March 1987 Ford Sierra hatchback - facelift model

[@owensteele1645]

I remember the dark-light facelift early in the 1990s when the Sierra range became more vast, again! At the sporty end of the range, Ford later added the 2.0 XR4i (non-4x4) and 2.0i GT, alongside the usual GLSi, Ghia, Ghia 4x4 estate, 2000E, and XR4x4 (the only remaining V6 Sierra by then). And there were plenty of special editions like Azura, Chasseur, Fresco, Quartz etc.

[@Connect201]

Ford had made the face-lifted Sierra a better car than the original model from 1982 to 1987. When the sierra sapphire saloon came along in that year, there were lots of interest from private customers, fleet operators and business users. The Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth introduced in 1988, it was very popular. Back in 1989, the base models were renamed the sierra laser (hatchback and estate) and the sierra sapphire classic with extra equipment. The LX was the best selling model in the sierra range. Great video btw.

[@quarterlight]

Thank you so much

[@vernonmatthews181]

Didn't realize there was two cats 😮 in the house @ "3:00" black & white 😊 please continue your Sierra facelift review ❤

[@quarterlight]

4 in total rarely seen all together though

[@jasoncarpp7742]

Another awesome video! I've heard of the Ford Sierra. Here in the USA where I'm from, they were sold as the Merkur. Whilst they were awesome cars to ride in, possibly to drive, I've never understood why the name. *"Merkur"?* What the hell is a *"Merkur"?*

[@quarterlight]

Yes indeed it is an unusual name choice

[@anthonyperkins7556]

People started taking a look at the Sierra again and buying it, once the looks had been smoothed off and toned down a bit.

[@insceman8515]

I was fortunate to have an F reg Sierra XR4x4i in red as per the brochure picture but it was the new at the time 2.9 V6 cologne engine. It was pretty quick at the time but the gearshift was quite vague and the power steering provided little feel and feedback. Great cruiser, smooth and sounded good but no where near as good to drive a chuck about as my mk1 Astra GTE. Didn’t have it that long as quite thirsty and I couldn’t really afford it in 1990! In 1992 I briefly had a 1.8 GL estate as a temporary company car while my Astra SRi was off the road. Very much a family car but drove ok.

[@quarterlight]

At least you had that experience

[@TrevorBuick]

An excellent walk through the cars of our youth mr q , hope the Canadian winter treats you well

[@quarterlight]

Thank you - weekend we may briefly go back into plus temps but then snow on Sunday apparently can’t complain too much though

[@NiceCakeMix]

Really nice video. I had an Xr4x4 back in 2000, it was a 1987 facelifted model like the one seen here. It was a lovely car and had brilliant road holding and torque. I really liked owning it. Remember the estate version of the Xr4x4 was the Ghia 4x4 which had the more luxurious interior and looked a bit less sporty but was a capable estate with the 4x4 kit.

[@quarterlight]

Aw lovely

[@StuartAxe]

Ford really were good at updating existing models in this era. From this 1987 facelift from the original Sierra with many subtle changes. They did it again with the Sierra for the 1990 model year and again for 1992.

[@owensteele1645]

The basic Sierra L's wheel trims were also used on the sporty Escort and Orion LX which came slightly later.

[@neilmustow368]

Did get a courtesy car from our local Ford dealer when my Parents car was in the garage it was a early base 1988 Sierra hatchback with steel wheels in blue lovely car

[@russellcooper5826]

Surely a 1.8 lirte LX looks sporty, functional and cost worthy.

[@owensteele1645]

Sadly, D31KHJ is once again a fake plate. D-reg Essex cars were allocated OHJ to VHJ. There was a C31KHJ, but that was on a 'prestigious' silver Granada 2.8i Ghia unfortunately. Alive until Feb 2003. That red XR4x4 would be worth a considerable amount of money now.

[@Sarcybloke]

My dad had a couple of the earlier models both 1.6l 84 and and an 85 which was a laser move forward to 1998 I bought myself a j reg 1.8 lx sapphire I was 18 years old and thought I was king of the road 😅 I absolutely loved that car...I'd have another one now if I could find one

[@quarterlight]

Quite the car at 18 I think I would have felt the same lol

[@owensteele1645]

One weird detail I've noticed in this brochure is, the Sapphire LX has 13" steel wheels with covers from the lowly Escort/Orion GL. The Sierra LX hatchback in this video (and last week's) has 14" steel wheels with covers from the Granada Ghia, a prestigious car that Ford were very proud of at that time.

[@Bonzoguy66]

In SA , they actually had them, with your Essex engine. I liked the 92 2.0 efi 120 bhp GT version. Top version in Denmark. Never knew, they were even made with the v6 engines , or 4x4

[@vernonmatthews181]

Didn't realize the 2.8 was only fitted to the XR4x4, in my native New Zealand a few 2.8 were retro fitted to of all cars the HC Vauxhall Viva with TC Cortina from Australia rear axle ( 4 link location ) like Vauxhall. The larger 2.8 engine use to spit out 😮 the diff on the ex slant 4 Vauxhall after a few months. The option I had seen in NZ was the Buick conversion, a V6 3800cc either in HC, or Envoy Epic estate in Canada 🇨🇦 ❤😊

[@clivet3252]

I like how you made yourself laugh going on about the red bumper inserts on the LX. You're right, it is a nice touch, though! Can you do a comparison of the dashboard on the pre and post facelift to see if there are any noticeable differences?

[@quarterlight]

That’s a nice idea

[@owensteele1645]

The estate was quite a handsome car. I noticed the 2.8i 4x4 Ghia does not feature here. Have you thought about showcasing and comparing the differences in available paint colours between both-shape Sierras?

[@quarterlight]

That would be interesting sadly I don’t believe I have a good colour chart

[@mattw8332]

If I was in the market for a Sierra in 1987 I'd perhaps enquire about a pre registered phase 1 XR4x4. Having said that they do look smarter after the 1989 facelift with the clear indicators. The phase 2 XR4x4 doesn't have rear seat head restraints unlike the Ghia. 😕

[@RWL2012]

17:17 again, stowage not storage lol (it is an actual word, not a typo!)

[@quarterlight]

Thank you for the correction

[@markturner-smith5309]

Should have kept the 2.0i S instead of the GLSi was a better sporting model. But then the 2.0i GT/XR4i (2.0i version the the V6) effectively became the 2.0i S of the facelift range really.

[@TassieLorenzo]

While more palatable to the market, I feel like the facelifted Sierra lost the designer's original vision, sadly. This often happens when controversial designs are toned down (the same happened with the AU Falcon in Australia)! In the long run I think the "purer" version of the designer's vision becomes more collectable as a classic car IMO.

[@quarterlight]

Yea that’s usually always the case the original design is the purest