made of the switchgear being the same as the rest of the Ford range, as I remember they were reliable and nice to use, I remember much was made of Jaguar using Ford electric window switches in the X308 but Ford owned Jaguar at the time and the switches in my 2000MY XJ8 were a sight better than in my 1995 XJ12 which had BL derived switchgear. I still much prefer a big estate car to an SUV which is why I currently have a Volvo V70 as my daily workhorse. This is a lovely car in the right colour.
Thank you for an enjoyable trip down memory lane 🙂. My father had a black 2.8i Ghia hatchback. It was very quiet smooth and capable, and even as a hatchback it could carry a lot.
I loved this era when the mainstream brands did big luxury barges. This particular one looks brilliant in the dark metallic red and I love the wheels and muscular stance. I think my dad still has the video at home somewhere where Jackie Stewart and Frank Bough drive the original Granada Scorpio. It's beautiful period piece. If I was a 90s "Everyman Luxury" exec buyer, my money would probably have gone on a Carlton/ Omega but these Granadas are marvellous
What a lovely example. A friend of my Dads used to have an R Reg 'Smiley face' Cosworth and it was one of the comfiest cars I've ever been in, and it sounded fantastic!
As a 15 year old car brochure collecting enthusiast, I absolutely loved the Mk3 when they came out. Still got my Ford ‘Cars’ brochure from that era out in my garage 😉
As kids my parents had an older 2.9 Granada, a Granada Scorpio like this one, then finally the 3.0 frog-eyed Scorpio. We loved them! And that sound takes me back.
Had a 2 litre and a 24v, the 2 litre is still on the road, the 24v died in 2001. The most spacious superb drive ever. The Scorpio was a luxury beast, lovely cars though only got 22 mpg
In 1987 I had a new company 2 litre Granada Gaia hatchback in green to replace a very tired 2 litre Alfetta (I did not own it so drove it hard). What a contrast! My wife loved it and says to this day that it was the most comfortable car I have ever had. It was a good motorway car but it was a lot of metal for two litres to lug around. It had the optional air-conditioning which was an effective brake when you switched it on, which wasn’t too often. That car still holds my personal record time of Crawley to Southwold in just two hours- those were the days!
I drove as an employee of Ford Cologne between 1986 and 1992 5 Scorpios, 2 Hatchback, 2 Estate and 1 Notchback. The car was used for towing a caravan and with the first Scorpio I changed to automatic transmission, up to now. For me in my memories, the best Ford for travelling ever built and the price difference for such a big car was regard to the options included very low to the Sierra. For the included options of my 1. Granade GL you had to buy a Sierra Ghia in 1986. The inner space was so large on the rear seats that this Scorpio was the first car in my hands since 1971 on which I enter by choice the rear seats instead of the front passenger seat, when my wife was driving. Never forget on a tour with friends also driving in other cars on a coffe stop. One of my friends came over to me, opened the rear door, saw the space between the front driver seat and my knees and he said. „Unbelieveable“. My answer: „You sit here better than on a first class seat at Bundesbahn (German Railway)“. Only the last version of the Mondeo Estate was bigger.
My dad had this exact type of car in 1992. K588...something or other. It was a manual 2.0 in that really dark green colour. I can still remember the smell of it now and marvelling at the under seat lighting and other stuff. What a trip down memory lane. EDIT: At least I think it was the 2.0. I can't imagine my dad going for the V6 version and it's 30 years ago.
Love this car, owned 92 Scorpio-GLX for 8 years, mine was a grey mettalic hatchback with 2.0DOCH engine and 5 speed manual, no air conditioning, but electric mirrors and front electric windows, sunroof was mechanical. Smooth, pleasant ride, especially for long trips. Sadly, body hardly takes salted roads in winter of East Europe, so body was eated by rust, but my car was daily driven
Excellent review - i nearly bought one of these Estates back in the late 90s but even then rot was starting to take hold on the rear arches on most examples. What you did fail to mention here is just how late the Mk3 Estate arrived in the cars life - it arrived nearly 7 years after the original Hatch and 2 years after the 4 door saloon in 1992 - when the range received its final facelift dashboard and exterior changes. Even though the Mk3 Granada was designed and developed in Germany - Ford outsourced the engineering , styling and development of the Estate to IAD design of Worthing in Sussex. I prefer the dashboard of the early cars - but even today these cars are supremely comfortable beasts and very unappreciated even by the Ford Fan boy fraternity.
That's interesting about the styling of the estate - it kind of harks back to when the mk4 Zephyr / Zodiac estate was built not by Ford but by Abbotts coachbuilders.
Oh sir, this brings memories as well! My friend Mr Jackson (the ZS EV owner) had several of these in his family as his father had at least three Granada Mark III hatchbacks as company cars. One of them at least was a Scorpio. Unbelievable comfort in the back, especially with those electrically reclining seatbacks.
Superb video. These where unique nothing beats a large estate. They feel very welcome and cozy on the inside. Like a Gentlemen's club or lounge. Comfort from a long gone era. At the moment only find in Citroën's or landrovers.
I loved those when they first came out. It shows how far technology has come that my 2011 1.4 Mark 2 Skoda Fabia RS wagon has considerably more power than a 2.9 v6 from yesteryear.
Very interesting video, Matt. I remember well the Merkur Scorpio 4 door hatch back. I knew a couple of people who had them and absolutely loved them. Trouble was they were quite pricey, and the hatchback did not sit will with people wanting a sporting saloon that was definitely on the expensive side for the size of the car. It was well into the price bracket of BMW and even Jaguar, but was miles down on the prestige count. What really let them down was the lack of service and repair training given the mechanics and the wait for repair parts when things did go wrong. It is odd that German car companies make cars for North America that seem to do very well, but with GM or Ford try bringing their German models here, they fall down rather badly on either cost to purchase or on the cost and length of time it takes to effect repairs. Honestly, the saloon and estate versions would have done much better here than the hatchback they brought over. I'm guessing that the number of estates would have come close to the number of Scorpios they managed to flog, and the saloon numbers would have been quite a bit higher. The biggest fight they had was getting people to accept a Merkur, which everyone knew was a German Ford, at the price point of a BMW. After all, the Merkur could be cheek by jowl with a lowly Mercury Lynx in the showroom. That would be like having a Jaguar sharing showroom space with a Morris Marina, but both wearing essentially the same badges.
A beauty, don't know where Stone Cold find them. It seems there are a lot of people who buy cars and never drive them! I'd be happy to have it, looks perfect as a motorway miles muncher.👌
My dad had one back in 1995 until 1998. He had the rear arches lead lined and it's still driving around to this day. Rust really was the main reason these cars disappeared. The car itself was massive, we got an entire MFI bedroom in the back with four people in the car.
Fantastic vehicle in immaculate condition. Reminds me of a shrunken version of my Australian EB II Falcon GLi wagon. The design of the Mk3 Granada looks a lot more modern than it's actual age, in my opinion.
My granddad had one, also an estate and in the same colour. Only it was a van, so no rear seats. Had a 2.5 Turbo Diesel in it. It was a huge car in my memory, compared to todays cars it's just averaged sized. Really enjoyed this video, thanks Matt!
@@furiousdriving sold from the dealer as a van. In the 90s van conversions where a hot item, huge tax benefit. Even Golf GTI's where converted. The Scorpio had a flat floor and the windows where replaced with some sort of panels. The inside of the panels where covered with cloth. From the outside it looked like a normal estate with tinted windows.
