1986 Ford Sierra XR4X4 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Gearbox lost 3rd and 4th 6 months after purchase, it cost £500 to replace, but it was 13 years old and had done 117000 miles.

Exhaust developed holes this year, but it was the original exhaust from manufacture date.

Dashboard has cracked.

For the price I paid in 1999 for a 13 year old car, £1200, it was an absolute bargain.

The car has awesome performance, 0-60 in around 8.2 seconds. Blows away the boy racers in Novas etc.

When the seats are folded down, there is loads of room for moving house or large boxes.

Very comfortable for long distances and it doesn't use much petrol at steady speeds on the motorway. It is only going over 3000 revs that the fuel consumption gets bad (but that's when the fun begins).

It is nice to line up against flash BMW's at traffic lights and show them what performance is :)

Totally agree with this review. I think many people have forgotten about the excellent performance of the xr4x4, as I often frighten little boys in their saxos and BMW drivers in my 2.9i. They just don't expect a normal looking sierra to accelerate so quickly with no fuss or wheelspin, especially in the wet. The only downside is the fuel consumption if you thrash it, but what other car offers the performance and 4 wheel drive for the price?

By the way, if yours needs a new exhaust, I recommend a performance system as the sound the v6 makes is truly awesome. They can be just as cheap as ford OE ones too.

Hi chaps just found this page all I can say is you are so right in wot you say I've just got myself another 4x4.already own a 2.9 on a h plate my new one is a 2.8 just can not wait to put her on the road at the end of the month last thing to say 2.9 and doing fine 2.8 and life is great,the car's are beast's .

How can you show a bmw what performance is when hes already ahead of u, even the 2.0 tdi is quicker to 60 in just 7.2 seconds and I bet fiesta si could out handle it.

What a load of pants a fiesta si out perform a XR where have you been for the last 20 yrs planet (no cars) as for you BMW comment (yer I suppose ur right if the XR is parked on the drive way LOL.

As much as I do love sierras, the way you describe the car as being really fast is a bit foolish. By modern standards 8.2 seconds to 60mph is a lifetime, the easiest way to show this is to compare say a BMW 328i to a XR4x4. Both have the same size engines, but the XR will have better traction off the line, and yet the BMW gets to 60 in under 7 seconds!!

8.2 seconds to 60 is hardly a life time the way you talk of the BMW 328 you make it sound like lighting (which clearly it isn't) engine capacity is the same, but the 328i is more than 10 years younger as well as having the additonal 12 valves if your going to comment at least make like for like comment's (i.e technology and era) bwm may be a faster car, but lets face it throw the BMW into a corner and watch your rear end overtake you whilst the 4x4 will leave you standing.

Hi chaps off on a trip to rye near hastings next week with family just wondered whot I might be looking at fuel wise i. e mpg steady away of course grrr lol ta for ur help.

What the hell are you on about? Saying I need to argue within the same era. If you look up, you will see that you were saying how much faster the XR was than a BMW or a Nova. Anyway, if you want another car from that era that will kick the **** out of an XR 4x4, look no further than a pug 205 gti. Even the smaller engined 1.6 gti accelerates quicker than the Sierra.

And yes, 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds is a lifetime, it was averagely quick in its day, but the 80's finished 16 years ago, get over it.

You are comparing a monster V6 4x4 with a car that weighs about the same as a bag of crisps. Dream on.

More to the point, what are you on about? A 1.6gti 205 quicker to 60? You have no conception of what you're talking about. Yes, the 80's were over 16 years ago, that still does not by any way, shape or form take away the XR's performace stats. It's wasting most modern day hot hatches now.

All of this talk about manufacturer's given 0-60 times is very academic and does not translate very well to the real world. I have a 2.9i xr4x4 as a daily driver, and I would be the first to admit that it isn't supercar, but it can and does see off similar capacity BMW's of the same vintage with ease and 205 gti's of whatever cc. A 205 with an Mi16 thrown in it is another matter altogether, but then if you had a turbo technics twin turbo xr, you would blow the 205's doors off!

The key is the ridiculously good traction the xr puts down on the road, you get off quicker at the lights and spin round roundabouts with ease, the xr4x4 sticks to the road like glue, even the flyweight 205 doesn't handle as well in standard gti form and it would simply be unfair to compare it with the Rwd BMW's of the pre traction control era! So yes, in a straight line, a bog standard xr4x4 is nothing special, but out on the road it will blow the doors of other more expensive cars with better straight line performance.

On another theme, I don't know if its just me, but I find the petrol economy in an xr4x4 to be terrible. My car is regularly serviced and I don't thrash it all the time, but I average well under 20mpg, my other car is a turbo technics Capri and even that eeks out more mpg than the xr!

To sum up, £500 now buys you a roadworthy xr4x4 in decent nick with an Mot, so if you are not a Ford-hater and want a fun car for the winter that you will feel as safe in as if you were in a Challenger Tank, and are prepared to pay the price in petrol, get yourself one now before they start to really go up in price as their 'classic' status grows and grows.

I have a 2.0L Almera GTi, and I pissed all over a Sierra xr4x4 yesterday. Who needs 4WD, when you have a little Nissan.

Your Datsun might be quicker in a straight line (although if the XR was trying, there's no way you would have p***d on it), but it's the worst example of a soulless Japanese box I can think of.

I cannot believe you admit to owning an Almera, much less that you seem pleased enough to boast about it. Take the Skyline and the Z cars out of the equation and you have just about the blandest and most boring manufacturer of them all, and the Almera, however quick it is, is no more interesting than the Sunny it replaced.

In fact, just thinking about it is bringing me out in hives.

'Take the Skyline and the Z cars out of the equation and you have just about the blandest and most boring manufacturer of them all'.

Not forgetting the Pulsar GTI-R.

Hello there to the xr4x4 boys. I have owned both the 2.8 and 2.9 versions, and was very disappointed. The only thing they're good at is grip in the wet. I have also owned Astra GTE 8 and 16 valves, a Renault 19 16v, a Rover 216gti, and an Almera GTI. All of these would out accelerate and handle better, and I should know as I've taken most of them on tracks (a few years ago).

Please stick to the facts, and if you ain't driven em, don't comment.