Having lost most of its strength with its roof, the unibody was reinforced by welding in a large X-frame to the floor pan.

The new 1508 cc 47 bhp (35 kW) [4] engine had overhead valves, and hydraulic clutch operation was used, which in 1950 was an unusual feature.

The Consul was also the first British production car to use the now-common MacPherson strut independent front suspension.

[6] The bench front seat was trimmed in PVC, and the handbrake was operated by an umbrella-style pull lever under the facia (dash).

[7] The initial dashboard was a flat, symmetrical panel with interchangeable instrument cluster and glovebox, but from September 1952, a redesigned asymmetrical dashboard was fitted, and the instruments, consisting of speedometer, ammeter, and fuel gauge, were positioned in a housing above the steering column, with a full-width parcel shelf on which an optional radio could be placed.

Compared with the original, it had a longer wheelbase, larger 1703 cc, 59 bhp (44 kW) engine, and a complete restyle, borrowing cues from the 1956 models of America's Thunderbird and Fairlane.

The roof profile was lowered in 1959 on the Mark II 'lowline' version, which also had redesigned rear lights and much of the external bright work in stainless steel.

The name became the Consul 375 in mid-1961, It is designed to compete with the Morris Oxford Series III, Austin A55 Cambridge, and the Vauxhall Victor F. The convertible version made by Carbodies continued.

A De Luxe version with contrasting roof colour and higher equipment specification was added in 1957.

[8] A 1960 Ford Consul Mark II was the taxi in which American singer Eddie Cochran died, and not, as many have stated, a London hackney cab.

Because it was less well equipped than the similarly powered Granada, it was about 1 long cwt (110 lb; 51 kg) lighter and correspondingly quicker.