Indicator/wiper stalks were unique to the Granada, the Escort/Orion had the light controls/intermittent interval delay on a ring around the base of the stalks, the dash was also ergonomically based on the recently launched MK5 Escort/Orion. I’m going to get my coat now.....
I remember those stalks well, had a few escort estates as company cars in the late 80's / early 90's. Gutless normally aspirated diesels and even an LX spec was still pretty basic. They make decent stuff now, but those weren't Fords finest years. Pretty reliable but felt tacky & cheap, badly appointed and so dull.
Love these videos, Matt! As a kid i saw these cars everywhere but it's really refreshing to see them now, especially in such great condition. The thing that stood out to me was the design cues from the mk1 mondeo on this later facelift Granada. Didn't realise it was so similar until now.
I love these big cars back when ford and vauxhall made cars to compete with the 5 series, It's a shame that ford and vauxhall stopped making them and only make cars to compete with the 3 series. These type of budget big cars are now only made by Skoda with the superb, if only ford brought over the Flex from America and well as the Taurus
@@harleyrobertson73 72000 per year in Europe - about half the sales of the VW Passat, and not even as many as the equivalent Audi. Clearly that isn't 'none' but nevertheless.
@@SM-dt1pr Fair point, and when you’re last man standing in a shrinking marketplace you’ll mop up virtually all the buyers interested in that kind of product. If anyone ever steals sales from the Skoda Superb with a similar car they might both struggle to achieve sales volumes that would justify developing a replacement model. Virtually every car “purchase” is financed these days, meaning poor brand image = poor residuals = higher monthly payments relative to RRP = poor sales. That’s why the premium marques clean up in this sector (and, increasingly, sectors lower down the market) - it’s all about brand perception and residuals these days. Except for Dacia, who manage to sell some of their cars to people spending actual money up front.
@@BungleBare - Surely as the world becomes full of Audi and BMWs they are no longer "premium" and therefore residuals suffer? Or, are people so blinded by marketing that they still believe their car is "exclusive"?
I made my first car phone call to my mum from a Top spec Black Scorpio saloon back in the 80's. It was the coolest thing I had done as a child back then. Such an amazing car 😊
In 1991 I had a TVR S2. People said that the 2.9 V6 was a dog but somehow the straight through exhaust seemed to make it smooth and quite revvy. It went like the proverbial off a greased shovel but then it was like a jet engine strapped to a roller skate. 23 mpg was the best it would achieve though.
Granada’s were all about the size and comfort but I still preferred the Mk2 for body design. Very reminiscent video Matt of bygone days and a fantastic example of late 80s 90s luxury. 👌🏻.
I had a MK3 Granada Scorpio for 18 months. I bought it to move house. The shocks needed replacing, needed a transmission service, the ABS light came on if I did 50 mph for too long. It needed work, but it was so comfortable.
Within my family we had five Mk 3 "Grannies". This included two "facelift" ones, which were of notably poorer quality in many areas such as cabin materials and rustproofing. If you are considering buying a facelift model, please, please, please lift the carpets to check for floorpan corrosion. The wheelarches and other vulnerable parts of the body may be in good condition - probably because they've been repaired or replaced - but the floors rusted through badly on our facelifted models once they got to around six years old. Like post-1991 Sierras, Ford seems to have undertaken lots of penny-pinching when it came to construction. As others have commented here, the pre-facelift cars (1985-1992) did seem to be of a higher standard of quality overall.
The Renault 25, Citroen XM, Alfa Romeo 164, Volvo 900 series and Saab 9000 were all credible alternatives in the early ‘90s as well. Different times, when an executive car didn’t necessarily mean German or Volvo.
Xm break is mostly forgotten... I guess it’s the biggest of all of the big stations in Europe. 7” longer than the scorpio, wheelbase +4”. That beast is even longer, wider and has a longer wheelbase than the famous Volvo’s from the era. Add to that that it has a high and wide cargo space (no intrusions from the suspension, no diff), and that makes it the ideal ‘break’.
Oh what a lovely video. And what a lovely Scorpio. My father drove the whole 90's a beautiful 1990 4d Scorpio in dark metallic blue of which I have very fond memories. Sadly, they are pretty much all gone now. It surely was a lovely place to travel in. And it was surprisingly quiet - after the Scorpio, my father bought a Volvo S80 in 2002, and it seemed to be noisier somehow. Ofcourse, the Scorpio had thin 14" wheels where as the S80 had much thicker 17".
Unfortunately underneath it all they're still Fords, and hence rot gets to them (the rear sub frames being particularly susceptible.) Any that were saveable were snapped up by the banger boys when values were low, like all big RWD vehicles (same reason there's hardly any Volvo 240s or 740s left now.)
I went from a H reg 2.0 GL hatchback to a M reg 2.9 Scorpio estate. I've driven a 3.0 Opel Monza and a E320 Mercedes and neither were as lively as the Scorpio. It was a beautiful car until a transit decided that it wanted to sit on my back seat. Was told that I wouldn't have walked away from the accident if I had been in my hatchback. The extra inches made quite a difference.
I had a granada scorpio 4x4 2.9 cosworth . Electric everything . Very smooth luxury car . Typically rust ended her life and the gearbox failure . It wasnt worth repairing the gearbox . And the rust was so advanced underneath it unfortionatly meant she had to go . I replaced her with a rover 418 . In beautifull brittish racing green metalic with nice velour interior in gray with some wood trim . With electric toys in it too so although smaller was still a nice place to be . Not the floating ride of the granny but still comfy over any milage . I think it was the k series engine in my rover . Never had any real bother with it . I needed a small van for work being able to fetch and carry some truck parts in . So i bought a berlingo van . I still miss my granada scorpio tho . It was very nice to drive with the cosworth breathed on engine plus it wasnt thirsty in fuel i never thought . I just used it mostly goin from and to the yard then i spent all week in the truck . But even at a weekend goin for a trip it wasnt gutsy on fuel . But with the power it had u didnt need to boot it to get up to speed anywhere . On the motorways it purred along at less than 3000 revs i got the mpg up to around the 30s mpg range i thought for an engine that size it was decent mpg . My boss at the time whom i bought it from had the mpg down around 17 lol so a huge improvement at the 30s mark for my driving . Hope ur well . Love ur vids . Pls stay safe and take care . ..... ian .....
I had 2 2.8 Ghias, they were fantastic long distance cruisers and had the torque to outhaul a lot of other cars up hills. They did have a serious weakness, the drive rod to the oil pump was weak on the squared off end. Often these cars were only driven sedately by old boys so they got away with it. As soon as someone got in and gave it the beans a bit the shaft rounded off and you would lose oil pressure and it could seize the engine in a minute. If anyone ever buys one of these, just get it changed immediately (and pump) not too expensive and you can then enjoy fully the car for many miles without worry. Also had the 2.0 manual before which was lovely and smooth and not as slow as you might imagine.
Mate left UK in 1999 for Australia but 80 and 90 guy, love your videos always take me back and your style is perfect thanks. Don’t change you seem to always cover what I want to see along with maintenance videos of your collection, top marks and again thanks for channel.
Most interesting, many thanks. I find it interesting that these days when you see a review of a car of this era, the first thing I tend to notice is how small the (alloy) wheels look! Back then the overall design was part of the package... but these days the wheel/tyre itself has taken over, becoming I feel the dominate (visual) feature of a lot of modern cars.
