Faults:

Climate control packed up - turned out to be a broken bus (?) bar underneath the fuse box. Identified and fixed for £65 by local Ford Dealer after independent garage had tried to find the fault for 2 days (without charge thank goodness)

General Comments:

Apart from a magnet like tendency for the (225 profile) tyres to pick up nails and screws it's difficult to fault this car, although the big tyres do make it a bit crashy around town at times.

When we purchased the car it had a full service history and had racked up 123,000 motorway miles over 6 years as a company car. In 5000 more miles it has been a delight.

The 2.3 engine is more than up to the job, as long as you ignore it's thirst around town, the gearbox is fine, and the overall comfort quite excellent (as long as you avoid pot holes that is!)

All leather interior is supremely comfortable, elec adjustment, with memory!) for the heated front seats, climate control, heated front and rear screens, sunroof, 4 elec windows, cruise control, 6 cd changer plus radio and tape player, audio controls on steering wheel, alloys, etc etc.

Track down a good one of these and as long as you can put up with it's exterior look, you shouldn't be disappointed!

Faults:

Air conditioning had to be recharged.

Electric window switch faulty.

No other faults.

General Comments:

I'm a big fan of these old executive barges, having owned a Rover 827 Vitesse previously. You can pick them up for peanuts and waft around in luxurious, climate controlled comfort.

The Scorpio is a fabulous car, brimmed with every gadget known to man, and with a meaty 204 horsepower Cosworth V6 under the bonnet which is almost worth the purchase price on its own. Performance is breathtaking for such a huge car, and more than a match for the likes of 528i BMW's and 2.8 Audi A6's.

The equipment list is amazing. Climate control, electric windows, electric sunroof, electric mirrors, cruise control, ABS, remote locking, CD player, leather trim and fuel computer (don't switch the latter to "instant mpg" mode when on choke and under throttle - it is terrifying!).

Running costs are actually quite reasonable. The car is cheap enough to ensure TPFT meaning insurance for less than £200 a year for a 29 year old with full NCB. I have it serviced every 6,000 miles by an independent Ford specialist who keep it running in tip top condition for a very reasonable sum. Fuel consumption is surprising too at 28 mpg average. The Cosworth lump is actually more fuel efficient than the standard 12v V6, despite it's 40 bhp power advantage - a friend had a 12v and struggled to better 20 mpg.

I paid just £2,995 for this car last year from a dealer and it's immaculate. At little more than a tenth of its new value, you really can't go wrong. It's reliable, quick, fully loaded, and has some of the most comfortable seats in any car at any price. It's also beautifully built. For eating up 400 mile motorway trips, for mid 7 second 0-60 acceleration, and for wafting effortlessly from A to B in utter luxury I recommend this car to anyone.

Faults:

Clutch required replacing at 73,000 miles that cost £300.

Completely new air-conditioning unit needed at 75,000 miles with a price tag of over £500.

Rust appearing on drivers door, wheel arches and tail-gate.

Annoying squeaks from the roof lining.

Steering wheel wobbles at speed which balancing and tracking will not cure.

General Comments:

Pleasing acceleration even with a full load.

Achieve up to 32 mpg (on a run) that I consider to be good for a car of this size.

Amazing load space (managed to fit a small flat packed shed in with the rear seats down!)

Very comfortable although drivers seat tends to work itself loose.

Faults:

Exhaust blowing at the manifold - quite a big job to repair - timewise.

General Comments:

Very impressed with the comfort and level of equipment. I traded in a 1992 BMW 318i - and that was poorly equipped compared to this. This car has ALL the toys. Main reasons for trading in were lack of luggage space and driver comfort - you certainly get both with the Scorpio. I went for the 2.0 manual, as I would not have an auto for an engine less than 2.3 - and although it's not the quickest thing off the mark, it cruises quite happily on major roads and certainly is quicker top end than my BMW was.

Its very useful having the back seats being able to fold-down, gives you the hatchback usefulness without the noise and rattles.

Costs about the same in petrol, and was cheaper to insure. I am very happy with it.

The looks certainly grow on you, and it was ahead of its time, as the rest of the executive market now have similar headlights etc.