Faults:

Timing Belt Broke in the middle of nowhere with pregnant wife and 2 kids and pitch black night with $15 to my name and 2 hours from home. Some nice people picked us up and drove us 2 hours back to our front door and would not take any money! I wanted to send them some, but they refused. Not Fords fault! Timing Belts should be replace at 70k and I was at 140K (MY FAULT). Springs in back are bad because Ford wrapped them with something at factory causing them to rust early. Just replace Alternator myself ($90). Easy if you compare it to a Saturn Alternator. Saturn Engeneers MUST be on crack. The whole engine on the SL-1 is backwords. Everything that should be servicable is at the fire-wall LOL.

General Comments:

I used to drive a 1969 Dodge Charger RT and a 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 so I feel like a real loser geek driving this car, but that's what happens when you get married have 2 kids and only make 30K a year. You end up selling all your cool stuff and looking like a GEEK!

Faults:

Fuel door don't shut my fault I added a big stereo every time the bass hits it opens. Rear view, mirror fell off 2 times passenger side lock doesn't work it got broke into. Paint is peeling off driver side front fender other than that's been a good car. It's very slow though wish I would have got one with manual transmission an 1.8 litre,.

General Comments:

For a first car is really reliable I beat on it pretty hard and nothing has broke. My brothers first car was a 1990 cavalier had to replace the clutch 3 times and various engine parts. If you want a good reliable car that gets good gas mileage I would buy this car.

Faults:

Speakers were shot.

The brakes squeak.

To get it up to inspection has required about $500 worth of work and parts.

A few things still need working on.

General Comments:

Driving: good, but not steady on gravel or slick pavement (wet and tarry roads give it a case of the jitters). A bit tail-happy through corners, but it is easy to tell where the car is going. Very steady at high speeds. My alignment is out, but the cruise control makes up for it. My mileage is good, but not great. My gas gauges lies egregiously, telling me the car is empty when it still has better than a quarter tank left. A tank of fuel lasts about 500-650 kilometers, though.

Driveline: A gem of a screamer, the engine is always ready to rev. I have only taken it up to about 6000 RPM, but I run it regularly past 4000. The transmission is great, but I keep wishing it had another gear.

Body & Interior: An Escort never feels like a Lexus. Plastic panels abound, but what's there feels solid. There is no sound insulation in the doors (just fibreboard, and I don't count that as sound insulation). This car came with the right options. No power windows or door locks, but power windows. No power seatbelts (thank goodness). The original CD player still works, but I doubt it will last much longer. It has neat features, though: compression and AM stereo capabilities. The seats make your back feel good and your posterior feel tender after a long trip. Noise is a little high, but restrained. Cargo room is great, with enough storage for a week's camping or for a semester at university.

In the final analysis, this is a good car for short drives and cheap speed. Fuel economy isn't as good as it could be, but anyone would be happy with this car.