I had a 1988 2.0i Ghia version of the MK3 so not as many toys as this one but yes they were a nice car to drive. Having owned a MK2 2.3 GL previously, the MK3 was a big step up. Yes you can feel its Sierra heritage when driving it but yes they are just nice places to be and to travel longer distances they are superb. I never owned an estate or come to think of it there wasn't any in my town so i never really saw a MK3 estate but they are nice looking cars if a little wide at the back over the rear wheels like you say. in the pre facelift ones like i had, the CD player was an amplifier with a little joystick you could move the balance and fader for the speakers on. Yes you can see the styling influences on the MK1 Mondeo estate on this, they really did go all out with this for all their cars, which i kinda look back now and like compared to the styling that came after (MK1 Focus/MK2 Mondeo etc) Great video as always
It looks like new! I really would like to see an early hatchback model (85/86) in good shape to remember the visual impact of Scorpio at that time. It was an impressive large model with good proportions. It was a period in which aerodynamics took a major importance in massive car industry. Opel/Vauxhall with Kadett/Astra E and Omega, Ford with Sierra and Scorpio, Audi with 100, and some others less successful were the followers of Citroën backgrounds. Hoping for some car reviews of that design wave period. 😉
Great review used to love the big Granada’s and also the Vauxhall Carlton and senator probably the biggest rival to them I personally preferred the earlier style of dashboard in the pre facelift mk3 looked more modern in some ways
I miss seeing these 80s/90s cars on the roads. Always great when you see one, always takes you back. So much better than modern fay car design! 80s and 90s were definitely a better time 🤓
Fun fact: Any Ford key of that era could lock any other Ford but not unlock it. My Dad didn't believe me so I used my key for my RST to lock his Sapphire 😊
I had a go in one of these when they were new at a Ford company car buyer wooing day thing. They invited my dad who took 21 year old me with him and they let us drive the entire 1993 Ford range. Despite things like XR2s, RS2000 Escorts and the then brand new Mondeo, it’s the 2.9 Scorpio that I remember the best. I had a 250k mile BMW 316 at the time so this thing was like a super luxurious starship. I loved it.
Always look forward to watching your in depth road tests brings back memories of watching old top gear in the 80s/90s when they did proper road-tests back in the day. Surely a vehicle with head lamp washers/wipers has to win a hand of top trumps for coolest.
Matt, you missed an engine variant for the Granada. There was also a fuel-injected version of the 2.0 litre Pinto engine in the earlier cars before the introduction of the twin-cam, which was, basically, a Pinto with a new twin-cam head. The 2.0i Pinto engine was exactly the same as you could get in the Sierra of the time in 2.0iS and 2.0i Ghia trim levels, with the S later being replaced by the 2.0i GLS, though you could get it in more trim levels in other countries. This engine is probably the most significant Granada engine as by far the most number of cars sold came with the 2.0i engine. The 1800 carb economy Pinto engine didn't last long as it really wasn't up to hauling such a big car around, and the 2.0 litre carb variants seem to have come in and gone out of the range at random, seeming only to be produced when production line space was available as precedence was given to building the 2.0i cars. Naturally , life became much easier when catalysts came in as all petrol variants then had to be fuel injection. Probably the rarest variant was the 2.4i V6 as that had the same problem that the 2.3 V6 did in the mk2, where it gave you the performance of the 2.0 but the fuel economy of the 2.8. It was extremely smooth though. The diesels seem to have been generally rare in the UK, which, at the time, hadn't cottoned on to the idea of a diesel executive car as the rest of Europe had, and that wasn't helped by the fact that the naturally aspirated diesel was glacially slow and actually not very economical as you had to absolutely wring its' neck to keep up with traffic flow. The turbodiesel was much, much better and a very decent car all round, and they became significantly more popular as Granada/Scorpio life went on... In terms of survival rates, these may well now be one of the rarest Fords around. Back in the day pretty much every street had at least one mk3 Granada on it, but now it's a real rarity to see one. Even the last Scorpio variants, which died in 1998, are extremely rare, so the percentage of survivors must incredibly low. And this was despite them being used by the police, government departments and agencies and vast numbers of companies in their droves, let alone those bought by private customers... The electrically reclining rear seats were standard in the Scorpio hatchback, and were considered for the Scorpio estate, but the engineers chose to compromise by not having them in the estate in favour of a stronger rear seat backrest arrangement that would better prevent heavy items in the boot breaking through into the interior of the car in a frontal impact, which was probably a sensible move in safety terms. It was, however, perhaps a slightly odd one when the hatchback could carry pretty much the same amount in the boot in terms of weight and pretty much the same in terms of size, which is one of the things that made them so popular as traffic police cars... It's worth making the point that the seats in the Scorpio-spec cars, as they were in the UK, had different seats to those used in other Granadas. Right from the start, the Scorpio had American-style pillow-top seats which became less obvious in later versions but still retained the extra, extra soft cushioning on top of the standard seat cushions which did make them extra cossetting... That one came from Hendy Ford in Bournemouth and, presumably, spent its life in that area being a one-owner car, which is a very good sign as there's a lot of money on the hoof in that area...
Cracking video. Those late 80s/early 90s Fords take make right back to my childhood. All you needed was Brian May’s Driven By You blaring on the stereo and you would have been sorted 👍🏻
Wow my all time favourite old Ford! These were around every corner when I was a kid! Ford made some fantastic iconic cars back in the day.Just absolutely love big old Fords and I would buy one in an instant! Love the Granada sound also memories! Fantastic video brilliant.
Always liked these, preferred the saloon version and in retail-silver they look particularly slick. Cosworth version is the pick for me, but the regular 2.0 Granada Scorpio still looked good. A friend's Dad had one as a kid and I thought it was the coolest thing at the time.
I had a J Reg Twin Cam Sierra Ghia, and the feeling was very similar. Although cloth trim and AC was optional I think. I've now got a K reg Mondeo, and it was quite a leap forward that made the Granada seem quite old I expect as it soldiered on in this form until 94.
I had the twin cam 2.0 sierra GL as a company car. G reg I think. Strangely it had a carb, not fuel injection. Even more strangely for a manual gearbox, one could put it in reverse at any speed. I tried it once to see what would happen. Nothing, except a cloud of burning clutch I could see in the rear view mirror.
I always loved the big Fords, great drivers cars and such great value. Another top video and, as others have commented, hats off to "Stone Cold Classics", they really do source some immaculate and interesting vehicles!
If BMW had made an estate version of their E34 from the outset it would have been stiff competition for the Granada estate. But priced significantly higher. Great video..... nice to see such a once common, now rare car in amazing condition!
To most people, this Granada Scorpio Mk3 - Scorpio only meaning 'Top of the range Granada' - was the last of the Granadas, but that's not exactly correct. For the 1994 model year, though not designated as such, there was a Mk4 as I liked to call mine. Whilst the 1994 model year car looked exactly like the Mk3, it had a brand new diesel engine, and a tweak to the bonnet bulge. Mine was a German built Ghia Hatchback which I bought direct from 'Ford Direct'. The car had been on a twelve month lease by a London Bank, being returned to Ford and put on their register of used cars for sale through their 'Direct' only purchase scheme. It was a Dealer only scheme whereby the dealer could search the register for a specific car for you. The new diesel engine was 2.5ltr. about 100bhp 4 cylinder turbo marine engine, known as a VM, made in Italy. The cars performance was outstanding thanks in part to a huge turbo, giving 265nm torque. Joining a motorway with your foot down, you could be doing 80mph by the end of the slip road. But, and it was a big 'but'. Little of this car was to be found in a Haynes Manual. Nothing about the engine, or anything under the bonnet at all. The electrics were completely different to all previous Granadas, which to a home mechanic such as me, was a problem because I always needed to know all about the inner working of all my cars. I also found that even the Main Dealers appeared to know little to nothing about this model. The only way I found to get the correct parts, was to get the dealer's parts department to punch in my reg number into their parts computer. I was extremely fortunate to obtain one of Ford's training manuals for the new VM engine which usually meant that I knew more than the dealer's mechanics, especially when it came to replacing the serpent belt - needed too often, which when following the training manual, made that happen. I eventually discovered that the reason behind all this confusion, was that my 1994 model Granada had been a 'test bed' for the forthcoming 'All new' Scorpio as the Granada's ill-fated 'Bog eyed' replacement. My serpent belt problem had been recognised as having too much tension, so the actual Scorpio's tensioners were revised. The new - but same engine in the Scorpio, had an uprated bhp thanks to a new and dual acting EGR which had also been a problem with my car, wherein it opened okay, but didn't close quick enough. I loved the car so much, I kept it for 15 years, and only traded it because parts could only be found in Germany at ridiculously high prices and untenably long lead time. A sad end to a car once used by Government and Royalty, and from which its cancellation by Ford GB, opened the door for both BMW and Mercedes.
