I would have love to have been there when the first Ford Scorpios were produced. The assembled mass of workers must have felt their jaws drop when they looked at it. Not at the beauty but at the ugliness of it. Was there no-one who, like in the Emperor’s New Clothes, said there is something ... Read review
Advantages: Very pleasant to drive in Disadvantages: Not pleasant to look at
...been there when the first Ford Scorpios were produced. The assembled mass of workers must have felt their jaws drop when they looked at it. Not at the beauty but at the ugliness of it. Was there no-one who, like in the Emperor’s New Clothes, said there is something not quite right here. The problem was not one of nudity but the clothes the Scorpio came in.
There it must have stood bug-eyed, a huge fat backside, a mass of unrelieved ... ...replaced was no surprise. That Ford subsequently gave up building large cars to concentrate on owning jaguar and more recently Volvo was more surprising but it speaks volumes that Ford should have become so tarnished in the executive motor sector after the Scorpio. At one time Ford dealers were told they could only take extra Mondeos or Fiestas if they took a Scorpio for every 20 or so Mondeos. Hence discounts were huge.
I would have love to have been there when the first Ford Scorpios were produced. The assembled mass of workers must have felt their jaws drop when they looked at it. Not at the beauty but at the ugliness of it. Was there no-one who, like in the Emperor’s New Clothes, said there is something not quite right here. The problem was not one of nudity but the clothes the Scorpio came in.
There it must have stood bug-eyed, a huge fat backside, a mass of unrelieved contourless metal with oversize featureless bumpers. That the Scorpio failed to sell in the huge numbers of the Granada it replaced was no surprise. That Ford subsequently gave up building large cars to concentrate on owning jaguar and more recently Volvo was more surprising but it speaks volumes that Ford should have become so tarnished in the executive motor sector after the Scorpio. At one time Ford dealers were told they could only take extra Mondeos or Fiestas if they took a Scorpio for every 20 or so Mondeos. Hence discounts were huge.
All of which is something of a pity because if you sat in a Scorpio, better still drove a Scorpio it was actually a fine car. Being in the driving seat had many advantages and of course the first one was you could not see the outside. You still knew it was ugly from the facial expressions of those you passed or their mock vomiting gestures as they saw the car. The dashboard was a joy to behold as behind the 4 spoke steering wheel was a beautiful array of dials and switches assembled perfectly.
The driver had at his fingertips electric windows all round, an electric sunroof (alas no air-con in 1997) electric mirrors and remote central locking with alarm and immobiliser. The car was extraordinarily comfortable for driver and passengers alike. The 2.3 litre engine was allied to a gearbox whose ratios were chosen for leisurely touring rather than speed and it consequently made a very good towing car. The ride and handling were very good too. The boot was also a good size. Although the Scorpio is no longer made it would make a good second hand car choice if you were not too bothered about image and looks.
At least it would if you could find one. Even in 1997 used Scorpios were to be found for around £10k. That being so you would expect to find them for about £5k now. But you see you can’t. In fact you will be lucky to find many used Scorpios about at all. Although not a raging success, sufficient numbers were sold to suggest there should be some around the used car forecourts of Britain. So what has happened to them, have Ford been secretly going round the auctions of Britain buying them up to take them away and destroy them? I think we should be told.
Advantages: cheap to buy, so smooth Disadvantages: reliability, few pattern parts, fuel consumption
I've owned a scorpio for 3 months now, and I still like it, which is unusual for me.
First impressions were only reasonable. It had a nasty vibration coming through the cabin at anything over 55, it knocked going over bumps, and returned 18mpg with its duff thermostat.
However, after a £400 service, which replaced the two front wishbones (balljoints not available seperately), the thermostat, and the anti roll bar bushes, it was good. Powerful, ... ...it died on me at the main south terminal roundabout at Gatwick airport. The engine wiring harness had been cooked by the heat of the engine, a known problem on the 2.3 scorpios. £125 later for my local mechanic to make a new harness and fit it, and I was back on the road.
After that it was plain sailing for a month, then a coil pack went down. Another 100 quid to diagnose and replace the coil pack, and the two HT leads.
Since then however, its ...
robachamings1 27.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Ford Scorpio 2.3
Advantages: Very roomy. Easy to park with power steering and very nice to look at. It looks more top of the range than it is. Not heavy on handling, quick at pulling away. Disadvantages: None
...for push-chairs or prams; both singles and doubles. I can also fit a lot of shopping in the back.
This is the first Ford car I have owned, but won't hesitate when buying another. I have only had this car 5 months, but wouldn't be without it! ...
Wendywife 11.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Ford Scorpio 2.3
Advantages: Better than any BMW Disadvantages: None
...the most refined engine that ford have ever made.
There is no doubt that the only country that can produce a better car than the scorpio is the USA which is without doubt the ultimate car producing nation.
My scorpio is a manual but although there is nothing wrong with it you can't beat an automatic.
What would an immaculate merc or bmw have cost me I only paid £1000 for this. ...
SCORPIOMAN 15.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Ford Scorpio 2.3
Advantages: great inside Disadvantages: horrible outside!
...anyone interested, check out the ford scorpio owners website for more info.
Inside it has all the toys you could ever want... air con, electric seats, climate control, sunroof, multi changer cd, leather trim, the list goes on and on!, mechanically, its very similar to the ford galaxy and mondeo, so parts are no problem, although being a ford, you wont nead many, and they are cheap! outside, well, thats a different story, but all i can say is... ...
donniebrue 10.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Ford Scorpio 2.3
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with even more toys and goodies. It had all the equipment of the Ghia plus leather upholstery, air conditioning, cruise control, on-board fuel computer, front fog lights and electric adjustment for the passenger seat aswell the drivers seat plus electric heating for both. I mean... wow! Has YOUR car got all that?
Then there's engine, the whopping great 2.8 litre V6 that the Granada shared with many of the other big Fords of the 80's - the XR4's, the Scorpios and of course, the mighty Capri (my favourite car!). They also made a 2.0 litre version, a 2.3 and a 2.4 diesel but to be honest these aren't worth bothering with - certainly not the 2 litre or the diesel - they just haven't got the power to haul a big car like this around. The 2.3 V6 wasn't bad but you couldn't get the Ghia specification without the 2.8 litre engine. And besides, of all ...
