MERKUR XR4Ti

[JAYSILVER04]

Any one have any experience with one of these? Ever driven one or know someone that has? What are they like?

[rvaldez1]

From what I remember these were Ford Escorts with fancy nametags on them. Many were stick like the Escort GT.

[Marauderjack]

I knew a guy with one in the early 90's and he raved about......how great it handled and the tremendous power but it had a lot of issues that caused it to stay in the shop quite a bit??:confused:

That's all I know.....except his was UGLY!!!:eek:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[Vortex]

They were not Escorts. They were the Ford Sierra from europe and were pretty good cars. They did have a strange look with the double spoiler in back though.

[sailsmen]

I owned one. In the states they put on a turbo which fried every thing that was not metal under the hood including the w/s washer tank.

Stay away from it.

I modded mine and it would out run and handle a 944 Turbo S.

The Euro had a V-6 w/ Twin Webers!

[JAYSILVER04]

A guy i work with said he thought they had the powertrain from the SVO Mustang and the T-bird Turbo coupe. 2.3L Turbo with independent rear instead of live axle?

[2003 MIB]

A guy i work with said he thought they had the powertrain from the SVO Mustang and the T-bird Turbo coupe. 2.3L Turbo with independent rear instead of live axle?

He's right.

[Peace2Peep]

I liked them and they definitely were ahead of their time...look good on the road today..I'd try to put a modern powerstrain in it...I think it had the old Ford t-5 tranny...happy hunting!

[larryo340]

I agree that they were ahead of their time. I was working for Lincoln/Mercury in the early '90s, and remember driving them. Yes they had the 2.3 turbo, and drove well. They were put together nicely, rode firm, handled good, tight steering...all the things that Lincoln/Mercury owners did not want back then. They wanted a "LazyBoy" ride, complained that they rode too hard, steering too stiff, and so on. Personally I'd would've taken a Scorpio back then over a XR4Ti. They drove like a BMW or Audi. These cars would do alot better in todays world.

[JAYSILVER04]

I think they are very ugly and wouldn't buy one. There are some decent ones on www.cardomain.com (http://www.cardomain.com) , but still not my cup of tea. I was just wondering.

[Windsor58]

Found a site that has more info:
http://www.merkurxr4ti.com/
Has links to other sites, too.

[Sully008]

Any one have any experience with one of these? Ever driven one or know someone that has? What are they like?

Sigh....some ignorance in this thread.

The Merkur XR4Ti was brought to North America in 1985 based on the European Ford Sierra, which debuted in 1982. It lasted until 1989. There were ~46,000 XR4Tis built in that span. This is the car that started the "jellybean" shape of cars to come. In Europe, the cars had engine ranges from 1.8L 4 cylinders to a 2.8L V6. The North American car came with the 2.3L Turbo non-intercooled OHC engine found in the Mustang SVO and Thunderbird Turbo coupe of the era. It put out 175 Hp mated with the T-9 5 speed transmission, 145 hp behind the C3 automatic. It had a 7.5" open differential, with rear independent suspension.

Sadly, Ford never brought over the Sierra Cosworth, powered by a 2.0L DOHC intercooled engine, it put out 204 hp in 1986. The following year, the Sierra Cosworth RS500 came out with 224hp. In full race trim, this car output ~500hp.

More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sierra and here www.merkurclub.com (http://www.merkurclub.com)

In case anybody's wondering, yes I do own one. I've had my 1986 Merkur XR4Ti since 1991. They are definately a love it or hate it car. I've had my share of people call it an "Escort", and this was at car shows.

[Peace2Peep]

Well excuse me Mr Fancypants! Ha! Thanks for the info!

[sailsmen]

Any car that has not been specifically engineered for exhausting/sheilding the turbo heat should multiply the mileage by 3.

Most non-metal parts were replaced underhood @40K. Turbo was also replaced. Belts every 20K.

I ended up putting 2 260Z NACA Ducts on the hood but it was too late the turbo heat had done it's damage.

I doubt I will ever own a car w/ a turbo under the hood.

[Aren Jay]

They are everywhere in England. Some the Ford Cosworth's were very good, others, every other one was so so.

Nice little hatchback, big car in England ironicly, the Mekur was not the high powered one. OK car with a strange name over here.

[ctrlraven]

My best friend from high school had one, rebuilt the engine and trans. He didn't do too much other stuff beside making a custom top mount intercooler from a Saab I believe with a small scoop fiberglassed into the hood and put on some 1999+ Mercury Cougar wheels.