Love the video, I’ve owned my1994 Scorpio for 23 years it’s locked up in my garage at the moment, will never sell it still runs perfectly.
You just know that at least 90% of those CD caddies contained "Money For Nothing" and something by Phil Collins.
As should every car! I parked next to some yoof earlier this week, outside Screwfix. He was listening to what sounded like someone talking into a biscuit barrel while someone else rhythmically bashed themselves over the head with a tea tray.
@@terrortorn 😁 I think it's what the youngsters call 'drill' music.
Don't forget Chris Rea and The Road to Hell 😂
Its so funny you should say that as i remember my dad showing off the sound system in his Scorpio to my mates using Money for nothing of course!
Great music . Plus dire straights brothers in arms cd .
I've had two Mk3 Granada hatchbacks - a D-reg ('84/'85) and an L-reg ('92) - both the 2.9i Ghia model. Used as my daily drivers both were supremely comfy, well specced, quick and exceptionally reliable cars which I enjoyed owning and driving, and that V6 at full throttle made such a wonderful sound. The only downside was they were pretty thirsty but I still loved them.
Though a "GM guy" here in the USA, I greatly respect the Ford designs of the 1980s, not just outside, but within. Those ergonomic buttons for windows and on the steering wheel were never bettered, IMO. As usual, an absolutely spot-on assessment of the common cars of yesteryear. Many thanks, as usual!
I had the 2.4GL V6 hatchback. It was roomy and seemed surprisingly well put together, and was probably the biggest car I've ever owned. Only good memories of the Granada
I had the pleasure of driving one of these from London to Paris and back on a boys outing many years ago. Being a Sierra fan I loved this Granada, having a Mk 1 and a Mk 2. The trip to Paris was so comfortable and a nice quiet ride.
Love this! My Dad had 4 mk2 Granada’s throughout the late 70s & 80s & in 1990 he got a saloon preface lift 2.9 12v Scorpio (his first company car) I passed my test in November 92 & my first day driving was in the Scorpio with my mates, armed with the company fuel card! 😂 (it was insured for any family member)
He changed his job in 94 & bought himself a facelift Lreg which he kept until 2001 (he hated the bug eyed mk4)
Can’t agree with the non robustness of the leather interior though the Hreg car had 113000 on the clock by 94 & the Lreg had 165000miles on it in 2001. Both interiors were still in excellent condition & everything still worked, they were both very reliable. Thanks for the memories & a great video as always 👍🏻
‘Nice action on the ashtray...’
All very Alan Partridge relaxing in a branch of Tandy 🤣
I love that clip when he is testing the CD drawers in the Hi Fi shop!
I was expecting some string backed driving gloves (for extra purchase) in the glove box
@@nitrosilvia Nice action, I've got one though.
@@nitrosilvia Nice action, I've got one though
Ah traffficmaster, can these be dashmounted?
I love the old Granadas. My parents both drove them at one point in the mid-90s (a 1988 1.8 for my mum, a 1993 V6 Scorpio like the one in the video, albeit a hatchback, for my dad) and they were lovely big comfortable cars for long motorway trips to the south coast and to visit relatives. I miss the days of floaty, wafty cars now that BMW convinced everyone that hard seats and sporty suspension are what you need for a trip to the seaside, that's why I own a Volvo 240 (also an incredibly comfortable ride). Good to see big saloons and estates finally getting some love from people other than banger races now that the segment has almost been entirely replaced by the dreaded 'crossover' SUV.
Had a 88 2.4 Ghia and 89 2.9 Ghia in the 90s. They are lovely, lovely cars, one auto and one manual. Bought them out of the "off to auction corner" of a dealership for tiny money. Big value though the 2.9 was thirsty!
I was just talking about this very car today, around 1988 I was driven from Fort William to Inverness in a brand new 2.8i Granada traffic police car and the drivers nickname was lead welly, I also think he still holds the record for that trip and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The man could drive.
I love how the wood trim on the dash and on the passenger door is terribly misaligned :P
Ford build quality 😂😂
I have one, there isn't a grain of wood anywhere, it is all cheap plastic made to loosely resemble wood,. very comfortable seats mind you, and an incredible motorway cruiser...
@the Game, Review and Reallife Channel Our older Fords were fine on build quality, nothing wrong with them. Not sure what you’re talking about but whatever
@@neilwalsh4058 No worse than other brands.
@@Spudchucker92 so why are they worth way more than other brands? Deluded owners possibly?
Its got even better looking with age, always preferred the Granada to the sierra.
Bit weird that the Granada is now smaller then the current Mondeo, which originally replaced the sierra.
yeah but no 6 cylinder mondeo which is very dissapointing to me
@@raycroal was never any point in a 6 cylinder when diesels make up more then 90% of Mondeo sales since 2007.
@@interceptor-ss8kb i know but i would never buy a four banger mondeo a six maybe but never a 4
Output of 4s is now easily that of 6s with better fuel consumption and lower cost to build.
Easier to package too and the 4 cyl cars perform better in crash.
I have a V6 Granada Scorpio.
@@lewis72 i hear you mate, but to me i think we are getting conditioned to pay more for cheaper products, mercedes now has 6 cylinder s500s for example which i think is taking the piss ps i bet you love the 6 cylinder scorpio and would never swap it for a 4 banger granada
Big fords you can't beat them. My dad had a late MK3 Granada Scorpio, I got to drive it a few times. Loved the sound of the V6 as it was opened up.
Yeh uncle had one but the mk 2. He the 2.9 injection ghia x top of the range and it was a big beautiful beast of a car. I used to love it when he come and picked me up then go cruising in it. Because he never had his own kids he treated me and my brother like his own sons as he is my mums brother we were the closest thing to having his own boys, so he spoiled me and my brother rotten. He had a well paid management job as a maintenance director for the council so money and what we wanted was no object. Used to love going to his, then down too his caravan with him and his wife my auntie Chris, and they literally buy anything we wanted😂 we’d come back home in his big Granada with new BMXs, Nike, adidas shell suits, music CDs he even brought us a Sega master system when they first came out.
I've got ab E plate 2.9i Scorpio.
I think that the Vauxhall/Opel Senator was a better car overall.
That 2.9i engine in the Ford is as old as the hills: iron block and heads, single camshaft, 2 valves/cylinder. Many otehr manufacturers were DOHC & 4 valves/cylinder by then.
