DURING the mid-to-late eighties, Ford dominated the UK sales charts. In 1987, the year before our test car rolled off the production line, the Sierra was the third bestselling model in the UK, and the only two cars more popular were Fords, too: the Fiesta ranked second, just behind the Escort. In this purple patch, the Sierra was the darling of company car drivers, offering a combination of space, equipment and comfort that found favour with thousands of fleet users.
However, there was lots of competition to fend off, including models from brands that were newer to the UK market at the time. The key rival was Vauxhall, which towards the end of 1988 released its all-new third-generation Cavalier. One of the most talented challengers came from Peugeot, a brand…