1991 Ford Sierra XR4x4 from UK and Ireland - Comments

New gearbox at 100k.

Front discs warp every 6 months.

Door locks stick.

Everything else fine. Servicing costs and parts relatively cheap considering the size and performance of the car.

Rust beginning to set in on the wheel arches.

Nice to drive.

Faster than most boy racers and not so flash.

No show, lots of go.

I wrote this review 8 years ago and no longer own this car. At about 150,000 miles it started burning a lot of oil and the back wheel arches had rusted quite badly so I traded it in for another car. Over the years I've had all sorts of cars but this sierra was cheap, comfortable and quick. Newer cars are now so heavy that 28mpg from the XR4x4 seems like your saving the planet and the garage bills were nothing compaired to the diagnostics rubbish that goes on now. Modern cars are only marginally quicker and generally suck in all other aspects.

I agree. Sierra XR4x4s are cheap and quick. Best car Ford ever made.

I own a 2.9 xr4x4 and it's one of the best cars I've ever owned. It's a toy mainly for weekends and shows etc, but it does get used occasionally thru the week. On long runs it does 29mpg; that's good for an old car with 140,000 on the clock, it's a lot better than all the euro boxes on the road. It's got character, its 20 years old but can still show newer cars up off the lights and round the bends.

My last Sierra was written off by a 7.5 tonne lorry hitting me at 50mph. I got out without a scratch. I wouldn't like to bet on what would have happened in a newer car; back then cars were built properly to last.

I have to take issue with the last comment - Built to last? Sierras? You are having a laugh, right? Don't get me wrong, I love them and still own one - but the Sierra was the very personification of the throw-away reps car. Built with an estimated design life of 8 years or so, it's fair to say that virtually all of the Dagenham built cars had been cubed by age 10 due to advanced underbody rust. It was also one of the first cars to feature huge plastic wrap around bumpers - a cost and weight saving exercise, there is just empty space behind the plastic.

Have look at the sierra crash test video on youtube to see how substantial Sierras aren't.