Spudgun GTR

as ive mentioned in a previous post, i think the sapphire cosworth is my favourite looking cosworth.
but i've never even been in one. what are they like? i've seen some pretty impressive times/bhp figures for these cars. which is best, rwd or 4wd? when did ford stop making them? is there a model to avoid?
you get the idea

just curious at the mo, but have seen these cars coming up for not a lotta dough in recent autotraders etc. i could be tempted early next year

thanks for any help or advice you can offer

astraboy

Bit of advice mate, buy the best you can afford. With cossies you gotta spend money otherwise the bargain cossie you got for 3.5k will cost you another 3.5k in bills in a few months.
rule of thumb is:
3-door - not less than 8k
4x4 saff - not less than 6k
2wd saff - not less than 5k
as for the looks, I like em too. Just get a dark colour so it dont stand out so much. and get Escort wheels. they look the nuts on escort wheels.
astraboy.

Spudgun GTR

cheers astraboy!
ive printed your reply out, to show my girlfriend. basically, she's just sold her evo 6, and is on the lookout for a replacement.
she's not bothered about going round the twisty bits, she likes straight line speed, and big bhp
she's undecided at the moment between an older wrx, a pulsar or a cossie.
i think, especially with the ford(and no offence intended) she's a little worried about the reliability aspects. just how reliable are these cars? are parts expensive/ a problem to find?
any good specialists recommended? we're in north essex.
cheers for the help!

imatrukahs

The best cossie!!!Cause i got one,with around 330bhp.A supercar,which can be driven as a normal everyday car,good on fuel off boost,fit 5 people in it comfortably.
No need to go any higher on power cause its plenty fast enough for todays roads,also fuel gets stupid on higher bhp also you start getting unreliable and needing a paddle clutch which is not good for town driving!!
RWD only,cause its the more frightening!!!The powerslides are maniac!!

Shaun

I might like cossies, but I don't like them that much!!!!

I personally think that the Sapphire Cosworth is one of the rankist things every to come out of Ford. If it wasn't for the engine (and that's all it is), the Sapphire would never of done so well.

IMHO it is so unoriginal and is far from individual.

IMHO the real Cossies are the RS500, 3dr and Escorts. At least FORD bothered to spend the time on the cosmetic side, as much as they did the rest.

I know plenty of people will flame me for this, but the Sapphire is soooooooooo boring to look at......people wonder why it's called the OLD MANS car!!

It pains me to say it, but Sapphires are RAPIDLY becoming the boy racers car. Cheap & Cheerful.

Shaun

Spudgun,

If they are your options and you havent the funds to buy an Escort, I would personally go for a Scooby. Better handling AND it won't RUST!!!!!

imatrukahs

Shaun the sapphire is discreet,and practical.
The other cosworths look naff with the big "whale tail",they stick out like a halibut with legs,walking down the road in the middle of winter going moo.
Just retaliating after insulting my baby!!!

Spudgun GTR

cheers shaun. mind you, these days i wouldnt say the scooby was individual either seems every man and his dog has one.
she doesnt want to spend more than 10k on a car. for that she can have a very good pulsar, a reasonable early scooby, or the unknown quantity, the cossie.
as for the looks, i think i like it BECAUSE its understated.
these days, everyones worried about car theft/vandalism, and i like cars that can be discreet. however, my girlfriend loves the more aggressive look of the evo/scooby, so she'd probably prefer the looks of the escort cosworth, but i think they go for far more than 10k
cheers so far fellas, keep 'em coming

Shaun

Ima,

If the *other* types are that naff, than why is my L reg ESCORT worth LOADS more than a comparative L reg SAPPHIRE. I think you and everybody else knows which Cosworths are better than others. If you try looking at the resale values of the *other* types, you will notice one thing......a Sapphire is generally the cheapest.

My missus has always stated, that if I EVER considered in buying a Sapphire see would leave me!!!!!

Spudgun,

I would seriously suggest that you look at a Scooby. If you are going to use the car everyday, it's a safer bet. You could at a push buy an Escort for 10k, but for that kind of money you are gonna be buying a right snotter or Q plater.

