}} Launched at the
Paris Motor Show in October 1994, the second generation Scorpio was made available in saloon or estate styles only, the hatchback bodystyle having been dropped. It had largely the same floorpan as its predecessor as well as all of the same engines that were in use at the end of the first generation's run. Many suspension and handling improvements were made between the first and second generations (including self levelling rear suspension on the estates). It was also radically restyled both inside and outside, with new design of headlights, grille and door handles, which were taken from the
Ford Crown Victoria. Despite its controversial styling, the luxury interior, handling and performance were widely praised by reviewers.
Edward Stobart praised the car, and
Jeremy Clarkson declared it '[as] equally talented' as the
Vauxhall Omega, one of the Scorpio's main rivals, and that it was 'well made... extremely well equipped, and considering its size, it was good value for money'. In addition, the "Granada" name, which had been retained in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the MkI Scorpio (AKA MkIII Granada) was finally dropped and the "Scorpio" name – already used elsewhere – was adopted. In April 1998, it was listed as the third worst N-registered car (August 1995 to July 1996) to own in the United Kingdom from a
Top Gear survey of 120 cars, receiving a particularly low rating for its reliability. It fared slightly better in the 1999 and 2000 surveys. In September 1997, the Scorpio was facelifted, with darker headlight surrounds and a more subtle grille, to tone down the front end of the car. The '50s-throwback' 'low-slung wrap-around' rear lights were also revised to make the 'plump' rear-end of the car less bulbous. Despite plans to release a new model in 1998, without directly replacing the Scorpio. The
Dutch royal family used several Scorpios, some stretched ones, and all painted in Royal Blue. There is still a custom-built Scorpio
landaulet in the royal stables. After Ford ended the production, the
Volvo S80 replaced the Ford models.
Styling and appearance The new Scorpio was the first ever Ford design developed entirely using a
CAD/
CAM computer system, and inside the car were new armchair style seats and improved interior quality, but outside the new 'Americanised' look was controversial. The car sported bulbous 'globular' headlights and its tail lights were arranged in a thin line just above the bumper (described as a 'gratuitously narrow... ill-chosen necklace... resembling a giant cushion'). Unusually, Ford never released the name of the designer and maintain to this day that the car outsold its expected figures (although they never released what those figures actually were), however it has been noted that the unknown designer was 'very proud' of their work. The bulging headlights and wide grille were defended as 'bold', 'quirky', 'a design statement', 'dramatic', 'droopy nose', 'daft' 'humped
boot', and 'driving a
milk float would score more cred points in a traffic jam'. 'styled like a
guppy', with 'the looks of a smiling frog', and 'the ugliest manmade vehicle of all time'. Described as a '
gopping hideous monstrosity',
Jeremy Clarkson wrote in
The Times at the time that this car had "village idiot features" and a "loopy face". He elaborated later on that the Scorpio ended any argument as to which car was the ugliest on the road, that the car " an extra from
Finding Nemo", and that it had 'a face of such unparalleled awfulness' and would 'make... children cry'. while May additionally described it as 'not Ford's finest styling', and in Richard Porter's 2004 book
Crap Cars the Scorpio Mark II was listed as number 49 (of 50) on looks alone. On the DVD special
Clarkson: Heaven and Hell, Jeremy Clarkson set up a
jousting contest between a Scorpio – which he described as "a wide mouthed frog" – and a
Triumph TR7, eventually destroying both cars via head-on collision. In Germany, the satirical magazine
Titanic noted the Scorpio's front's similarity to the facial features of politician
Günter Verheugen, who would go on to become EU Commissioner.
Trim levels and engines The Scorpio Mark II was available in the following levels of
trim (each one being available as a saloon or an estate and with any engine). Regardless of the trim level, any car with a 2.9 Cosworth engine was fitted with
traction control,
cruise control and an
automatic gearbox as standard (a manual gearbox could not be specified at all). All other engines could be fitted with either a manual or automatic transmission although, in practice, the vast majority of Scorpios were automatic. • Executive: The base model, although even this had a high level of specification including electric windows,
ABS,
PAS as well as an alarm and immobiliser. •
Ghia: This level added air conditioning, alloy wheels, front fog lights and electric mirrors as well as a variety of minor additions. • Ultima: The highest level added a CD autochanger, climate control, leather seats,
cruise control and an automatically dimming mirror, and electrically operated seats as well as a variety of other minor improvements. Some Ultima versions were fitted with a VM Motori 2.5 litre turbo diesel engine. The VM halves the fuel bills but suffered from
turbo lag and a tendency to all-or-nothing acceleration. Unusually trim levels and engine sizes were not liveried on the backs of the cars. Rather the trim levels were liveried on the sides of the cars by the Scorpio badges on the rear window frames as such. The Executive had no badge, simply the word "Scorpio". Each other model had the model name under the badge, for example "Scorpio Ultima." Engine sizes were also on the sides of the cars towards the front just above the auxiliary indicator lights as such: • 2.0 L: no badge (on older cars the two litre 8 valve had no badge, but the two litre sixteen valve bore had the badge "2.0 16v") • 2.3 L: "2.3" (on older cars "2.3 16v") • 2.9 L: "2.9" (on older cars "2.9 12v") • 2.9 L: Cosworth "24v" Unlike the Mark I Scorpio, the word "Cosworth" did not appear anywhere on the outside of cars fitted with such an engine (possibly in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of vehicle theft) although it is in evidence across the top of the engine. However, on the 1998 facelift, the Cosworth badge is clearly visible on the trunk lid. The output of the Cosworth V6 had also been increased from to for the second generation. == References ==