I was 19 when I had my ist mk2 granada 2.8 ghia x,then at 21 I had a mk3 1988 2.0 pinto efi ghia auto .then I had a 92 mk 3 2.9 24 v boa v6 cosworth saloon. I only owned that for 7 weeks before it was stolen. I replaced that with a run out model 1998 Scorpio ultima 2.3 estate in the same colour as your film car . I kept that for 2 years before p.x changing it for a e38 bmw 728i .a few years later I got the chance to own another mk3 granada. It was a 94 2.0 dohc efi auto hatchback. Just something about the granada and the sierras of that time .they drove so good and made you feel so special. I must have had over 40 cars since passing my test and its fair to say the bulk have been sierra's and granada's .my current classic car is my home built 1988 ford sierra once a 2.0 efi pinto ghia estate. Its now a full and complete sierra cosworth replica estate with full cosworth running gear including a HARTPOWER 406 bhp yb cosworth turbo engine in 2wd form .got to say I love my old fords and I'd love to have that granada sat beside my sierra in the garage at home .
Lovely car. Very factory-original. A top-spec executive with a dash of fun for the family, being an estate. Nouveau Red was a very attractive colour on all early/mid-'90s Fords, really suits them. I've not seen these alloys on a Granada for ages, either. Most remaining examples now have RS 7-spokes or the dished 5-spoke 24v wheels.
These were great value 2nd hand and we got a 2.9 Ghia to replace our 1.8 Passat. H reg. After that it did indeed feel quick! That 2.9 was a little gruff compared to the 24 valve version which my grandad had (that was incredibly quick) but still sounded like it meant business. It would certainly overtake well. Only 150bhp but plenty of torque. Ours had cloth interior and I would argue it's nicer than that black leather. Lovely velor seats. Incredibly comfortable. Loads of room. It was a bit wallowy on country lanes but cruised very nicely indeed on motorways. It was replaced by a BMW 535i which didn't actually feel that much faster but handled a lot better and felt much more solid inside. Compared to the Granada though it was cramped. Ours had the pre facelift interior which I think actually felt a bit more plush.
I remember my dad being given one of these as a courtesy car, probably around 92/93. I’d never seen so many buttons in a car! If I remember rightly he was very reluctant to give it back...
For those who may not be aware, the Granada of this era would have been akin to the modern-day British Mercedes E class driver. It was usually a company car for middle to upper-level execs who were reluctant to choose the German rivals. Obviously, that has completely changed and Ford has pretty much had its day in the UK.
Oh, wow! I'm saving this for lunchtime. *This* will be a treat. Thanks for reviewing this beautiful old barge, Matt.
Here we are in 2022 and I've still not driven anything comfier than my Scorpio I had back in the 90's. Those seats!
Yes... my morning dose of Furious Driving has arrived. That Scorpio looks fantastic in it's burgundy coat, i love it!
Lovely old barge. The natural competitors probably not really BMWs and Mercs but things like the Vauxhall Omega or Renault 25.
I had a 24v estate company car when I was working for a Ford main dealer back in the day and I absolutely loved it. I don't know why so much is made of the switchgear being the same as the rest of the Ford range, as I remember they were reliable and nice to use, I remember much was made of Jaguar using Ford electric window switches in the X308 but Ford owned Jaguar at the time and the switches in my 2000MY XJ8 were a sight better than in my 1995 XJ12 which had BL derived switchgear. I still much prefer a big estate car to an SUV which is why I currently have a Volvo V70 as my daily workhorse. This is a lovely car in the right colour.
Thank you for an enjoyable trip down memory lane 🙂.
My father had a black 2.8i Ghia hatchback. It was very quiet smooth and capable, and even as a hatchback it could carry a lot.
I loved this era when the mainstream brands did big luxury barges. This particular one looks brilliant in the dark metallic red and I love the wheels and muscular stance.
I think my dad still has the video at home somewhere where Jackie Stewart and Frank Bough drive the original Granada Scorpio. It's beautiful period piece.
If I was a 90s "Everyman Luxury" exec buyer, my money would probably have gone on a Carlton/ Omega but these Granadas are marvellous
What a lovely example. A friend of my Dads used to have an R Reg 'Smiley face' Cosworth and it was one of the comfiest cars I've ever been in, and it sounded fantastic!
As a 15 year old car brochure collecting enthusiast, I absolutely loved the Mk3 when they came out. Still got my Ford ‘Cars’ brochure from that era out in my garage 😉
As kids my parents had an older 2.9 Granada, a Granada Scorpio like this one, then finally the 3.0 frog-eyed Scorpio. We loved them! And that sound takes me back.
I loved my Granadas. Absolutely brilliant car in every way. Would love one today - especially a cosworth!
Had a 2 litre and a 24v, the 2 litre is still on the road, the 24v died in 2001. The most spacious superb drive ever. The Scorpio was a luxury beast, lovely cars though only got 22 mpg
In 1987 I had a new company 2 litre Granada Gaia hatchback in green to replace a very tired 2 litre Alfetta (I did not own it so drove it hard). What a contrast! My wife loved it and says to this day that it was the most comfortable car I have ever had. It was a good motorway car but it was a lot of metal for two litres to lug around. It had the optional air-conditioning which was an effective brake when you switched it on, which wasn’t too often. That car still holds my personal record time of Crawley to Southwold in just two hours- those were the days!
I drove as an employee of Ford Cologne between 1986 and 1992 5 Scorpios, 2 Hatchback, 2 Estate and 1 Notchback. The car was used for towing a caravan and with the first Scorpio I changed to automatic transmission, up to now. For me in my memories, the best Ford for travelling ever built and the price difference for such a big car was regard to the options included very low to the Sierra. For the included options of my 1. Granade GL you had to buy a Sierra Ghia in 1986. The inner space was so large on the rear seats that this Scorpio was the first car in my hands since 1971 on which I enter by choice the rear seats instead of the front passenger seat, when my wife was driving. Never forget on a tour with friends also driving in other cars on a coffe stop. One of my friends came over to me, opened the rear door, saw the space between the front driver seat and my knees and he said. „Unbelieveable“. My answer: „You sit here better than on a first class seat at Bundesbahn (German Railway)“. Only the last version of the Mondeo Estate was bigger.
I had a mk3 85 2.8i ghia. It was very smooth, massive inside, but it really liked a drink...
My dad had this exact type of car in 1992. K588...something or other. It was a manual 2.0 in that really dark green colour. I can still remember the smell of it now and marvelling at the under seat lighting and other stuff. What a trip down memory lane.
EDIT: At least I think it was the 2.0. I can't imagine my dad going for the V6 version and it's 30 years ago.
I love a mk3 Granny, had a 1990 2.0 twin cam GL saloon back in the day, loved it. I'd love to own this Scorpio version.
Love this car, owned 92 Scorpio-GLX for 8 years, mine was a grey mettalic hatchback with 2.0DOCH engine and 5 speed manual, no air conditioning, but electric mirrors and front electric windows, sunroof was mechanical. Smooth, pleasant ride, especially for long trips. Sadly, body hardly takes salted roads in winter of East Europe, so body was eated by rust, but my car was daily driven
Excellent review - i nearly bought one of these Estates back in the late 90s but even then rot was starting to take hold on the rear arches on most examples. What you did fail to mention here is just how late the Mk3 Estate arrived in the cars life - it arrived nearly 7 years after the original Hatch and 2 years after the 4 door saloon in 1992 - when the range received its final facelift dashboard and exterior changes. Even though the Mk3 Granada was designed and developed in Germany - Ford outsourced the engineering , styling and development of the Estate to IAD design of Worthing in Sussex. I prefer the dashboard of the early cars - but even today these cars are supremely comfortable beasts and very unappreciated even by the Ford Fan boy fraternity.
