"[3] Launched in September 1983, the Orion was designed to fill the market demand for a traditional four-door saloon which had been absent from the Escort range since the end of MK2 production in 1980 and also in larger cars by the demise of the hugely popular Cortina in 1982.

Although the Orion's length was similar to that of the contemporary Ford Sierra (then only available as a hatchback or an estate) it had more rear legroom and a larger boot.

The 1.6i was topped by a luxury limited edition called the 1600E in the autumn of 1988, the 1600E name harking back to the Mark II Ford Cortina 1600E from twenty years earlier, as both were considered to be well-equipped saloon cars with decent performance for the working man.

The success of the Orion across Europe, particularly in the UK (where it was amongst the top 10 best-selling cars every year from 1984 to 1990), was followed by several other manufacturers launching saloon versions of their popular hatchbacks.

By 1986, General Motors had launched a saloon version of its Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra hatchback, which was sold as the Vauxhall Belmont on the British market.

Austin Rover, on the other hand, made use of a Honda design for its new Rover 200 Series saloon, which was launched in 1984 and gave buyers a booted alternative to the Maestro hatchback, although with a totally different platform; as the true booted variant of the Maestro was the larger and more upmarket Austin Montego.

The third and final version of the Orion was launched in September 1990, but received the same criticism from the motoring media that the fifth generation Escort endured at the time for its lack of design flair as well as the disappointing refinement of some of its engines — particularly the 1.3 and 1.4-litre CVH petrol units.

[4] The Mark III was identified at the front by clear indicator lenses and by a chrome bar that ran through the radiator grille.

A facelift to the Escort and Orion range including side impact bars, front seatbelt pretensioners and a safety cage as well as body colour door handles and the new Zetec engines in September 1992 for the 1993 model year also saw many major improvements.