Car reviews

Introduction

With more than 4 million registrations in the UK the Escort is officially the most popular car in Britain, even despite the fact that it was discontinued more than 10 years ago. What's appealing in the Escort is its simplicity. It's a very basic car yet considering it's been around since 1968 the Ford engineers have managed to eradicate almost all major faults. Hence, even though it occasionally breaks down, it is usually something that's easily fixed. The main reason (or is it the only reason?) why people buy an Escort is the price. You can pick up a reasonably fit example for very little.

Exterior & Interior

Before voicing harsh criticism, one has to remember that the engines and the chassis of the latest Ford Escort are from the 1980s, nevertheless the Escort has been kept up to date by tuning the engines and tweaking the bodywork. The models of the late 90s are rather well equipped, and thus can make a good first car or a no-frills solution to your everyday motoring needs. The saloon version of the car is spacious at the front and somewhat cramped at the back. The estate version provides plenty of boot space, hence it is favoured by trades and craftsmen. The big buttons and the curvy dashboard screams 90s but you cannot call the interior ugly. It's the usual standard for the low-cost cars of the period ‐ don't expect to find anything else than cheap plastics and fabric. The driving position is satisfactory but obviously nowhere near as good as its successor, the Focus.

Drive

It is moderately comfortable, but will return a very characterless ride. The steering is unresponsive and the brakes feel floppy. If you switch from a more modern and more powerful car, you'll absolutely hate it. However, if it's your first car, there's nothing that will prevent you from enjoying a Ford Escort. After all it's what it says on the tin ‐ a fine, reasonably reliable utilitarian car.

Faults & Repairs

The main problem with an Escort is rust. Once it starts to rust, there's no stopping that. Re-welding the car will probably cost more than the car itself. Another potential money pit is the suspension. Test it well before you buy because, again, it will be too expensive to repair.

In order to list all the little things that can go wrong with an Escort, we'd need to dedicate a whole book to it. The overall reliability of this car is poor. On a positive, the Escort is so simple that you can easily repair it yourself. If, however, you decide to bring it to a garage for repairs, no need to go with an official dealer. Any garage will be able to fix your Ford Escort. Don't expect to surprise them with your car's faults ‐ it's likely anything you can show them, they will have already seen plenty of times before.