Ford Reviews
The first Ford factory outside of the USA was built in Trafford Park, Manchester, in 1911. It had been created to assemble Model Ts, but was soon followed by Fords designed specifically for the British market. In 1932, the Model Y, went on sale, and was soon followed by a Euro-centric range, which evolved with the subsequent Zephyr, Zodiac, radically-styled Anglia 105E and the best-selling Cortina.
In the late-'60s, the UK arm merged with its German counterpart to form Ford of Europe, to produce cars intended to be sold all over the continent; models such as the Mustang-like Capri and the Escort were phenomenally successful. Later products such as the Sierra and Focus have helped cement the company’s position as one of Europe’s biggest automotive players.
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Good:
Sturdy, and surprisingly good to drive; six-cylinder cars
Bad:
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Good:
Cool American
Bad:
Fetches all the money
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Good:
Ultra collectable now, it had the world's first retractable hardtop
Bad:
Back then the roof was an expensive liability
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Good:
Larger and better performance then predecessor
Bad:
Vogueish 'teddy boy' image.
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Good:
Likeable, fun and easy to work on
Bad:
A 'little' bit basic
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Good:
Iconic Ford touring car from the 1960s, monstrously fast and still popular in historic racing
Bad:
About the size of a small aircraft carrier
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Good:
Distinctive styling, easy to fix, with plentiful parts supply, good to drive.
Bad:
You'll get called Harry Potter...
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Good:
Cool styling, short-lived and unusual, Capri especially desirable
Bad:
Heavy and slow - rendered obsolete by the Cortina
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Good:
Bigger and pointier than the Mk2
Bad:
New styling couldn't disguise ageing underpinnings
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Good:
Good to drive, easily tuned, lots of classic car kudos
Bad:
Rust should be sorted on the survivors, but if not...
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Good:
Fast, fragile and wonderful to drive
Bad:
Rare and quite a few fakes out there
Good:
Sharp suited, Thunderbird looks
Bad:
V4 engine is far from being a peach
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Good:
Good parts supply, excellent social scene, and surprisingly good to drive
Bad:
Not as sharp to drive as its European equivalent
Good:
The new Cortina is more Cortina
Bad:
Not as sought after as the more iconic Mk1
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Good:
More modern looking than its predecessor
Bad:
Somehow less appealing
Good:
Individual looks, roomy interior, Zodiacs available with 3.0-litre V6
Bad:
Crazy steering and handling, only partially saved by modern tyres
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Good:
Simplicity itself to drive
Bad:
Clean, unadorned models are rarer than the hot ones
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Good:
Brilliant performance, wonderful handling
Bad:
Not exactly cheap - and no sign of the Lotus name
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Good:
The car you always promised yourself; the iconic four-seater coupe.
Bad:
Perhaps not in 1300cc form.
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Good:
The fastest classic Mustangs
Bad:
Middle-aged spread was already creeping in
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Good:
Mexico and RS2000 less highly-strung than the Twin Cam
Bad:
RS1600 is even more wild than he Lotus powered Twin Cam
Good:
Looks cool and was in 'Life on Mars'. Simple to fix, and get parts for.
Bad:
Rusty and not that great to drive in the smaller engined forms.
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Good:
Appeared in the Sweeney, the 3000cc V6 was a real Q-car
Bad:
Can be rotten, early V4-powered cars best avoided
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Good:
Pinto engines are easy to work on, V6s quicker than before, hatchback versatility.
Bad:
Those headlights.
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Good:
More economical than the original Mustang
Bad:
A sad decline for the once-great name
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Good:
Sharp styling, simple mechanics, sweet steering and gearbox
Bad:
Two-door ones exceedingly rare as they were a good supply of rally shells
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Good:
Cool looks, sweet handling, rally-bred image
Bad:
Rendered obsolete by the hot-hatch generation, but in demand now, and expensive as a consequence.
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Good:
The archetypal 1970s family saloon; everyone had one
Bad:
Everyone remembers the rust and those void bushes
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Good:
Stylish, cheap and easy to run
Bad:
Can rust very badly, sound rattly and loose
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Good:
Comfortable, offered in a wide range of options, genuinely quick in 2.8 injection form.
Bad:
Rust and previous banger status means few survive.
