Ford Sierra XR4i......30 years on.

[Mr Tidy]

That looks like a good turn-out OP.

I just wish I had seen it sooner, as my mate bought a black one recently!

[Escort3500]

Reading the thread and seeing those pics of the XR4is triggers lots of memories for me. I had one for 14 years; bought from my Dad who had it from new.

They were reasonably quick in their day, good fun to drive albeit outclassed on country roads by their XR2/3i brethren, and effortlessly comfortable on long trips. I modified mine a bit to improve it - Koni adjustable shocks, lovely 7-spoke RS alloys, Stage 2 heads, a Kent cam, uprated distributor, a full Janspeed manifold and exhausts system and a quickshift kit which improved the rather long throw on the ‘box.

Negatives? Awful hard plastic interior, especially the instrument binnacle and switchgear, rather cramped rear seating, an unreliable trip computer thingy, clunky/intermittent electric door mirrors and light grey upholstery that showed the dirt. All relatively minor niggles which didn’t outweigh the positives.

I did mega miles in it with few problems and it’s demise only came about as a result of tin worm at 21 years old. Back then it just wasn’t worth repairing the rot; they weren’t fetching good money. Of course that’s inevitably changed now as they’ve become rarer.

I broke it but made an astonishing £1200 on the interior, engine/‘box, plastic exterior panels, wheels etc. It was a sad day when the remains left on a flat-bed wagon for the scrap yard and it’s replacement, though much more refined (a 525i BMW), lacked character by comparison and wasn’t kept very long.

I still smile when I occasionally see one now. Ah, happy days indeed.

[GTEYE]

I often wonder what happened to my dad's old one - white, registered March 1985 - B878CGB and still SORN'd by DVLA so I assume it does still exist.....