We would love to hear about your experience of the Ford Cortina. If you have ever owned one of these cars and had to replace any parts, then let us know about it. Write a review in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
Ford Cortina Overview
The Ford Cortina is classed as a large family car and was produced by the British division of the Ford Motor Company. This vehicle was in production from 1962 to 1982 and was extremely popular in the UK, being the UK’s best selling car of the 1970’s. This car was produced across 5 generations over a 20 year period. This car was almost identical to the Ford Taunus which was sold across the rest of Europe. The Ford Sierra replaced the Cortina in 1982. This car was available in saloon, estate and convertible variants. These are now classic cars which are very spacious and there are still some really well kept versions around. Let us know if you still have one and how it’s performing these days.
Ford Cortina History
The first generation Mark I (1962-66) Ford Cortina was originally designed as a mass produced family car for the British market. This car is a rear-wheel drive which would become extremely popular in the UK.
The second generation Mark II (1966-70) had several improvements, including: suspension, brakes and clutch. In 1967 it was the most popular car in the UK.
The third generation Mark III (1970-76) was a new design as Ford UK and Ford Germany merged to create Ford Europe, which meant the merging of the Cortina and German built Taunus. It had a design influence from Ford USA.
The fourth generation Mark IV (1976-79) was more standard Cortina design than the previous version, and was more or less a rebadged Taunus.
The fifth generation Mark V (1979-82) was more like a facelift of the Mark IV with not to much difference.
The last Cortina was produced in 1982 and replaced with the Ford Sierra.
Model Types
Base
Ghia
GXL
GT
L
XL
GL
Fuel Economy
The Ford Cortina was available in 1.3, 1.6, 2.0, 2.3 and 3.0L petrol engines in the UK and there were larger 3.3 and 4.2L versions in Australia. The smaller
engines are the more economical engines, and you should consider the following areas when thinking fuel economy: age, fuel type and engine size.
Transmission
The Ford Cortina was available in 3 or 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic gearboxes. Which gearbox did you have and how did you rate its performance? We have a section of our website dedicated to
Ford gearbox parts where you can find the Cortina gearbox parts you need for your vehicle.
Parts
If you need Ford Cortina parts then we want to help you find them as cheap as possible. We have a comprehensive network of UK Breakers who have parts for all makes and models. You can either enter your vehicle details in our part finder or visit the
Cortina parts page to locate the exact parts you need for this vehicle.