That's interesting about the styling of the estate - it kind of harks back to when the mk4 Zephyr / Zodiac estate was built not by Ford but by Abbotts coachbuilders.
@@dungareesareforfools Wasn't Farnham a builder of estates too, or it may have been before the mk4.
@@BillMrWild Possibly, that rings a bell.
@@dungareesareforfools I was way out with dates, 1960s/ 70s Zephyr, and Zodiac was convertted to Estate's by "Farnham Company".
Oh sir, this brings memories as well! My friend Mr Jackson (the ZS EV owner) had several of these in his family as his father had at least three Granada Mark III hatchbacks as company cars. One of them at least was a Scorpio. Unbelievable comfort in the back, especially with those electrically reclining seatbacks.
Superb video. These where unique nothing beats a large estate. They feel very welcome and cozy on the inside. Like a Gentlemen's club or lounge. Comfort from a long gone era. At the moment only find in Citroën's or landrovers.
I loved those when they first came out. It shows how far technology has come that my 2011 1.4 Mark 2 Skoda Fabia RS wagon has considerably more power than a 2.9 v6 from yesteryear.
Very interesting video, Matt. I remember well the Merkur Scorpio 4 door hatch back. I knew a couple of people who had them and absolutely loved them. Trouble was they were quite pricey, and the hatchback did not sit will with people wanting a sporting saloon that was definitely on the expensive side for the size of the car. It was well into the price bracket of BMW and even Jaguar, but was miles down on the prestige count. What really let them down was the lack of service and repair training given the mechanics and the wait for repair parts when things did go wrong. It is odd that German car companies make cars for North America that seem to do very well, but with GM or Ford try bringing their German models here, they fall down rather badly on either cost to purchase or on the cost and length of time it takes to effect repairs. Honestly, the saloon and estate versions would have done much better here than the hatchback they brought over. I'm guessing that the number of estates would have come close to the number of Scorpios they managed to flog, and the saloon numbers would have been quite a bit higher. The biggest fight they had was getting people to accept a Merkur, which everyone knew was a German Ford, at the price point of a BMW. After all, the Merkur could be cheek by jowl with a lowly Mercury Lynx in the showroom. That would be like having a Jaguar sharing showroom space with a Morris Marina, but both wearing essentially the same badges.
A beauty, don't know where Stone Cold find them. It seems there are a lot of people who buy cars and never drive them! I'd be happy to have it, looks perfect as a motorway miles muncher.👌
My dad had one back in 1995 until 1998. He had the rear arches lead lined and it's still driving around to this day. Rust really was the main reason these cars disappeared. The car itself was massive, we got an entire MFI bedroom in the back with four people in the car.
Dead cool, found some for sale in my budget as a 19 year old. Here's hoping I can afford to insure one.
Fantastic vehicle in immaculate condition. Reminds me of a shrunken version of my Australian EB II Falcon GLi wagon. The design of the Mk3 Granada looks a lot more modern than it's actual age, in my opinion.
That's a lovely example, is like brand new. I have a weakness for red and dark red estates, if I were in the UK, I would get one of these.
My granddad had one, also an estate and in the same colour. Only it was a van, so no rear seats. Had a 2.5 Turbo Diesel in it. It was a huge car in my memory, compared to todays cars it's just averaged sized. Really enjoyed this video, thanks Matt!
A DIY van or did they actually sell one?
@@furiousdriving sold from the dealer as a van. In the 90s van conversions where a hot item, huge tax benefit. Even Golf GTI's where converted. The Scorpio had a flat floor and the windows where replaced with some sort of panels. The inside of the panels where covered with cloth. From the outside it looked like a normal estate with tinted windows.
I owned a 1988 2.9 injection ghia V6, auto, in white, self level suspension, and the doors closed with a clunk, solid build, loved it,
Indicator/wiper stalks were unique to the Granada, the Escort/Orion had the light controls/intermittent interval delay on a ring around the base of the stalks, the dash was also ergonomically based on the recently launched MK5 Escort/Orion.
I’m going to get my coat now.....
I remember those stalks well, had a few escort estates as company cars in the late 80's / early 90's. Gutless normally aspirated diesels and even an LX spec was still pretty basic.
They make decent stuff now, but those weren't Fords finest years. Pretty reliable but felt tacky & cheap, badly appointed and so dull.
Love these videos, Matt! As a kid i saw these cars everywhere but it's really refreshing to see them now, especially in such great condition. The thing that stood out to me was the design cues from the mk1 mondeo on this later facelift Granada. Didn't realise it was so similar until now.
Its only seeing one again now that I realise how similar they really were after the face lift!
I love these big cars back when ford and vauxhall made cars to compete with the 5 series, It's a shame that ford and vauxhall stopped making them and only make cars to compete with the 3 series. These type of budget big cars are now only made by Skoda with the superb, if only ford brought over the Flex from America and well as the Taurus
Thing is, they were only selling 20 thousand a year in the whole of Europe in the end: no one wanted them.
@@SM-dt1pr now a days they do..... The superb sells big
@@harleyrobertson73 72000 per year in Europe - about half the sales of the VW Passat, and not even as many as the equivalent Audi. Clearly that isn't 'none' but nevertheless.
@@SM-dt1pr Fair point, and when you’re last man standing in a shrinking marketplace you’ll mop up virtually all the buyers interested in that kind of product. If anyone ever steals sales from the Skoda Superb with a similar car they might both struggle to achieve sales volumes that would justify developing a replacement model.
Virtually every car “purchase” is financed these days, meaning poor brand image = poor residuals = higher monthly payments relative to RRP = poor sales. That’s why the premium marques clean up in this sector (and, increasingly, sectors lower down the market) - it’s all about brand perception and residuals these days. Except for Dacia, who manage to sell some of their cars to people spending actual money up front.
@@BungleBare - Surely as the world becomes full of Audi and BMWs they are no longer "premium" and therefore residuals suffer? Or, are people so blinded by marketing that they still believe their car is "exclusive"?
Amazingly as far back as 1984, the Scorpio had the trip computer, the electrically controlled rear seats and even a separate ICE system for the back!
They really loaded the toys, lure the buyers in with the luxuries!
I made my first car phone call to my mum from a Top spec Black Scorpio saloon back in the 80's. It was the coolest thing I had done as a child back then. Such an amazing car 😊
one of my all time favourites the MK3 Granada
In 1991 I had a TVR S2. People said that the 2.9 V6 was a dog but somehow the straight through exhaust seemed to make it smooth and quite revvy. It went like the proverbial off a greased shovel but then it was like a jet engine strapped to a roller skate. 23 mpg was the best it would achieve though.
Granada’s were all about the size and comfort but I still preferred the Mk2 for body design. Very reminiscent video Matt of bygone days and a fantastic example of late 80s 90s luxury. 👌🏻.
I had a MK3 Granada Scorpio for 18 months. I bought it to move house. The shocks needed replacing, needed a transmission service, the ABS light came on if I did 50 mph for too long. It needed work, but it was so comfortable.
Within my family we had five Mk 3 "Grannies". This included two "facelift" ones, which were of notably poorer quality in many areas such as cabin materials and rustproofing. If you are considering buying a facelift model, please, please, please lift the carpets to check for floorpan corrosion. The wheelarches and other vulnerable parts of the body may be in good condition - probably because they've been repaired or replaced - but the floors rusted through badly on our facelifted models once they got to around six years old. Like post-1991 Sierras, Ford seems to have undertaken lots of penny-pinching when it came to construction. As others have commented here, the pre-facelift cars (1985-1992) did seem to be of a higher standard of quality overall.