Good:
Great looks improved by the final facelift, brilliantly marketed, exciting drive in V6 form
Bad:
Once again, buying a 1.3- or 1.6-litre denies the owner of any excitement
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Good:
Simple and stylish, a cheap classic car, not a bad handler
Bad:
Rough engines, poor ride, frail interior trim, solid shells are worth more to XR/RS enthusiasts
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Good:
Sharp looks, achingly cool (the early ones, anyway), nice handling
Bad:
Rotten ride, tinny build quality, not as fast as it looks
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Good:
Early models look good, steer like a go-kart and go well
Bad:
Late ones much less appealing, all susceptible to rust
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Good:
Like an XR3, only faster and brasher
Bad:
Sought after, so already very expensive
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Good:
The styling was so advanced, it still looks modern to this day
Bad:
The running gear and engines didn't live up to expectation
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Good:
Easy V6 power, good to drive, sophisticated four-wheel drive system
Bad:
Two-wheel drive car has less finesse, and is less fun than a Capri with the same engine
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Good:
Cheap and easily serviced, everyone has owned one so properly nostalgic, cooking models honest, XR2 underwhelming
Bad:
Rust is an ever-present enemy, cramped, noisy and bouncy
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Good:
Fast
Bad:
Fragile
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Good:
Vast inside with styling that gets better with each passing year
Bad:
Still worthless, so few cars are making it to cherished classic
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Good:
Amazing to drive, easy to tune, bulletproof engine
Bad:
Cheap interior, avoid tuned cars, more than a few fakes out there
Good:
Peugeot 205 looks and optional five-doors, RS Turbo quick and brutish, RS1800 much more civilised
Bad:
A poor copy of the Peugeot 205, very rust prone, stodgy handling, built with planned obsolescence
Good:
Looked okay in a bland kind of way, three-door more attractive than five-door, formed the basis of RS Cosworth, massively improved with subsequent facelifts in 1992 and '95
Bad:
The 1990 original was a deadly dull and deeply cynical car, dreadful unassisted steering, rust kills them off
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Good:
Electrifying performance, excellent handling, and wild looks
Bad:
Needs specialist care, and that costs dearly
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Good:
Very highly rated all-rounder when new and still impressive today, cheap to buy, V6 models are a hidden gem and a proper Q-ship
Bad:
Limited storage for odds and ends, four-speed autos are short-lived, a new clutch is usually more than the car is worth, many now scrapped
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Good:
Pop-up headlights, it's a coupe that wears a Ford badge so therefore has a following, cheap, reasonable specification and a smooth V6 engine
Bad:
Ddn't capture the public's imagination like the Capri. Four-cylinder cars feel lacklustre
Good:
Terrific, involving, sports-biased drive. Based on proven Fiesta mechanics. Now selling for a more affordable price.
Bad:
Front suspension alignment is crucial and can easily be put out if you kerb a wheel.
Good:
Good to drive. Roomy cabin well thought through. Massive choice of used Focus at sensible prices. Better car than a similar aged Volkswagen Golf.
Bad:
Lacks snob appeal of a Golf.
Good:
Excellent drive. Strikes a fine balance between handling fun and ride comfort. Plenty of used ones around. Peanuts to run if you find a good one.
Bad:
Troublesome pushrod 1.3 engine to 2002. Steering racks fail. Feels like a cheap car. Cheaply built, sparse interior. By 2015 rust makes 10 year old Kas not worth repairing.
Good:
Vastly improved handling made it good fun to drive. Modern Zetec S engines.
Bad:
Still same basic body and still rust-prone. Avoid 1.3 pushrod engines.
Good:
Sensational looking coupe. Handled and went well enough with 2.5 V6.
Bad:
Short lived, so body parts bound to get hard to come by.
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Good:
Very good to drive. Comfortable on long distances. Well built interior. Good value as a used buy. TDCi diesels offer great economy. Huge estate versions ideal for load lugging.
Bad:
Some early models have uncomfortable seats. Limited storage for odds and ends. Swirl flaps can cause older 1.8i and 2.0i petrol engines to fail. Older 2.0 TDCi become money pits not worth repairing.
Good:
Hardcore Focus kept the enthusiasts happy.
Bad:
Harsh suspension and trick diff' made sure poseurs didn't keep them long.
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