Sorry folks, but I am just being realistic here. I have owned both marques, so nothing is biased as I still have an Escort now.

Shaun

If you look at a Nissan, make sure you check the transmission out (as this is a weak point). Check the clutch (as it's an engine out job to change it..circa £1000 all in). Check that the car is'nt running stupid boost as the pistons arnt up to much!

Spudgun GTR

thanks again shaun
BTW, what is a Q plater
as far as pulsars go, she only wants a mega modded one, preferably with an FMIC. we'll see what she thinks tommorrow, when a mate lets her have a test drive

Shaun

A 'Q' registered car mate. For example, one that was built up from a bare shell and no common year can be given to the car, hence the reason why they are prefixed with a Q.

imatrukahs

Shaun......to me value means nowt,my sapphire in my opinion looks better than the other cossies full stop.Or i would have saved more for one of the others.
Hey everyone has there opinions!!Yours is just plain narrow mindedness.....is that all you judge a car by is "if it costs more it's better"????
Wake up,smell the coffee.

astraboy

sometimes, I wish I got a saff insted of a 3-door. Picture the scene. Im in the white 3-door and my mate is in his burgundy 4x4 saff. We are both on the lights in pole outside guildford cruise. In full view of 200 people and about 20 coppers, we pull away in first and then nail it in second up to 40. Two dump valves snort. huge cheers from the crowd ensue and big smiles all round.
We turn back and as we enter the cruise a pissed off copper points at me and then points to the layby. I then face a 20 minute grilling as he accuses me of wheelspinning off the lights. Even though I fed the power smoothly and didnt break traction, I get away with it purely cos I convince him otherwise.
My mate in his subtle saff? didnt even get pulled.
The moral? a saff is for the racers of the world. Unless you know what to look for, a dark coloured saff is very hard to spot.
If value has as little meaning to you as Ima, I would get a Q plate too. Why? Cos Q platers have the same emissions tests as a 1975 year car, which means visible smoke is the only reason for failure.
And I also agree with Ima on the 2wd tip. Monster broadsides in a 2wd cossie have made my life worth living recently.
astraboy.

Shaun

Narrow mindedness????????

If I don't like the car mate, I don't like it PERIOD!!! Nothing to do with my philosophyies of life. Like I said these are only MY opinions...............but I don't know many people who would take a Saph over an Escort (in fact your the only one!!)

Even Mike Rainbird with his mega monster, once told me that he would like an Escort, but with the cost of buying one of those, he wouldnt of been able to have the engine he had now.

CC

GTR, fantastic cars for the money and power slides are sooo easy, something the 4wd girls can only dream of ;=)!!

Extremely practical and quite a few bits (engine/suspension/brakes apart) are the same as the normal ford sapphire, so ok to run.

Looks are down to the individual, personally i think they cool with 17s, vented bonnet and the newer lights/indicators. Flint Grey/Moonstone look nice (imo).

Remember that apart from the RS500, these have the fastest top speed of ANY Cosworth and fastest in gear acceleration times .

Go for it but be VERY careful when buying, lots of crap out there.

scoobyhead

Shaun,has your Escort Cossie been reliable?

Shaun

Scoobyhead,
This particular one has been 110% mate. I have done 8000 miles on a 330bhp conversion, without the slightest hint of a problem. My previous Escort blew up after 2 months (down to a faulty fuel pump), but then was 110% for 10,0000 miles until I sold it.

scoobyhead

Cheers Shaun!

MarkCSC

Spud

Send me an e- mail and I'll send you a buyers guide (well a collection of e-mails listing thing to look at anyway).

Mark

Spudgun GTR

mark you have mail

RichardPON

I've got a 300 brake Saff, and my old man drives a 250 brake Pulsar GTiR. I wouldn't have the Nissan for love nor money, now that I'm addicted to power!

Having said that, I didn't buy my Saff for looks - it aint the prettiest car in the world!

And if you think that a Saff looks better than an Escort Cossie, then you're living in la-la land! Escorts still turn heads down the street, where my saff doesn't.... although that's kinda good in a way!