My 2007 Ford Fiesta has the same key hole door handles and indicator stalks Well done Ford 😂🤦♂️
The Granada Scorpio in the UK was luxury, with a huge boot, room for 5 adults, and a smooth ride with a lovely interior.
Matt, when mentioning competitors you got the premium Germans, but not the Carlton/Senator, literally the Vauxhall equivalent
true, I forgot the Carlton
Carlton and MK3 Granada were wonderful rivals, I'd have a hard time picking between the two, they're both excellent cars with very pleasing staying.
The Renault 25, Citroen XM, Alfa Romeo 164, Volvo 900 series and Saab 9000 were all credible alternatives in the early ‘90s as well. Different times, when an executive car didn’t necessarily mean German or Volvo.
Xm break is mostly forgotten... I guess it’s the biggest of all of the big stations in Europe. 7” longer than the scorpio, wheelbase +4”. That beast is even longer, wider and has a longer wheelbase than the famous Volvo’s from the era. Add to that that it has a high and wide cargo space (no intrusions from the suspension, no diff), and that makes it the ideal ‘break’.
Mk3 Granada was launched when SD1 was still in production tio be replaced by 800.
Oh what a lovely video. And what a lovely Scorpio. My father drove the whole 90's a beautiful 1990 4d Scorpio in dark metallic blue of which I have very fond memories. Sadly, they are pretty much all gone now. It surely was a lovely place to travel in. And it was surprisingly quiet - after the Scorpio, my father bought a Volvo S80 in 2002, and it seemed to be noisier somehow. Ofcourse, the Scorpio had thin 14" wheels where as the S80 had much thicker 17".
Unfortunately underneath it all they're still Fords, and hence rot gets to them (the rear sub frames being particularly susceptible.) Any that were saveable were snapped up by the banger boys when values were low, like all big RWD vehicles (same reason there's hardly any Volvo 240s or 740s left now.)
I went from a H reg 2.0 GL hatchback to a M reg 2.9 Scorpio estate.
I've driven a 3.0 Opel Monza and a E320 Mercedes and neither were as lively as the Scorpio.
It was a beautiful car until a transit decided that it wanted to sit on my back seat. Was told that I wouldn't have walked away from the accident if I had been in my hatchback. The extra inches made quite a difference.
I had a granada scorpio 4x4 2.9 cosworth . Electric everything . Very smooth luxury car . Typically rust ended her life and the gearbox failure . It wasnt worth repairing the gearbox . And the rust was so advanced underneath it unfortionatly meant she had to go . I replaced her with a rover 418 . In beautifull brittish racing green metalic with nice velour interior in gray with some wood trim . With electric toys in it too so although smaller was still a nice place to be . Not the floating ride of the granny but still comfy over any milage . I think it was the k series engine in my rover . Never had any real bother with it . I needed a small van for work being able to fetch and carry some truck parts in . So i bought a berlingo van . I still miss my granada scorpio tho . It was very nice to drive with the cosworth breathed on engine plus it wasnt thirsty in fuel i never thought . I just used it mostly goin from and to the yard then i spent all week in the truck . But even at a weekend goin for a trip it wasnt gutsy on fuel . But with the power it had u didnt need to boot it to get up to speed anywhere . On the motorways it purred along at less than 3000 revs i got the mpg up to around the 30s mpg range i thought for an engine that size it was decent mpg . My boss at the time whom i bought it from had the mpg down around 17 lol so a huge improvement at the 30s mark for my driving . Hope ur well . Love ur vids . Pls stay safe and take care . ..... ian .....
My dad owned an '88 Scorpio in Strato Silver. What an amazing car that he's never managed to replace.
I had 2 2.8 Ghias, they were fantastic long distance cruisers and had the torque to outhaul a lot of other cars up hills. They did have a serious weakness, the drive rod to the oil pump was weak on the squared off end. Often these cars were only driven sedately by old boys so they got away with it. As soon as someone got in and gave it the beans a bit the shaft rounded off and you would lose oil pressure and it could seize the engine in a minute. If anyone ever buys one of these, just get it changed immediately (and pump) not too expensive and you can then enjoy fully the car for many miles without worry. Also had the 2.0 manual before which was lovely and smooth and not as slow as you might imagine.
I could listen to the v6 on a loop forever ☺️
Mate left UK in 1999 for Australia but 80 and 90 guy, love your videos always take me back and your style is perfect thanks. Don’t change you seem to always cover what I want to see along with maintenance videos of your collection, top marks and again thanks for channel.
Thanks!
Most interesting, many thanks. I find it interesting that these days when you see a review of a car of this era, the first thing I tend to notice is how small the (alloy) wheels look! Back then the overall design was part of the package... but these days the wheel/tyre itself has taken over, becoming I feel the dominate (visual) feature of a lot of modern cars.
I had a 1988 2.0i Ghia version of the MK3 so not as many toys as this one but yes they were a nice car to drive. Having owned a MK2 2.3 GL previously, the MK3 was a big step up. Yes you can feel its Sierra heritage when driving it but yes they are just nice places to be and to travel longer distances they are superb. I never owned an estate or come to think of it there wasn't any in my town so i never really saw a MK3 estate but they are nice looking cars if a little wide at the back over the rear wheels like you say. in the pre facelift ones like i had, the CD player was an amplifier with a little joystick you could move the balance and fader for the speakers on. Yes you can see the styling influences on the MK1 Mondeo estate on this, they really did go all out with this for all their cars, which i kinda look back now and like compared to the styling that came after (MK1 Focus/MK2 Mondeo etc) Great video as always
It looks like new! I really would like to see an early hatchback model (85/86) in good shape to remember the visual impact of Scorpio at that time. It was an impressive large model with good proportions. It was a period in which aerodynamics took a major importance in massive car industry. Opel/Vauxhall with Kadett/Astra E and Omega, Ford with Sierra and Scorpio, Audi with 100, and some others less successful were the followers of Citroën backgrounds. Hoping for some car reviews of that design wave period. 😉
Lived with a demo for three days - and around 18 mpg thirst. I was glad to get my Honda Legend based (26-28 mpg) Rover 800 back!
Great review used to love the big Granada’s and also the Vauxhall Carlton and senator probably the biggest rival to them
I personally preferred the earlier style of dashboard in the pre facelift mk3 looked more modern in some ways
Great! I had a 1991 Fastback with the 2 Litre DOHC 120hp and a 1993 Estate same engine 115hp
Right car for a long comfortable drive.
I had a 2.0 efi saloon Scorpio in black. God I miss that car. Top review keep up the good work.
I miss seeing these 80s/90s cars on the roads. Always great when you see one, always takes you back. So much better than modern fay car design! 80s and 90s were definitely a better time 🤓
Fun fact: Any Ford key of that era could lock any other Ford but not unlock it. My Dad didn't believe me so I used my key for my RST to lock his Sapphire 😊
I love how sleek it looks, and the color is gorgeous!
Had the 2.9 Ghia 4x4 Hatchback many years ago, and the only car I'd have again now!....a great piece of kit!
I had a go in one of these when they were new at a Ford company car buyer wooing day thing. They invited my dad who took 21 year old me with him and they let us drive the entire 1993 Ford range. Despite things like XR2s, RS2000 Escorts and the then brand new Mondeo, it’s the 2.9 Scorpio that I remember the best. I had a 250k mile BMW 316 at the time so this thing was like a super luxurious starship. I loved it.
