Talk:Ford Orion

Clarifying?

I would imagine the line "Less legroom than the sierra but a larger boot" compares the Orion with the Sierra hatchbacks, however there was also Sierra "three box" Saloons, which would have had a larger boot again. But then again for people who really wanted a HUGE boot there was estate Sierras and Escorts. I guess the Orion was really for people who wanted a "small car" but wanted something more "traditional" than Escorts. Might get an Orion myself if i can find one that hasn't rusted away to nothing XD. Felneymike (talk) 22:22, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Ford Orion

I have a 1987 Ford Orion, equipped with a 1.6 liter "Smoke-sledge" or "Ash-Hammer" as the diesels are being called here in Finland. Although Ford Orions have a bad fame because of their 'good rustying capabilities' I like that car a lot. (For those who do not know the conditions these cars have to withstand, in Finland roads are salted in the winter to prevent their freezing. In the summer there is most certainly no need for that in the 30 degree Celsius temperature.) The best parts of the car is its engine, soft suspension, relatively good brakes for a car of its era and good steering-gear ratio.

Engine, although it does not pull the car off under you even with full throttle, is relatively tough for its size and 'pulls from the beginning' (of the rpm range), meaning that you do not necessarily need to press throttle at all to get the car moving with the first gear in place even with a true (manual) transmission. But because it has only 40 kilowatts/ 54 ps of power to move the 1400kg mass it is slow in acceleration and a difficult car to use in the situations when you have to overtake a slower vehicle ahead. The 1.6D is also quite durable when maintained well and mine has travelled over 450 000 kilometers (280 000 miles) without larger problems.

The relatively soft suspension (as far as I can tell is factory original) is nice when driving the regular roadspeed (which in Finland is 80 km/h or about 50 mph) but when the speed increases after this point the car becomes somewhat unstable.

What I can tell about the brakes is that they have quite good stopping power compared to other cars of the same era that I have driven.

It is customary to like or not to like the powersteering. I seem to belong to the group that prefers non aided steering. The steering-gear ratio in the car is just correct for me as it is not too slow or too fast in the highway and you have the feeling of the cars motions. In the parking situation it is a bit heavy/slow, but what kind of finn is one who has not enough 'rye in his whrists' (a directly translated phrase meaning that you are strong).

Well, the car has its bad sides too. It rusts quite fast in finnish conditions if not kept and maintained well and the taxation of diesels in Finland tends to make the carkeeping a bit costly. Though this is in some degree offset by the cheaper diesel fuel vs. gasoline ratio (diesel at the moment costs about 1€ per liter vs. 1.35€ per liter of gas. [diesel aprox. 4.56$ a us gallon, gas aprox. 6.156$ a us gallon] Quite expensive, is'nt it?) and the fact that the car can run about 4-6 liters per 100 kilometers (58-39mpg ) depending the enviroment and driving habits. When driving in mixed conditions, mainly highway and utilizing the new ways of efficient driving habits, I have been able to keep the fuel consumption in 5.5 L/100km (45.5 mpg). It is possible because the 80km/h (50mph)roadspeed is close to the optimal speed for the car as the biggest gear is used in nearly the best torque rpm and because the drag is relatively small, good efficiensy is achieved.

About the technical data of the 1.6 D

A swhirl-chamber indirect injection diesel engine

A four cylinder inline, (S)OHC Single Overhead Camshaft with inline valve configuration

Displacement: 1608 cm3/cc

Power: 40 kw (54 ps) @ 4800rpm

Torque: 95 Nm @ 3000rpm

Bore/Stroke (and Stroke/Bore) ratio: 1 (a square engine)

Bore/Stroke: 80mm x 80mm

A machine enthusiast from Finland 29.8.2005 (day.month.year)

Orion now appears to be the project name for the 2008 Falcon from Ford Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon

Lukeyson

It's also interesting to note that Ford Australia dropped the import of the Escort with the MkIII, and instead starting importing and locally assembling variants of the new FWD Mazda 323.

The same differentiation in naming of hatch to sedan that saw the names Escort and Orion become separate entities of the same car in Europealso affected the Australian Equivalents.

The Hatchback version was known as the Laser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Laser) while the Sedan Version was known as the Ford Meteor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Meteor). Ford stuck with this naming convention in Australia for two versions on a single model run (KA/KB Laser and GA/GB Meteor) before giving up and releasing Sedan and Hatch versions of the Laser for the next model (KC/KE Laser).

Of some additional curiosity value, it is in fact the later Mazda 323/Laser architecture that was sold into the US and Canada as the Ford Escort.

Lukeyson

-Hi.. i had an 1.6D too.. but i can tell it weights 950kg.. not 1400 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.223.231.72 (talk) 12:06, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

-The Orion, as in 1987 Diesel 1,6 D CL guise weighs 1010 kg in full working condition without driver, as measured by a cargo scale (tested a few years ago), and as specified by the factory. Maximum specified load of the car is 1480kg, thus the error above. The diesel is, as far as I can tell, due to the engines cast iron construction, the heaviest Orion model in the range, and ironically also the least powerful one with its 54 horse output, as the 1,1 liter 45/50 horse unit was only available in entry-level Escorts, and the smallest gasolene Orion, the 1,3 liter, outputting 60hp. Even still, with its humble but broad torque curve, not to mention its high fuel efficiency, the diesel is, at least in my opinion, nicer than its gasolene counterparts when it comes to everyday cruising around the town and especially in low speeds (up to 60 km/h), where the lack of power is not as much of a problem. The car will cruise effortlesly in 80 to 100km/h, but above this speed acceleration will be, by modern standards, extremely slow, thus for those in a constant hurry the diesels performance (or its lack of) makes it a pain to own... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.223.93.188 (talk) 21:03, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Bodystyle & Engine cc

Have adjusted the Mk numbers from 3, 4 & 5 to 1, 2 & 3 as when the Orion was launched in 1983 Ford were at the time selling it as a seperate model (independant of the Escort) and as such the original model was branded Mk1, then came 2 and 3 accordingly. Also have adjusted the entry of the engine sizes from the 1.3L and 1.6L to 1300 & 1600 cc, as the person who reads the entry would think that it was the 1.3 or 1.6 "L" trim designation and not L for litres. Hope this is of some help.

Skoda Octavia

I have removed the line about the Skoda Octavia replacing the Orion as the private hire/minicab vehicle of choice. I am sure that before this the Daewoo Espero and Peugeot 406 were the car of choice. However, if you have evidence or a strong knowledge thereof please return it as was.

Also have removed the line from the edit page (not displayed in display page, why?) about saloons being worth less than hatchbacks (line refered to:- look at Vauxhall Belmont), have removed as no source to back up claim, again if you have sources please post for us to see. Many thanks - Anthony.

Erm, since when was "strong knowledge" sufficient for such a disputable statement?! Halsteadk (talk) 20:34, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

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