1 Mar 1982
Ford’s golden era started with the top-selling XE.
At last coil springs replaced the ancient leaf springs on the sedan, while a new nose, fluted tail-lights, improved engines, more refinement, greater dynamics, a revised dash, better seating and a bigger boot helped woo buyers.
The base 3.3L I6 now produced 90kW of power and 240Nm of torque. In late '82 the Aussie-made V8s died, replaced by a fuel-injected 4.1L I6 three months later.
A new five-speed manual gearbox became optional with the smaller six.
New standard features: four-speed manual gearbox, cloth trim, vacuum gauge, wheel covers.
Engine options: 105kW/310Nm 4.1L I6, 111kW/325Nm 4.1L EFI I6, 140kW/344Nm 4.9L V8, 149kW/415Nm 5.8L V8 (not wagon). V8s were discontinued in December 1982.
Special editions:· Mar 82 – S-Pak: Fog lights, front spoiler, steel wheels, wool trim, sports instrumentation, intermittent wipers, stripes and decals.
· Mar 84 – Eclipse: Fog lights, steel wheels, decals.
