RE: Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth: PH Heroes
Discussion
Baryonyx said:
The Cavalier Turbo is a nice car indeed, particularly the one which the lad on PH had (or has - photo below). It's best feature is that letterbox grille with the slim, wraparound headlights. Nice interior too. The Sierra is the better looking car though, with that rising curve on the bonnet giving it some visual drama against the shoulder line and just as pretty a grille area.
To drive, I've never driven a Cavalier Turbo but a friend of mine has extensive experience of both, having used both as police cars in the late 80's/early 90's period. He reckons the Cavalier was nearly as good to drive as the Cosworth, but suffered from reliability issues with the driveline, IIRC he cited issues with gearboxes and transfers. Both very special cars, but the Cavalier doesn't seem to be held in the same reverence.
I've owned both, so can definitely comment on them To drive, I've never driven a Cavalier Turbo but a friend of mine has extensive experience of both, having used both as police cars in the late 80's/early 90's period. He reckons the Cavalier was nearly as good to drive as the Cosworth, but suffered from reliability issues with the driveline, IIRC he cited issues with gearboxes and transfers. Both very special cars, but the Cavalier doesn't seem to be held in the same reverence.
This was my late J plate Moondust Silver facelift 4x4, very rare in this colour. It also had the very rare aircon option too.
It was stage 1 (approx 270bhp) with Koni suspension and a Mongoose exhaust.
This was my Cav Turbo, it was a lot more modified (suspension, hybrid turbo, exhaust, intercooler, etc etc) than the Cosworth, and ran approx 290bhp.
I loved the Cosworth, the performance, the sound, the looks, the seats, everything pretty much.
I hated the paranoia of it being stolen or breaking down!
The attention it got was amazing, no matter whee you went people commented on it.
Quite a few experts claiming its not real because they didn't make silver ones according to them! Shows what they knew....
The Cav on the other hand, I loved even more!
Mine was an M plate, so only 2 years newer than the Ford, but that was only in age, not design!
Even with the facelift dash the Ford felt a lot more dated, driving it felt like a time warp to the 80's. Not a bad thing, it just made it feel more special and fun to drive.
According to the brochures, the Cav is 94KG heavier, however, I always thought that it felt lighter and more agile.
Even though my Cav was not quiet, it didn't get half the attention, it was always a very rare thing when someone actually knew what it was correctly!
A trip to the Vauxhall dealers always resulted in "There was no Cavalier Turbo Sir, do you mean a turbo diesel?", the other common comment was "Did you take the engine out of a Calibre?!"
Regarding the transmission, yes, it was a bit of a crap design. However, if maintained correctly it worked perfectly (mine did!).
All that actually meant was to check the tyre pressures regularly and keep the tyre treads even by rotating front to back etc.
Surely everyone does that on all cars anyway? Apparently not...
You also had the added bonus of being able to add a switch to run either 4x4 of FWD, very handy for rolling roads!
I often kept mine in FWD, it had lots more torque steer, but it was also a lot more fun. It would however spin all 4 wheels in the wet if you tried hard enough.
If I had the chance to own one of them again, as much as I loved the Cosworth, I would actually choose the Cav.
Despite having since owned cars with much better performance and spec, its easily my favourite car Ive owned
ilovevolvo said:
Very rare in radiant red !
And yet it looks spot on in that colour. Wonder why more people didn't spec it (perhaps it was being bought new by people that wanted a more 'grown up' car than it became subsequently ?)they looks great in gloss black (not metallic), but that's very rare also.
djdestiny said:
I've owned both, so can definitely comment on them
This was my late J plate Moondust Silver facelift 4x4, very rare in this colour. It also had the very rare aircon option too.
It was stage 1 (approx 270bhp) with Koni suspension and a Mongoose exhaust.
This was my Cav Turbo, it was a lot more modified (suspension, hybrid turbo, exhaust, intercooler, etc etc) than the Cosworth, and ran approx 290bhp.
I loved the Cosworth, the performance, the sound, the looks, the seats, everything pretty much.
I hated the paranoia of it being stolen or breaking down!
The attention it got was amazing, no matter whee you went people commented on it.
Quite a few experts claiming its not real because they didn't make silver ones according to them! Shows what they knew....
The Cav on the other hand, I loved even more!
Mine was an M plate, so only 2 years newer than the Ford, but that was only in age, not design!
Even with the facelift dash the Ford felt a lot more dated, driving it felt like a time warp to the 80's. Not a bad thing, it just made it feel more special and fun to drive.
According to the brochures, the Cav is 94KG heavier, however, I always thought that it felt lighter and more agile.
Even though my Cav was not quiet, it didn't get half the attention, it was always a very rare thing when someone actually knew what it was correctly!
A trip to the Vauxhall dealers always resulted in "There was no Cavalier Turbo Sir, do you mean a turbo diesel?", the other common comment was "Did you take the engine out of a Calibre?!"
Regarding the transmission, yes, it was a bit of a crap design. However, if maintained correctly it worked perfectly (mine did!).
All that actually meant was to check the tyre pressures regularly and keep the tyre treads even by rotating front to back etc.
Surely everyone does that on all cars anyway? Apparently not...
You also had the added bonus of being able to add a switch to run either 4x4 of FWD, very handy for rolling roads!
I often kept mine in FWD, it had lots more torque steer, but it was also a lot more fun. It would however spin all 4 wheels in the wet if you tried hard enough.
