Faults:

Carburetor.

Rust!

Gearbox was noisy when I was done with it.

General Comments:

The Escort was such a popular sight in the UK during the 1980's and 1990's. It was a really basic but affordable car, so I guess maybe that is why. Cheap running costs.

Basic models like the GL one I had were nothing special. Dull interior. Boring drive. Not bad to look at however - my car was bright red with bright silver wheels. Looking back at photos it looks amazing and retro now. Would have loved an XR3i though, instead of this GL model!

The 1.3 was economical enough for petrol, but not a fast car. Seats were comfortable. Handling was OK.

Space was good, visibility was good.

In 1996 when it was eleven years old and had over 100K on it, I scrapped it due to failing MOT's with bad rust. Not a bad car, but not a great car either, I just do not get why they were soo popular!

Faults:

Bought the car quite cheap at eight-hundred pounds and spent two-hundred on a new head gasket. Other than that, nothing major, just 'old car' loose parts etc.

General Comments:

This is a late MKIII XR3i in absolutely fantastic condition. Less rust than my previous 1999 Vectra! I absolutely love this car. It could do with a little more power at times, but still keeps up with the traffic.

By far the best handling car I have ever driven bar-none. The more modern than some cars which were built ten years after my Escort. I have used the car as a daily driver and it is as reliable as any other car I have owned - loads of fun - buy one!

Faults:

The bodywork developed major rusting after just 5 years.

The diaphragm in the carb was always breaking, causing the car to stall when declutching.

The cam belt blew after 50000 miles, leaving the driver stranded in morning rush-hour traffic at a busy town junction.

It needed new dampers all round after 5 years.

Engine began to smoke like an old hack not too long after the cam belt blew. It needed valve seals, rings, and bearings. It also needed a new distributor and carburetor.

General Comments:

The car was bought from new and stayed in the family for 7 years.

It was quite a pleasant car to look at, both inside and out, and drove reasonably well. Running costs were modest, and would have continued to be if it hadn't started to fall apart at the seams.

Unfortunately, the pleasant experiences of its early years were overshadowed by the succession of failures and deterioration.

I would never have bought another Escort after this, and replaced it with a Peugeot 205.

Faults:

Replaced the disk brakes after a couple of heart stopping moments.

Wiper switch suspect, I expect the light switch to burn out soon.

Replaced the seats as the paddings was long gone in both front seats.

Replaced a few hydraulic followers.

General Comments:

No where near as comfortable as the MK4 XR3i.

German built, Original battery tray!

Nervous handling on all, but the perfect roads. (not many of them around)

Noisy and uncomfortable.

GREAT FUN to drive!!

On that good bit of road, NOTHING would go round the corner faster!!