Billabong

Owned a Sapph, great car, discreet member of the Cossie family. Owned two EsCos's. EsCos wins hands down in MY opinion, but it depends what you want

If you like your own car, be happy , stuff what anyone else thinks

Bill

bluey

it makes me laugh how you can say one is better than the other.
the 3dr was great with its big wings and so on.
the sapp at the time had to be made like it was because of insurance,but looks nice with very clean lines.
esc coss looks lovely aswell but imo is only worth more because its the last after all its only a short 4wd.
i would love a 3dr and had a look at a couple a few months back(mind you it was a **** couple of ones)and when my sapp was next to them they look old and dated.
if i was to get a 3drmy idea car would be GMACS one have you seen the pics of it on the rs bb(moonstone and imlolas,lovely)
regards
tony

ANDY330

The Sapphire is lovely! compared to a 3dr or Escort, its not ugly, its just another sapphire It looks like a ghia!!!! the spoiler looks virtually the same as most other sierras, and if you dont have the 4x4 bonnet, the only thing that looks different is the bumper and side skirts!!!! Like Mike R once said, he likes it cos its subtle and doesnt stand out, never a better sentence said about a sapphire, I would swap mine tomorrow for a 3dr or Escort Cossie, and if they were all the same age and same value, I think very few would pick the sapphire for its looks unless they wanted the 'subtle' looks, the best way is a comparison and what better way than the pic below, both the same colour, next to each other etc so you can see all the features, Mikes sapph is lovely, but the 3dr is just pure animal, pure evil, pure Cosworth!!!! Look at the front end on the 3dr, much more 'arder! and the side skirts that the sapph doesnt have and of all things, the whale tail but also, the -3- doors as performance cars usually have, is the sapph the ONLY RS with 4 doors??? doesnt that say something ie this really was made for the family man popping down tescos and the Zoo and having the occasional boot down the the motorway when alone. No thanks, i love my sapph, but it would be gone tomorrow for a white 3door or white escort cos

Shaun

Tony,

Whatever I have said, I must state are ONLY MY opinions. But......

Nearly everyone I know that owns a Sapphire, if they had the chance and the funds would opt for an Escort overall.

IMHO they are the pinnacle of the FORD Production cars. I would also (if I had the money) like to own a 3dr AS WELL, but baring in mind I have to run the Escort and a Golf, there isn't much chance of that at the moment..........and three cars would be a bit greedy.

The Sapphire is with doubt a very capable car, but is just not my cuppa of tea.

"the sapp at the time had to be made like it was because of insurance"

Dont really agree with that statement, because the insurance didnt really start hitting the Cossies until later on through the Sapphires life. I remember how much my brother paid when he bought a brand new one!!! I think it really had something to do with the market that Ford was aiming at.

"esc coss looks lovely aswell but imo is only worth more because its the last after all its only a short 4wd"

True to a degree (a very small one), but it may also have something to do with the exclusivtivity of owning one (lets admit they are rare). The build quality is much better.....and it was a proper homologation car.

I don't wish to come across as "Mine is better than yours", cause we are all ONE BIG happy family.

Regards,
Shaun.

bluey

hi shaun no offence taken

as said i would love a escort but as usual funds wont let me.
your right in every thing you say but i do think that the escorts are the price they are is because of them being the last?
its all down to what you want in a car,i was bought up on rear wheel drive and have until recently owned my own kart(which clint now owns)so fill at home with rwd.so if i had a choice it would have to be 3dr but all the ones that i have seen have been sh*tters and when mine is put up against them they look old and dated.
all in my opinion of corse

regards
tony.

Shaun

Realistically though.......

A RWD car would be no good to me, as I have problems driving a car with 4WD!!!!

bluey

shaun
ive only ever had one 4wd car(not in the same league as escort)an 2.9 xr4x4 and it was ok to drive and good round the twisty bits but no fun.
must admit though when mine was a stage1 it was a bit all or nothing with the turbo lag and could be a bit scary getting it sideways but since havin the stage3 done its a lot more controlable now so im always sideways.
mind you i still miss my old mex 12 yrs on,i could get that sideways all the way round the roundabouts
regards
tony

BigNige

SPud gun if you want mate ill take you out in my 4x4 coss sapphh 330bhp

im in essex and take you for a "Steady" run a steady 150


Nige