Always look forward to watching your in depth road tests brings back memories of watching old top gear in the 80s/90s when they did proper road-tests back in the day. Surely a vehicle with head lamp washers/wipers has to win a hand of top trumps for coolest.
Matt, you missed an engine variant for the Granada. There was also a fuel-injected version of the 2.0 litre Pinto engine in the earlier cars before the introduction of the twin-cam, which was, basically, a Pinto with a new twin-cam head. The 2.0i Pinto engine was exactly the same as you could get in the Sierra of the time in 2.0iS and 2.0i Ghia trim levels, with the S later being replaced by the 2.0i GLS, though you could get it in more trim levels in other countries. This engine is probably the most significant Granada engine as by far the most number of cars sold came with the 2.0i engine. The 1800 carb economy Pinto engine didn't last long as it really wasn't up to hauling such a big car around, and the 2.0 litre carb variants seem to have come in and gone out of the range at random, seeming only to be produced when production line space was available as precedence was given to building the 2.0i cars. Naturally , life became much easier when catalysts came in as all petrol variants then had to be fuel injection. Probably the rarest variant was the 2.4i V6 as that had the same problem that the 2.3 V6 did in the mk2, where it gave you the performance of the 2.0 but the fuel economy of the 2.8. It was extremely smooth though. The diesels seem to have been generally rare in the UK, which, at the time, hadn't cottoned on to the idea of a diesel executive car as the rest of Europe had, and that wasn't helped by the fact that the naturally aspirated diesel was glacially slow and actually not very economical as you had to absolutely wring its' neck to keep up with traffic flow. The turbodiesel was much, much better and a very decent car all round, and they became significantly more popular as Granada/Scorpio life went on...
In terms of survival rates, these may well now be one of the rarest Fords around. Back in the day pretty much every street had at least one mk3 Granada on it, but now it's a real rarity to see one. Even the last Scorpio variants, which died in 1998, are extremely rare, so the percentage of survivors must incredibly low. And this was despite them being used by the police, government departments and agencies and vast numbers of companies in their droves, let alone those bought by private customers...
The electrically reclining rear seats were standard in the Scorpio hatchback, and were considered for the Scorpio estate, but the engineers chose to compromise by not having them in the estate in favour of a stronger rear seat backrest arrangement that would better prevent heavy items in the boot breaking through into the interior of the car in a frontal impact, which was probably a sensible move in safety terms. It was, however, perhaps a slightly odd one when the hatchback could carry pretty much the same amount in the boot in terms of weight and pretty much the same in terms of size, which is one of the things that made them so popular as traffic police cars...
It's worth making the point that the seats in the Scorpio-spec cars, as they were in the UK, had different seats to those used in other Granadas. Right from the start, the Scorpio had American-style pillow-top seats which became less obvious in later versions but still retained the extra, extra soft cushioning on top of the standard seat cushions which did make them extra cossetting...
That one came from Hendy Ford in Bournemouth and, presumably, spent its life in that area being a one-owner car, which is a very good sign as there's a lot of money on the hoof in that area...
Cracking video. Those late 80s/early 90s Fords take make right back to my childhood. All you needed was Brian May’s Driven By You blaring on the stereo and you would have been sorted 👍🏻
I had 2 sedans (85 +92), both automatic, very underrated at that time!
Wow my all time favourite old Ford! These were around every corner when I was a kid! Ford made some fantastic iconic cars back in the day.Just absolutely love big old Fords and I would buy one in an instant! Love the Granada sound also memories! Fantastic video brilliant.
Thanks for taking me back to my childhood. My dad owned one of these in this exact same colour
Car is in amazing condition for its age, the paint work looks spotless.
Lovely bus. Last of the good grandads.
Mk2s came in estate version's as well. Eg ghia X
Always liked these, preferred the saloon version and in retail-silver they look particularly slick. Cosworth version is the pick for me, but the regular 2.0 Granada Scorpio still looked good. A friend's Dad had one as a kid and I thought it was the coolest thing at the time.
Love these. Proper car. Drove a 2.9i Ghia hatch once - it was utterly lovely! Amazing leather seats.
I had a J Reg Twin Cam Sierra Ghia, and the feeling was very similar. Although cloth trim and AC was optional I think. I've now got a K reg Mondeo, and it was quite a leap forward that made the Granada seem quite old I expect as it soldiered on in this form until 94.
I had the twin cam 2.0 sierra GL as a company car. G reg I think. Strangely it had a carb, not fuel injection. Even more strangely for a manual gearbox, one could put it in reverse at any speed. I tried it once to see what would happen. Nothing, except a cloud of burning clutch I could see in the rear view mirror.
I drove one of these brand new back in '91 , awesome car great video
I'm going to buy this car !!!!!! Seriously !! ....
Wow some of the switches are found in the much later 00s Mondeo and Focus models, the Granada was a very nice car.
I always loved the big Fords, great drivers cars and such great value. Another top video and, as others have commented, hats off to "Stone Cold Classics", they really do source some immaculate and interesting vehicles!
They didn't seem to take off though think we were starting to get towards mass purchases of BMs and Mercs, Peugeot 405s were popular then.
If BMW had made an estate version of their E34 from the outset it would have been stiff competition for the Granada estate. But priced significantly higher.
Great video..... nice to see such a once common, now rare car in amazing condition!
BMW really missed a trick with the late entry to 5 series estates
What a beautiful example👍
I would happily own and drive one today.
To most people, this Granada Scorpio Mk3 - Scorpio only meaning 'Top of the range Granada' - was the last of the Granadas, but that's not exactly correct. For the 1994 model year, though not designated as such, there was a Mk4 as I liked to call mine. Whilst the 1994 model year car looked exactly like the Mk3, it had a brand new diesel engine, and a tweak to the bonnet bulge. Mine was a German built Ghia Hatchback which I bought direct from 'Ford Direct'. The car had been on a twelve month lease by a London Bank, being returned to Ford and put on their register of used cars for sale through their 'Direct' only purchase scheme. It was a Dealer only scheme whereby the dealer could search the register for a specific car for you. The new diesel engine was 2.5ltr. about 100bhp 4 cylinder turbo marine engine, known as a VM, made in Italy. The cars performance was outstanding thanks in part to a huge turbo, giving 265nm torque. Joining a motorway with your foot down, you could be doing 80mph by the end of the slip road. But, and it was a big 'but'. Little of this car was to be found in a Haynes Manual. Nothing about the engine, or anything under the bonnet at all. The electrics were completely different to all previous Granadas, which to a home mechanic such as me, was a problem because I always needed to know all about the inner working of all my cars. I also found that even the Main Dealers appeared to know little to nothing about this model. The only way I found to get the correct parts, was to get the dealer's parts department to punch in my reg number into their parts computer. I was extremely fortunate to obtain one of Ford's training manuals for the new VM engine which usually meant that I knew more than the dealer's mechanics, especially when it came to replacing the serpent belt - needed too often, which when following the training manual, made that happen.
I eventually discovered that the reason behind all this confusion, was that my 1994 model Granada had been a 'test bed' for the forthcoming 'All new' Scorpio as the Granada's ill-fated 'Bog eyed' replacement. My serpent belt problem had been recognised as having too much tension, so the actual Scorpio's tensioners were revised. The new - but same engine in the Scorpio, had an uprated bhp thanks to a new and dual acting EGR which had also been a problem with my car, wherein it opened okay, but didn't close quick enough. I loved the car so much, I kept it for 15 years, and only traded it because parts could only be found in Germany at ridiculously high prices and untenably long lead time. A sad end to a car once used by Government and Royalty, and from which its cancellation by Ford GB, opened the door for both BMW and Mercedes.