1993 Ford Orion LX review from UK and Ireland

When I first bought the car, it needed 3 new tyres and a new rear offside shock absorber. No big deal.

Replaced fan belt soon afterwards.

Starting problems. First time, they were traced to the ECU relay, for which I was charged £93 to put it right! The second time, it was down to the fuel pump relay. My friend charged me a fiver to fix it. Why are garages so expensive?? It took my friend 20 minutes with a screwdriver and a multimeter.

Gearbox went at 87,000 miles. It decided to lock itself in 4th coming onto the motorway. This proved expensive, I couldn't afford the cost of a garage repair, so my friend was once more going to fix it. But whilst it was off the road, it got broken into and all my sound system got nicked (Including a 10 disc multi changer) along with the new clutch that was in the boot! The second hand gearbox I bought for £100 turned out to be broken too when we had fitted it and they weren't going to give me my money back. So in the end I decided to cut my losses; cashed in my tax and scrapped the car, keeping my alloys to sell.

When it works it is a nice car! I was disappointed that I had to do so much work on it though as I had it inspected by the AA before buying it. Won't be doing that again...

I swear this car was cursed though! I mean look at the sequence of events; who needs to buy TWO new clutches?? Only to find that the new gearbox doesn't work. And the break in too... mind you, Ford could at least have made it a bit harder for the thiefs.

The car was very comfortable, although a little noisy at 80+ mph.

It copes happily at high speed, but can take some revving to get there! And the engine is harsh at higher revs... nice woosh from the air intake above 5000rpm though! But overall, although the car is not slow, the performance was well below expectation for a 1.6, especially compared to the Honda and Rover engines.

With the 195/50/15 tyres, it has a lot of grip, and the suspension is rigid making for a good drive. Lots of feel through the steering wheel too.

Stacks of space in the back and in the boot, much more so than the Escort. And the Orion is better looking too...

When I have more money I might need to buy one for modifying... but only when I have more money so I can afford the repairs!