1992 Ford Orion Ghia EFI from UK and Ireland - Comments

Indicator stalks put the main beam on when activated. That's all!!!

This is one quick car! I've slightly modified mine and it can beat a 2.0 Mondeo off the mark. I have de-catted it and K&Ned it. It really does sound sweet when given some gas! Basically under the hood is the old model Escort's XR3i engine!

This model didn't have a cat.

Oh and if it had a cat, removing it means violating MOT and you would not be able to renew.

The Orion Ghia EFI did have a CAT because when I tried to obtain an insurance quote for mine they asked if it was a CAT model.

And by the way "it sounds sweet when given some gas". I think not. The CVH engine is a rough, inflexible old nail of an engine that should've been laid to rest many years before it was. It's basically a '50's Kent engine with a different head, as is the engine in the current Ford Ka!!!

If the car is pre August 92 (i.e. J plate or earlier), it will not need a cat to pass the MOT.

The CVH engine is rough, but I know what the reviewer means about it sounding good. This era XR3i / Orion 1.6i Ghia used a sports exhaust which gave quite a pleasant exhaust note under hard throttle.

It's easy to slate the CVH for its roughness, but to be honest, few engines are tougher. Especially when you consider it was fitted to some of the hardest driven cars on the road. 1.8 "nutter rep" Sierras, well thrashed XR2i's, XR3i's, RS Turbos etc, and most of them are still smoking along reliably now. In fact in turbo form it can belt out 150 bhp per litre and do 150,000 miles. Rough? Yes. Crap? Not necessarily.

I agree. The CVH engines are rough, but they are certainly not Crap! They were a bit past it certainly after 1990 when the mk5 Escort/mk3 Orion was launched, but like said above, they were extremely tough! The 1.6 EFi engine in particular isn't bad and as it can develop 105/108BHP (Even the latest Ford Duratec 1.6i 16valve engine doesn't produce that much) it was no slouch! The 1.4 CVH seemed to go on for ever, and was used in the Escort right up to 1998! What a lot of people forget also is that the CVH engines are supper simple to work on, as are the Endura-E engine in the Ford Ka (Formally known as the 1.3 HCS engine I think). This is partly why the Ford Ka is the cheapest car in Britain to maintain and run! I always thought also, that when Ford gave the CVH line the option of fuel injection (1990 also) it made a huge difference to them - My friends Mk5 1.4L J-reg Escort feels a LOT smoother than my 1.4LX Mk2 Orion does - But it is the same engine other than fuel injection and carburettor.

The Zetec engines (Zeta when first launched in 1.8litre form in 1992) were long overdue, but I seem to recall also that initially the Zetec engines were troublesome and not as good as they should have been either! Having said that, I wouldn't mind an Orion Ghia Si one bit ;)

There were initial problems with sticking valves on the Zetec until about '95. However after owning a Zetec Escort I can tell you the engine is a lot smoother and is also a lot better at the top-end, although around town somewhat sluggish. Just don't take it over 4000 revs or it sounds like it's gonna explode!!!