Ford · 1982–present
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a mid-size/large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford of Europe from 1982–1993. It was launched as a three-door or five-door hatchback or a five-door estate car, with a car-derived van variant added in 1984 and the four-door Sierra Sapphire saloon car introduced in 1987 when the range was facelifted. The engine is mounted in the front with rear-wheel drive on most models and four-wheel drive on certain models. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for its aerodynamic styling. It has a drag coefficient of 0.34, a significant improvement over its predecessors. The Sierra debuted at the 1982 British International Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, then appeared at the 1982 Paris Salon de l'Automobile. Sales began on 15 October 1982, replacing the Ford Taunus TC3 and Ford Cortina Mark V. The Sierra's aerodynamic styling and the initial absence of a saloon alienated many conservative buyers, including company car drivers. Developed under the internal code name "Project Toni", the Sierra name is derived from the Spanish word for a mountain range. Most cars were manufactured in Belgium and the United Kingdom, although Sierras were also assembled in Cork, Ireland, Argentina, Venezuela, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Generations & variants
Photos
UK vehicles on the road
1,792 licensed and 11,701 SORN (13,493 total) at 2025 Q4.
| Year (latest quarter) | Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 13,707 |
| 2015 | 13,628 |
| 2016 | 13,569 |
| 2017 | 13,773 |
| 2018 | 13,765 |
| 2019 | 13,727 |
| 2020 | 13,722 |
| 2021 | 13,691 |
| 2022 | 13,690 |
| 2023 | 13,663 |
| 2024 | 13,453 |
| 2025 | 13,493 |
DfT/DVLA VEH0120 vehicle licensing statistics, source ↗, Open Government Licence v3.0. Small counts are rounded or suppressed at source.
Sources
- Wikidata / Wikipedia profiles — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/cars/Q366912CC0 / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_SierraCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1374732633 · retrieved 2026-10-03
- DfT/DVLA VEH0120 licensing statistics — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tablesOpen Government Licence v3.0
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.