Purchase advice classic Ford Granada
A touch of luxury
Ford Granada
© press-inform – the press office
Today, apart from the US import model of the Explorer, nothing is seen from Ford in the luxury class. But that was completely different once, because in the 70s / 80s the Granada was a serious competitor for the premium manufacturers. On the classical market, the Granada is a real exotic to this day.
Anyone who loves the British crime series “The Professionals” also knows the red metallic-colored Ford Granada from CI-5 boss Cowley. An angular, boxy Ford Granada of the second generation, even before the facelift, which from 1982 brought it, among other things, new seats, more luxury and lamella lamps at the rear. Cowley, like his powerful employees Bodie and Doyle, relied on a vehicle from the Ford brand and then, according to the in-house office hierarchy, immediately on the appropriate top model to make life difficult for the bad boys in the greater London area. His company car, a Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia, with 118 kW / 150 PS was the best that Ford had to offer in Europe. The luxury model not only offered electric windows, central locking, velor armchairs, electric antennas, power steering and wood applications and other Ghia ornaments in the successful British series. On special request there was even radio or car phone.
In the early 1970s, Ford launched its then new top model as the successor to the 20M / 26M: the Granada. Named after the Spanish metropolis of the same name. Granada and Alhambra – these two terms have been irrevocably linked for centuries. Hardly any other city in Europe is as equated with a building as the southern Spanish metropolis. To this day, the Alhambra is a magnificent testimony to a time when Spain was still divided – into the Islamic and Christian world. The term Granada was therefore chosen carefully and the image-rich model stood out from the paler mid-range model of the Ford Consul, with its significantly better equipment and more powerful V6 engines, with which the Granada has its body in both model generations from 1972 to 1978 and shared from 1978 to 1985.
As popular as the Ford Granada was – developed and produced in Cologne and Degenham in the UK at the time – it still does not play a major role in the league of classics. Most of the models fell victim to rust or simply to the scrap press over the decades. Well-preserved classics are rare and the particularly popular Ghia models are no exception to the equally noble Granada GL and the pale entry-level versions Granada and Granada L. The Granada is particularly luxurious as the Ghia S, the sporty 2.8i Injection or the special exclusive Chasseur variant, which was only offered as a combined version of the Granada Tournament. The exclusive chasseur offered not only a partial leather interior, but also an eye-catching two-tone paintwork in bronze-beige and the particularly impressive 2.3-liter V6 engine that developed 84 kW / 114 hp. Casual: the painted aluminum rims and a stylish luggage set.
The Ford Granada, especially as Generation II, offered a lot of car for the money in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Upon request, the top models offered equipment details such as air conditioning, electric sunroof, aluminum rims or additional headlights and motors up to 118 kW / 160 PS, which made the top-of-the-range model reach a top speed of almost 190 km / h. This placed them on a par with manufacturers such as BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class / W 123, Opel Senator and Renault 30 TX or Citroen CX-25. The chassis was comfortable, the performance was superb for long journeys and the space was unrivaled. The chassis and safety equipment did not have to shy away from any comparison with the competition.
If you want to secure a Ford Granada today and take a leap into the early 1980s, a well-equipped 2.3 GL or even better a 2.3 / 2.8i Ghia version is recommended, which not only has headrests at the back, soft flocked velor, Electric window lifters front / rear as well as and aluminum rims offered, but shone on request with equipment details such as an electric sunroof, air conditioning, leather interior or heated front seats. The rust prevention was moderate at the time and therefore you should pay special attention to it, especially with a classic. The engines are considered to be powerful, durable and always sovereign, although the automatic transmission took away some of the drive from the six-cylinder models. The carburetor of the Granada 2.3 is more powerful than the 90 hp version of the 2.0. But the top equipment Ghia is mostly linked to the 2.8i, which initially had 160 and later only 150 hp. The initially still available two-door model without coupé elegance or the lavishly dimensioned Combi model, which was not even available for a surcharge with headrests in the rear, do not play a major role in the classics market, which is already manageable. It looks the same with the weak diesel versions without turbocharging.
It is not easy to find a good second-generation Ford Granada with elegant equipment and an appropriate maintenance condition. A good Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia with an S package and traceable history quickly costs more than 15,000 euros. The thin market situation makes the music and therefore the price plays a subordinate role. If you want one, you usually have to pay the desired price because there is no market pressure. The spare parts situation is sometimes quite tense, especially due to the major fire in a Ford parts warehouse a few years ago. So used parts have to help and here the situation in England is often better than in Germany.