Ford Orion
Encyclopedia : F : FO : FOR : Ford Orion
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| Ford Orion | |
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| Manufacturer: | Ford Motor Company |
| Class: | Compact |
| Production: | 1983 — 1993 |
| Predecessor: | Ford Escort (MK1&2) |
| Successor: | Ford Focus Saloon |
| Body styles: | 4-door saloon |
| Engines: | 1.3 L I4 1.4 L I4 1.6 L I4 1.8 L I4 1.6 L diesel I4 1.8 L diesel I4 |
| Similar: | Ford Verona |
| Related: | Ford Escort |
The Ford Orion was a four-door saloon automobile model introduced by Ford's European division on July 22, 1983.
At that time, Ford's model lineup and image was changing. The company's older saloon lineup was replaced mainly by hatchbacks, from the Ford Escort to the Granada and the then new Sierra replacing the Ford Cortina. The Orion was designed to fill the market demand for a traditional four-door saloon, left by the demise of the Cortina. The Orion looked similar to a contemporary Escort at the front, but rear of the body was totally different; the Orion had a long flat boot (three-box saloon design) rather than a hatchback or estate body like the Escort. Despite appearances, the Orion was larger than the Escort, being almost the same size as a Ford Sierra.
The Orion was a more upmarket saloon, derived from the third generation Escort, aimed at the fleet market and company buyers. In order not to spoil the Orion's upmarket pretentions, Ford deliberately only offered the Orion in GL and Ghia trim levels initially, and only in 1300 cc and 1600 cc (both carburettor and fuel injection options on the 1.6 Ghia) CVH engine options. The standard equipment on the Orion was far superior to that of the Escort, e.g the Orion Ghia 1.6i standard features included central locking doors, sunroof, front sport seats, power windows, rear head restraints, tachometer and an information binnacle informing the driver when the vehicle needed maintenance. All of these features were very rare equipment on a family car of the 1980s. Also the fact that the Orion was a family car and was available with fuel injection was groundbreaking; Porsche was still fitting carburettors to particular models in their lineup. Other cars in this small executive saloon class were the Volkswagen Jetta, Daihatsu Charmant, Rover 213/216, Vauxhall Belmont, and the Mercedes-Benz 190.
Eventually though, as the years went by, people saw the Orion for what it was, an Escort saloon, and it became the average family car when Ford eventually relented and produced derivatives in basic trim specification. The diesel-powered versions became synonymous with private taxi firms throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The Skoda Octavia has replaced the Orion as the perennial minicab driver's favourite.
In 1986, the Orion received the same facelift as the rest of the Escort range, and the second generation Orion debuted in 1990, to the same media condemnation as the rest of its fourth-generation Escort siblings. As with the Escort, the arrival of the Zetec engines and suspension changes in 1992 transformed the Orion's dynamic qualities markedly.
In September 1993, Ford dropped the Orion trademark (although it continued in use in Argentina) and simply used the "Escort" trademark for all body styles, to keep the Escort high in chart sales. Something Vauxhall also did by dropping the Belmont-badged saloons and simply calling them Astra. The Escort saloon was discontinued in 1998.
The Ford Verona was similar to the Orion, (the 1993 model was identical, except for the bootlid badge), but it used the Ford CHT engine power unit in place of the CVH and Zetec installed into the Orion.
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