GRANADA AT 50
1972 saw the launch of Ford’s cushy executive stallion, the Granada. Five decades on, it’s time to assess what that name meant, and why it’s missed
The Zephyr, Ford of Britain’s big-car stalwart since 1950, was dead. So was the posher, glitzier Zodiac version. And the four-cylinder Consul entry point to Ford largeness? Gone as long ago as 1962 – but not forgotten, as we shall shortly see. The year was 1972. Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany were now combined as Ford of Europe – well, almost – and their model ranges had pretty much converged, bar the styling of the Cortina MkIII and its squarer-cut Taunus under-skin equivalent.
In March of that year, Ford launched its new Granada which had some surprising characteristics: it was shorter (by a substantial 5in), narrower and lower than the hefty MkIV Z-cars it replaced, resulting in a car of much more European proportions than the Mustang-influenced MkIV had been. Front and rear tracks widened by 2.5in further pushed the visual message that this was a car for keen drivers.
And as the Zephyrs and Zodiac bowed out, a new Consul bowed in. As before, it was the entry model in the new range and used the 2.0-litre V4 engine of the cheapest Zephyr, and it could be identified by its flat, single-bar grille and lack of both external and internal adornment. But for the Consul/Granada range the hierarchy was less clear cut: you could have a 2.5-litre V6 in your Consul, or even a 3.0-litre one in the Consul GT with black trim highlights, a sporting demeanour and, soon, national fame in The Sweeney.
German Granadas mostly used Cologne V-engines rather than British Essex units, but common to all of them were wishbone front suspension (like the MkIII Cortina’s) in place of Ford’s more usual struts, and Ford’s second attempt at independent rear suspension.
The first, used in the MkIV Z cars, had corrupted the semi-trailing-arm idea by using cheaper fixed-length driveshafts and instead allowing the inner pivots to swing on a shackle. Large and unpredictable camber changes were the result, so for the Granada, Ford did it properly with modern CV joints able to accommodate plunge. There was rack-and-pinion steering, too.
The result was a massively better machine than the MkIV ever was, as roomy inside despite being smaller outside, and altogether wieldier to drive. Coupé and estate cars joined the range (plus a two-door saloon for mainland Europe), and sales were healthy through to 1977 when the squarer, smoother MkII model arrived. The V6 models used Cologne engines for all markets while the four-cylinder cars (no longer called Consul) used the overhead-camshaft Pinto motor which replaced the V4 in later Mk1s. Via a 1981 facelift this Granada generation continued to 1985, which saw the arrival of what we Brits called the Granada MkIII an
