Scorpio Test
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GROUP TEST 222 April 1993 Top Gear ontest Photography: Simon Childs Ford’s top-of-the-range Scorpio has a tough job to do. It has to LET’S GO drive competitors like Vauxhall’s Omega and Nissan’s QX off the drives of suburbia. With a face TO WORK like that, does it stand a chance? Top Gear April 1993 3 The Scorpio is vile outside but ast September we showed you the first company’s money as possible in a Vauxhall better inside. Its gloopy face pictures of Ford’s Granada successor, the showroom you’ll drive away a £27,995 Omega seemes designed to invite a good Scorpio. And you laughed. In fact every- 3.0i V6 24v Elite. Do likewise in a Ford show- slapping, but the interior is so one laughed; so much that Ford room and you’ll find yourself behind the wheel comfy it’s good enough to sleep L delayed its launch until this year of a £27,265 Scorpio 2.9i 24v Ultima. in, despite over-ruched leather and put its image-makers hard at work to try To put both these cars into the road test ring and make the best out of a car that just about together would indeed make a formidable the whole world outside of Ford’s boardroom contest, but we decided to throw a spanner in seemed to think was funnier than Ken Dodd. the works. By the time you’ve read this maga- Lots of carefully photographed posters and zine, Nissan will have its all-new QX on sale. In subtle model placement eased the newcomer top-spec SEL form it, too, has a three-litre V6 slowly into the public’s eye, in the hope that 24v engine and an equipment list as long as an the joke would eventually wear thin. Well, orang utan’s arm. whether you’re still chuckling or not, it’s time Nissan may not have as many UK dealers as for us to get behind the humour and come up Vauxhall or Ford but, as the world’s fifth largest with some serious road test punchlines. car manufacturer, it’s serious about selling you a The Scorpio certainly has a tough job to do. motor. As an extra incentive the QX SEL is to Its chief rival, Vauxhall’s new Omega, has been be priced very close to the £25,000 mark, a considerable success in the months since it saving a handy few quid of corporate cash. went on sale last year. So which is best? If you’re reading this as a prospective STYLE & IMAGE customer for this type of car then the chances Where else could we start? In this part of the are you’re aged between 35 and 55; well- market, image is all-important and it has to be educated; a middle to senior manager, profes- said that the likes of Ford, Vauxhall and Nissan sional or owner of your own business; you have don’t really cut it alongside BMW or Mercedes- a family; and, importantly, you appreciate cars. Benz. So the stylist has to get to work to try If you spend as much of your own or your and create some ‘brand awareness’. The 120 April 1995 Top Gear ontest Omega, for example, like other new Vauxhalls rather than tacking a new front and rear end The QX. Hmm, well it looks OK, if features the distinctive ‘V-grille’. While this on onto the old Granada. It is, and there’s no other a bit bland and repmobilesque. its own may not set buyers drooling, only the way of saying this, quite simply horrid. It’s certainly not going to induce very harshest critic could call the Omega envy scratches. The dash is well unattractive. Its rounded, well-proportioned INTERIORS laid out, but the interior has a lines are pleasant enough and with the 3.0 Judging by Ford’s advertising, it reckons that pseudo-Teutonic austerity. Yes Elite’s chunky five-spoke alloys, subtle side putting people into the car is the way to sell it skirts and twin tailpipes it exudes an elegant to them. They could be right. Certainly who- sportiness which places it comfortably ahead of ever designed the Scorpio’s front seats deserves the other two in this category. a pat on the back; they’re the comfiest here. All Nissan, on the other hand, hasn’t advanced three cars have similar electrically-powered its image in any great measure with the new adjustment but the Scorpio Ultima’s, though QX. This car seems to have borrowed styling the thin leather is ruched to the limit, are defi- cues from both Vauxhall and BMW but still nitely cosier and more supportive. In addition, manages to look too much like the Primera the steering wheel adjusts for both height and repmobile. Having said that, the Primera isn’t a reach whereas the QX’s moves for height only bad-looking car, but we doubt that anyone and the Omega’s is fixed, so the Scorpio driver hell-bent on displaying their wealth in their stands a better chance of staying truly comfort- driveway would opt for a QX. able on a long trip. Which brings us to the Scorpio. While Ford However comfort is only part of the Scorpio is to be commended for its intentions of break- story. Its driver faces a dash that’s either going ing previous moulds, for its commitment to to be thought of as extremely flash or extremely change and for the courage required to market tacky. We take the latter view. The moulded such a dramatically different car, sadly we think wood-effect plastic and overly stylised instru- it has failed with the Scorpio. mentation graphics are just too much. Maybe it would have stood more chance The QX couldn’t be more different. It’s plain starting with a completely clean sheet of paper and entirely free from fussiness – a trick BMW Top Gear April 1995 121 With a stylishness verging on the and Mercedes can carry off but Nissan, sadly, In the back, standards are high but highest of elegant, the Omega beats its two can’t. It just looks too much like a big Primera. all in the Ford which has almost limousine rivals on the dual carriageway That’s a shame because we do like the QX’s levels of legroom. Again, one can only differen- catwalk, but its clumsy interior dash layout. It could use a trip computer but tiate in detail: the Scorpio and QX lack the rear gives the effect of a supermodel it’s simple and cleanly designed. air vents and heated rear seats of the Omega wearing a leather donkey jacket The Omega suffers by comparison with both Elite and the Scorpio’s rear headroom is the others. Its dash layout looks clumsy with marginal for taller passengers. unnecessarily huge dials, too much black simu- Further back still, it’s again a question of six lated leather and large gaps between the various of one, half a dozen of the other. The Omega trim panels. A couple of hours behind the has the deepest boot (and a luggage net), the wheel of the Omega could also result in an Scorpio the widest and the QX falls neatly in aching right leg caused by the high-off-the- between, (though its CD unit could impede floor position of the throttle pedal. both loading and space). All have split-fold rear All three are lavishly and almost identically seats but the Scorpio boot lid doesn’t open wide equipped with leather, air con, remote locking, enough and the latch protrudes far enough to CD stackers and much, much more. There are dent the back of your scalp. small differences: the QX has no memory func- tion for its electric driver’s seat, the Omega PERFORMANCE lacks full climate control of its air conditioning Although giving away exactly 17bhp to both and so on. The biggest omission, though, is the the Cosworth-built Scorpio engine and option-only passenger airbag on the Ford. ECOTEC-equipped Omega, it’s the new Uniquely, the Omega’s centre armrest has a ‘VQ30DE’ powered QX which feels the liveli- lid which hinges to accommodate a concealed est in town, on the open road and at the test hands-free phone. This makes for a less than track – and our acceleration times back this up. comfortable armrest and part of the mecha- Also, while the Scorpio and Omega struggled nism came unstuck during our test. It’s also to get anywhere near their makers’ claims for only any good if you have the right size phone. the 0-60mph dash, the QX tore up the tarmac 122 April 1995 Top Gear ontest over a third of a second quicker than Nissan’s Vauxhall close. It feels tight, securely planted This trio has enough toys to keep claim. Its horsepower deficit did show on the and is a pleasure to hustle along a twisting Mr Gadget of Gadget Lane happy. high speed bowl where the Scorpio just got the road. The rwd Ford will do everything that is Scorpio has memory settings on better of it, and the Omega was a full 10mph reasonably asked of it but it doesn’t reward with front seats; QX’s petrol cap/boot faster at nearly 136mph. the steering feedback and consequently the lock is hidden under an arm rest All three cars feature three-mode, four-speed ultimate control which an enthusiastic driver and Omega has electric rear blind automatic transmissions.