Ford’s chequered history in Europe currently ends without a large sedan worthy of the E-segment. The last big Ford in Europe was the #Scorpio, which met a rather undignified end in its last series. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, Ford had plenty to offer. And when I say “plenty”, I actually mean the Ford Granada. The Granada MKI replaced the Zephyr/Zodiac in Great Britain and the P7 in Mainland Europe in 1972. Ford Europe had only existed since 1967 – and with the Granada now a car that was built both in Dagenham/UK and in Cologne/Germany. And it was a clear step into the executive market. Ford went all out financially in the development: Consul (for legal reasons in the UK) and Granada became a success. But before we get lost in history, the picture shows a Granada MKII – the heavily revised version that replaced the MKI in 1977 and was to become an even greater success. The design was clearly more European, with clean modern lines, and from then on it was only produced in Cologne/Germany.

By the way, Uwe Bahnsen, who would later give us the Sierra, was largely responsible for the design. Technically little changed, only the engine range now consisted of the new Cologne V6 engines, which replaced the (legendary!) Essex. The Granada became even better with the 1981 facelift, as shown here. And exactly the one in the picture: New was not only the, again, modernised look, but also the silky smooth 2.8i engine.

This V6 got its “feed” from a Bosch K-Jetronic petrol injection system. The sporty result was 150 horsepower, which allowed the Granada 2.8i to gallop to 100 km/h in 10.8 seconds and to a top speed of 190 km/h. And that with a DIN standard fuel consumption. And all this with a fuel consumption of 11.6 litres per 100 kilometres, which was an excellent figure for a vehicle of this size and weight class at the time.

The car in the picture, currently for sale at www.mondaenmobil.de has a lot more to offer. Original body kit, in this case with the original spoiler lip. With the appropriate extras, here e.g. air conditioning and on-board computer, the Granada had true E-segment appeal in every respect. And my goodness, does it drive well! Sowas it the best E-Segment car in Europe? Lets compare it with the Rover SD1 3500, the V8 of course. Soundwise it’s the Rover. No question at all. But the quality, the overall fell is much better with the Ford. So was it? I think it was…

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Der Beitrag Was the Ford Granada MKII 2.8i the best E-Segment barge of its time? erschien zuerst auf petrolpunx.