I'm with you there, SLO...simplicity is one of the great losses in life.

Doesn't seem that long ago when many would have been drooling at the thought of owning a Sierra like that.!

Edited by nellyjak on 22/06/2021 at 11:17

Blimey! That's a bit pricey!

My last car here (though 7-8 years ago) was a 2.0L DOHC Sierra. Paid the equivalent of 120 quid for it.

Quite liked it, especially as it was RWD and pre catalyst,(VERY hard to find here).

Certainly that's as "modern" as I'd want to go, but unfortunately it was also (a) an automatic, and (b) a saloon.

A car that size that you can't carry a bicycle in without ripping the seats is an absurdity, but a manual estate would have been very nice.

Plastic timing chain guide broke. Biggish job to fix properly with nowhere to work, and while I had the engine open fiddling ineffectually with it a torrential tropical cloudburst put a load of water in it’

That shouldn’t have been fatal if dealt with promptly, but I fannied around with home made flushing oils, then had to leave it for a couple of days before getting it good and hot on a long run, and it suffered fatal internal corrosion.

Feel guilty about that. In hindsight I should have broken my “rule” and paid someone when the guide first broke..

Still have the Haynes

Edited by edlithgow on 22/06/2021 at 12:43

" ...carry me back down

The gasoline alley where I started from"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=poaOlVSMTrM

But those days are gone, or soon will be.

Its The End Of The World As We Know It

I hate all the unnecessary electronic gubbins that are fitted to even the smallest of cars these days. Bluetooth this, hands free that, twenty ECU’s, numb electric steering and hugely complex automated manual gearbox all with an almost certain gargantuan bill for repair at the other end. My wife’s Volvo is full of complex electronics that fill me with fear and are never used by me if I can avoid it. Even turning on the A/C requires much eyes off road distraction. I long for simpler times. If I could buy a modern version of this. Decent crash safety I’d like so it would be a bit bigger and yes it would have ABS and I’d like a hydraulic steering to retain some feel, I don’t care that it’ll do 0.5mpg less. I don’t need traction or stability control, I can actually drive. I want airbags and a strong shell and maybe central locking but that’s it! I want big buttons and simple controls. I want a straightforward engine and running gear that anyone can fix rather than a monstrosity that’s a write-off if it coughs. It would need fuel injection for reliability and it would need a bit more power for the weight but no more than adequate is needed for road use. What’s the point of 200bhp plus on the crowded roads we drive to work and back? Bar room bragging rights aren’t required here. Someone build me a modern Sierra, or just buy this one for me. www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1232117

Indeed - it's why I like my current 15yo Mazda - easy to operate, nice to drive, even now. Even the A/C is easy to use as its a dial temperature controlled climate control with the same as a press button for auto. Nice easy audio controls and essentially the same easy to use steering stalk controls (unlike many continental cars that differ a lot from make to make) as my old Micra had 10 years before.

When I test drove it, it was like I'd just gotten out of my old car and was just driving a faster, better handling version of it, only having to adjust the seating position.

Other than the normal wear and tear items, it's never missed a beat, given better mpg than the claimed combined (and hasn't dropped throughout ownership) for a similar driving pattern. In once a year for service and MOT (no fails yet, 13 passes since new).

No 'software upgrades' needed either.

I would like something with more poke to help when poulling out onto fast roads or overtaking, perhaps a bit better comfort, but that's about it.