If I had the chance to own one of them again, as much as I loved the Cosworth, I would actually choose the Cav.
Despite having since owned cars with much better performance and spec, its easily my favourite car Ive owned
Like that dealer I didn't know the Cavalier Turbo 4x4 or Calibra Turbo 4x4 existed when it was new. They were, and are, so rare that 99% of people with a 'fast' Cavalier had an Sri instead.This was my late J plate Moondust Silver facelift 4x4, very rare in this colour. It also had the very rare aircon option too.
It was stage 1 (approx 270bhp) with Koni suspension and a Mongoose exhaust.
This was my Cav Turbo, it was a lot more modified (suspension, hybrid turbo, exhaust, intercooler, etc etc) than the Cosworth, and ran approx 290bhp.
I loved the Cosworth, the performance, the sound, the looks, the seats, everything pretty much.
I hated the paranoia of it being stolen or breaking down!
The attention it got was amazing, no matter whee you went people commented on it.
Quite a few experts claiming its not real because they didn't make silver ones according to them! Shows what they knew....
The Cav on the other hand, I loved even more!
Mine was an M plate, so only 2 years newer than the Ford, but that was only in age, not design!
Even with the facelift dash the Ford felt a lot more dated, driving it felt like a time warp to the 80's. Not a bad thing, it just made it feel more special and fun to drive.
According to the brochures, the Cav is 94KG heavier, however, I always thought that it felt lighter and more agile.
Even though my Cav was not quiet, it didn't get half the attention, it was always a very rare thing when someone actually knew what it was correctly!
A trip to the Vauxhall dealers always resulted in "There was no Cavalier Turbo Sir, do you mean a turbo diesel?", the other common comment was "Did you take the engine out of a Calibre?!"
Regarding the transmission, yes, it was a bit of a crap design. However, if maintained correctly it worked perfectly (mine did!).
All that actually meant was to check the tyre pressures regularly and keep the tyre treads even by rotating front to back etc.
Surely everyone does that on all cars anyway? Apparently not...
You also had the added bonus of being able to add a switch to run either 4x4 of FWD, very handy for rolling roads!
I often kept mine in FWD, it had lots more torque steer, but it was also a lot more fun. It would however spin all 4 wheels in the wet if you tried hard enough.
If I had the chance to own one of them again, as much as I loved the Cosworth, I would actually choose the Cav.
Despite having since owned cars with much better performance and spec, its easily my favourite car Ive owned
Period road test of the 4x4 Sierra against contemporary rivals can be seen in the following link
http://www.berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Perfo...
Sierra pitted against Cavalier Turbo, Alpha 155 Q4 and Audi 80E Quattro
http://www.berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Perfo...
Sierra pitted against Cavalier Turbo, Alpha 155 Q4 and Audi 80E Quattro
I sold up my Escort Cossie & Sapphire Cossie this year to move to a 911 turbo. First time in 15 years I have not owned a Cosworth, they are utterly fantastic cars. People complaining about the cheap interior etc are missing the point, for the best part of 20 years from 3 door to Escort & everything inbetween, they were at the top of tree for affordable performance, plus the engines were so tunable it is silly.
My personal favourite is a circa 400Bhp rear drive sapphire, even today with some AP brakes and a set of Konis/ poly bushs etc, there is not a lot arount to keep up with a car that is under 1300Kgs with 400 Bhp, as well as being great fun to drive. The driving position is still one of the best out there, the Recaros are still some of the best seats I have ever sat in, just perfect.
Regretting selling mine a bit, but no doubt I will have another one day.
My personal favourite is a circa 400Bhp rear drive sapphire, even today with some AP brakes and a set of Konis/ poly bushs etc, there is not a lot arount to keep up with a car that is under 1300Kgs with 400 Bhp, as well as being great fun to drive. The driving position is still one of the best out there, the Recaros are still some of the best seats I have ever sat in, just perfect.
Regretting selling mine a bit, but no doubt I will have another one day.
Back in 93 dad owned a big old barge of a Supra 3.0i which I as a young boy thought was proper fast....we had a test-drive at Hartwell Ford in a magenta sapphire cosworth...and it was like 'flippin eck' this thing has some serious poke. It had that kind of sudden brake away speed that just came in a torrent, my first proper experience of what turbo charging provides...safe overtaking!!
iloveboost said:
Like that dealer I didn't know the Cavalier Turbo 4x4 or Calibra Turbo 4x4 existed when it was new. They were, and are, so rare that 99% of people with a 'fast' Cavalier had an Sri instead.
There were a few GSi 2000s around too, but you're right that the SRi was most popular. I was very disappointed when the C20XE red top was changed for the X20XEV Ecotec. Edited by RobinBanks on Saturday 25th October 15:42
Zumbruk said:
Why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why oh why did I sell my 3 door Cossie?
Because it was a bit of a one trick pony ? They are great fun when on boost but the pinto is a harsh old lump and I got fed up fiddling with the turbo damper to stop the vibes. They didn't have enough wheel/rubber to put the power down, and I got paranoid looking in the rear view mirror to see what was following me home or if some noddy was going to run into it. Sure when I drove it I got the thumbs up all the time, but for the last 3 years I had mine I barely used it. I'd have an RS500 if I was loaded, but only for looking at .Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff