Between 1985 and 1988, the Sierra faced fresh competition in Europe from the likes of the Renault 21 and Peugeot 405, while Japanese carmaker Nissan was producing its Bluebird model in Britain from 1986.

Early versions suffered from crosswind stability problems, which were addressed in 1985 with the addition of aerodynamic nolders (small spoilers) on the rear edge of the rubber seals of the rearmost side windows.

This reached near-hysterical heights in its early months on sale, with UK press making a report that Ford would reintroduce the previous Cortina model out of desperation.

The rear suspension was essentially carried over from the Granada, with trailing arms and coil springs mounted on a tubular subframe which also provided location for the final drive/differential housing driving the axle shafts.

The front suspension dispensed with the Cortina/Taunus' double wishbones in favour of a scaled-up version of the Fiesta and Escort/Orion's layout with MacPherson struts, lower locating arms, and anti-roll bars.

The rear lights of the Ghia, as well as the very early XR4i's, were the same shape and layout as other models, but featured tiny horizontal black strakes on the lenses to give the impression that they were smoked.

In Europe's largest auto-market, the magazine Auto, Motor und Sport published, in December 1982, a three-way road test comparison involving the Sierra and its obvious competitors, the recently upgraded Volkswagen Passat and Opel Ascona (Vauxhall Cavalier Mk II in the UK).

The significance of this result was highlighted more than three decades later, in February 2015, when the magazine reported that no Ford model had beaten a Volkswagen under their road test criteria since the Sierra's "victory" in 1982.

[15] Just before he became leader of the Labour Party in 1983, Neil Kinnock became the owner of one of the first Sierras produced for the British market, but his car was wrecked in a crash on the M4 motorway in Berkshire soon after he bought it.

The "low-series" instrument cluster was dropped — all trim levels now used the "high-series" version, with an analogue clock replacing the tachometer on base specification models.

The Sierra was Ford's answer to the success of the General Motors "J-car" (Vauxhall Cavalier in the UK), which had been launched in 1981 with front-wheel drive and a hatchback body style to complement the saloon.

There were visual differences and alterations between the XR4i and XR4x4, such as coloured bumpers, the removal of the 'biplane' rear wing and alloy wheels as seen on the Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1.

The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was introduced in 1986 as a three-door hatchback, with a 2-litre DOHC turbo engine producing 204 PS (150 kW; 201 hp) and a top speed of 150 m.p.h.

The Sierra Cosworth line-up switched to a saloon body style with a four-door arrangement in January 1988, aptly named the 'Sapphire', again with rear-wheel drive, before the four-wheel-drive version replaced it two years later.

In South Africa, the Sierra range featured both the five-door hatchback and station wagon bodies and production began at the Silverton (Pretoria) plant in January 1983.

While the Cortina MkV in South Africa had retained the old 3.0 V6 Essex engine, the Sierra was initially given the new 2.3 V6 Cologne motor, this being fitted to the top-of-the-line model only.

At the top of the range, the 2.3 GLS quickly gave way to a 3.0 GLX flagship model (producing less power but more torque than the XR6) and that was the end of the Cologne in South Africa, even the station wagon receiving the 3.0 V6 Essex.

At the end of production a limited edition of 150 vehicles designated as 3.0i RS which based on the saloon (Sapphire) body was produced with some slight engine tweaks which resulted in a power output of 125 kW (170 PS; 168 hp).

The then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, used a Sierra as his personal transport (though it was a specially imported one-off hatchback version) and would drive it to his office in the government building known as the Beehive.

Further reasons could be customers' knowledge of the Telstar's Japanese roots, and that the equivalent Mazda 626 wagon offered a considerably longer warranty at a similar price.

However, a relatively high price did not help – the Wagon began at over NZ$31,000 – and production errors in the launch brochure showed cars with no steering wheels.

The North American market had already seen the similar-sounding Oldsmobile Ciera, and the Sierra name was trademarked by General Motors Corporation from the 1970s as a trim level on its pickup trucks.

Unlike many of its rivals, the Sierra retained rear-wheel drive, albeit with a modern fully independent rear suspension, departing from the Cortina's live axle.

In anticipation of the Euro 1 emission standard (applicable from 1st January 1993), buyers from late 1991 had the option of a 1.6 CVH first seen in the Escort in 1980, described as a "CFi", a single-point fuel injection system with a catalytic converter.

This engine was also used in contemporary Granadas and whilst reliable and economical it made an unrefined noisy and very slow vehicle, but remained a popular option for taxi firms.

The Sierra 2000E had two-tone metallic paint, alloys, light grey leather interior, and a trip computer in addition the standard features on the 'Ghia' models.

Its replacement came in the form of the Escort RS Cosworth which appeared in 1992, which used a shortened and developed version of the Sierra platform and running gear but clothed with an Escort-esque bodyshell and the return of the whale-tail spoiler.

The 1992 model year cars saw the final revisions – most notably to the dashboard which gained a more rounded instrument binnacle similar in style to the 1990 Escort and Orion, along with specification, colour, and trim upgrades across the range.

It had become clear that the Sierra had fallen out of step technologically against modern Japanese rivals which offered multi-valve engines and multi-link rear suspension.

[citation needed] The Sierra remained a common sight on the roads in the United Kingdom and several other European countries, and a popular second-hand buy, until well into the 21st century.