1990 Ford Orion LX review from UK and Ireland

The Central locking is a little dodgy.

The sunroof is jammed shut.

The steering is a little offset to the right.

I LOVE this car. This is my first car, previous to which I use to drive my parents Mondeo.

Obviously this car is no Mondeo to drive, but even still I have very little to complain about.

The faults mentioned above were on the car when I purchased it, however these problems have not impeded me driving it. It has covered 4000 miles since I bought it and all of those miles have been provided very reliably, even in the cold days of previous winter.

It is comfortable to sit behind the wheel of, and the seats, despite their age, are relatively supportive.

Although a little noisy due to lack of soundproofing, it is actually a very decent motorway mile eater, being very stable at 70mph, even when windy. It has cruised me from Birmingham (where I bought it) to Glasgow and also from Glasgow to Oxford and back with out any complaint.

The engine is very capable of holding the pace, if a little sluggish at times at reaching the pace. It is also geared well for motorway cruising, doing only 3000rpm at 75mph in 5th gear. This high gearing however can be a little much for the little 1.4L engine in normal traffic.

Although insurance is high for me being a young driver, I can say most smaller cars, for example the Peugeot 106 1.1L, would have cost me exactly the same - and an Orion is a good bit bigger all round than the tiny 106. It is a little heavy on petrol, giving me only about 100miles to 13litres of petrol (approx £10) - a typical Ford really for fuel consumption. Other running costs are pretty much minimal.

Would I own another Orion in the future if they haven't all rusted away? Just try and stop me!