The Scorpio was intended to maintain Ford's position in Europe as the principal alternative to a Mercedes or BMW for those looking to own an executive car.

[1] To this end Ford built on the already extensive specification available on the outgoing MkII Granada (which for the period, was very well equipped, with features such as leather seats, air conditioning, electric sunroof, and trip computer either standard or available as options) by adding some additional features unusual on a mass market car.

Improvements available included: heated windscreen, cruise control, electrically adjustable seats front and rear and later all-wheel drive.

The most notable advance was the fitment of anti-lock braking system, the first time this feature had been made standard across the whole range on a mass-produced car.

An estate version finally appeared in the beginning of 1992, when the whole range underwent a facelift, with new styling which hinted at the new Mondeo, which would replace the Sierra a year later.

This facelift realigned the look of the Granada with the forthcoming Mondeo, and kept styling cues coherent across the model range.

Launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 1994,[5] the second generation Scorpio was made available in saloon or estate styles only, the hatchback bodystyle having been dropped.

It was also radically restyled both inside and outside, with new design of headlights, grille and door handles, which were taken from the Ford Crown Victoria.

Edward Stobart praised the car, and Jeremy Clarkson declared it '[as] equally talented' as the Vauxhall Omega, one of the Scorpio's main rivals, and that it was 'well made... extremely well equipped, and considering its size, it was good value for money'.

[9] In September 1997, the Scorpio was facelifted, with darker headlight surrounds and a more subtle grille, to tone down the front end of the car.

The new Scorpio was the first ever Ford design developed entirely using a CAD/CAM computer system,[13] and inside the car were new armchair style seats and improved interior quality, but outside the new 'Americanised' look was controversial.

The car sported bulbous 'globular' headlights and its tail lights were arranged in a thin line just above the bumper (described as a 'gratuitously narrow... ill-chosen necklace... resembling a giant cushion').

Contemporary reviewers wrote that the car had a 'stupid grin', 'gormless mouth',[6] 'droopy nose', 'daft' 'humped boot',[8] 'dopey eyes', 'revolting' 'stupid headlights',[6] a 'fish-mouth grille opening',[5] 'fat flanks', a 'reptilian gurn', and that it looked 'mixed up', 'boxy yet curvy', 'gargoyle-ugly' and 'bug eyed', it 'resembled something that David Attenborough might reveal from a dank cave in Borneo',[15] and 'driving a milk float would score more cred points in a traffic jam'.

The styling was so controversial that several months before the release of the vehicle to the public, Ford set up a focus group involving large sections of the automotive press at their engineering and design centre in Cologne, comparing the distinctive 'smiling mouth' grille to historic designs such as those from Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, and Austin-Healey.

[15] On release, the styling was immediately criticised in both the automotive press and the non-automotive mainstream media, with entire pages in the latter attacking the aesthetics.

[8] After release, the criticism became even more intense, journalists describing it as 'much unloved', 'Britain's most unpopular car', a 'poor relation' to its rivals,[17] 'styled like a guppy',[18] with 'the looks of a smiling frog', and 'the ugliest manmade vehicle of all time'.

In Germany, the satirical magazine Titanic noted the Scorpio's front's similarity to the facial features of politician Günter Verheugen, who would go on to become EU Commissioner.

[5] Only models sold in Continental Europe and the British Isles are shown, overseas territories often have different offerings.