The model sold at a rate equal to or better than the Mark II, both in the UK and overseas, but was in production for a shorter time.

This car's design anticipated the later Consul/Granada range with V-type engines and independent rear suspension, but the development of the model was rushed, which was reflected in its durability.

The Zephyr was the last car to be independently designed by Ford of Britain; closer integration with Ford-Werke of Cologne had already started with both the Transit and Escort, and the replacement Consul/Granada would be a genuine pan-European effort.

When newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II visited New Zealand as part of a Commonwealth tour in the early 1950s, she was pictured watching Zephyrs being built at the local Ford plant.

In 1953, a Ford Zephyr Six driven by Maurice Gatsonides won the Monte Carlo rally, pushing a Jaguar Mark VII into second place in the process.

Two years later, a Ford Zephyr Six driven by Vic Preston (Snr) and D P Marwaha won the East African Safari Rally.

The six-cylinder cars' engines were enlarged to 2,553 cc (156 cu in), with power output correspondingly raised to 86 bhp (64 kW).

The Zodiac and Zephyr were also offered in two body styles, the "Highline" and "Lowline", depending on the year of manufacture — the difference being 1.75 in (44 mm) being cut from the height of the roof panel.

The well-known Raymond Mays complete engine conversion boosted the performance figures to a top speed of 101 mph and 0–60 to 10.0s, with a standing quarter mile of 17.6s, as recorded by The Autocar in the issue dated 8 November 1957.

As well as a three-speed manual gearbox, an overdrive was optional, and from 1956 (1959 in Australia), a Borg Warner DG automatic transmission was available.

Sedan, coupe utility [more commonly abbreviated to "Ute"], and both four-cylinder Consul and six-cylinder Zephyr station wagon versions were produced.

The Australian-developed Mark II Station Wagon differed from its British Estate Car counterpart in having a wind-up rear window,[9] and a straight C pillar, rather than a curved one.

Supplies were restricted due to strict import licensing rules in place at the time, and demand always exceeded availability; not uncommonly, buyers waited two to three years for their new big Ford.

The Mark II Zodiac was slightly altered to distinguish it from the lesser variants, having more elaborate tail-end styling and at the front, a different grille.

The auxiliary lamps and wing mirrors were deleted from the Zodiac range, but it retained two-tone paint, whitewall tyres, chrome wheel-trim embellishers, and gold-plated badges.

The Zodiac was an upmarket version of the Zephyr 6, but differed considerably from that model by the limousine-type rear doors, sharper roofline (with narrower C-pillar) and tail, unique grille (four headlights instead of two), exclusive bumper bars, plusher seating, and up-market upholstery, dashboard, and interior fittings.

The 2553 cc, single-carburettor, six-cylinder engine was improved internally to increase the power output to 109 bhp and a new four-speed all synchromesh transmission with column change was fitted.

[10] Ford New Zealand initially built the Zephyr 4 and 6, as well as the Zodiac, locally from CKD kits, offering only the bench front seat option finished in vinyl.

Automatic transmission, introduced late in the life of the Mk II, was again available, but were a rare factory option, as most buyers chose manual.

Criticism of the handling of early examples in the UK led to the fitting as standard of radial-ply tyres on the larger-engined version in place of the more conventional (in the UK at that time) cross-ply tyres with which all versions were fitted at the 1966 launch, and the retrofitting of radial-ply tyres to early examples addressed the tendency of the rear wheels to slide uncontrollably in wet weather, justifying in the process Ford's investment in a new and relatively sophisticated rear suspension arrangement for the Mark IVs.

[13] Even after that, a contemporary nevertheless opined that the ride involved a certain amount of 'float', and reported that the nose-heavy handling called for a 'strong driver', a problem which the more expensive Zodiac and Executive versions mitigated through the fitting as a standard feature of power assisted steering.

[15] Another production modification for the 4-cylinder Zephyr involved redesigning the valve gear in order to eliminate the need on the early Mk IVs for frequent tappet adjustments.

[13] An estate version of the Zephyr Mark IV was announced just in time for the London Motor Show in October 1966, though deliveries commenced only in January 1967.

[17] As with the earlier Zephyrs, volumes did not justify tooling up for estate production at the Dagenham plant, and the cars were instead built by E.D.

[17] The Mark IV Zephyr estates (like their more expensive Zodiac siblings) came with black vinyl-covered roof, a fashionable distinguishing feature of upmarket vehicles at the time: retention unchanged of the saloon's rear light clusters attracted criticism, however, because of the way it narrowed the rear hatch opening at floor level when compared to the arrangements on the cheaper Ford Cortina estates.

[21] The Zodiac featured an alternator instead of a dynamo on the Zephyr, an adjustable steering column, a spare wheel in the engine compartment, a heater and Aeroflow ventilation, electric window washers, two-speed wipers, a cigar lighter, rev counter (tachometer), clock, ammeter, and reversing lights as standard.

In January 1967, less than a year after the car's introduction, Ford announced that production of the Mark IVs was being cut back in response to poor sales.

[22] An estate version of the Zodiac Mk IV was announced at the same time as the Zephyr equivalent, and built alongside it at Farnham.

Automatic transmission (the Zodiac's four-speed manual box with overdrive being also available as a 'no cost' option[21]) along with power steering and a sunroof were standard equipment.