Faults:

Water leaks into left side of boot, found to be bad weld in the roof/c pillar.

Fuel / temp gauge give false readings (low)

Power steering pump failed 97,000.

Air con LP pipe rubs on clutch lever £75 for new one (if you can get one!!)

Erratic idol and revs for no reason, ICV valve failed.

General Comments:

Nice car to drive (when working) good driving position.

Quiet so long as you stay under 70.

Good economy on long trips average 38mpg driving to Spain.

Engine responsive in mid rev range.

Faults:

When heater put on 1, left headlight came on, when on 2, the right one came on, and when on 3 they both came on. Ford and independant engineers looked at it, but they couldn't find the fault.

General Comments:

Though nippy, the 1.8 diesel was extremely noisy - it sounded like they had got the engine straight out of a Transit.

Nothing much else to comment on! Nothing really to complain about, but nothing interesting to write about.

Faults:

Brake Pads low due to previous owner.

Idle Control Valve a little iffy, but works.

General Comments:

This car is very quick and the handling is excellent.

Styling is nice and pleasing.

Interior is great.

Nice Seats.

Great Sounding engine tone.

Nice smooth power steering.

Fuel economy is OK, tends to be quite low, but gets the same for all styles of driving regardless.

Gear Box is excellent.

Brakes are good now.

Clutch is fine.

Faults:

Driver's seat sagging and uncomfortable.

Brakes squeal even when the brakes are not applied. This sound disappears when the brakes are applied. By coincidence the brakes are also INCREDIBLY spongy.

Car pulls to the left under hard braking.

Speedo wobbles around the 30-40 mark.

Boot leak.

Rusting driver's side rear wheel arch cost 140 pounds to repair.

General Comments:

Good performance from 1600cc 16v Zetec Engine, although very little low-down torque. Engine rough above 3500rpm and slow to rev.

Lovely gearbox compared to my last car. Changes are smooth, easy and positive, except getting it into reverse, which can be a pain unless the car is doing under 1000 revs.

Comfort in general is good apart from limited rear space and unsupportive driver's seat. Great driving position though.

An ergonomic masterpiece, all control are at hand, but the stereo is too close to the gear lever.

Firm, comfortable ride even with low-profile tyres. Handles like a go kart, the steering is super responsive, but far too vague for any real fun.

Loads of wind and road noise at 80mph on the motorway, stick to 70 and turn up the radio.

Faults:

Washer pump went west at 63000 miles, new one cost £30.00

Otherwise the car has be reliable.

General Comments:

The good thing with an Escort is that they have improved with age.

This little number returns 36-40mpg

Tops out at around 128mph (Where allowed)

Cheap to service

Kind to tyres and brakes

Good seats, reliable, nippy

Just sold it and got a Focus.

Faults:

Knocking from engine turned out to be nothing more serious that a loose timing belt cover.

Clutch is getting tired (84k and original, so not surprising)

No other faults.

General Comments:

These later Escorts are something of a well kept secret due to the terrible name of the earlier models. By '96, the Escort was a well built, decent handling family car, but by then attentions had turned to the forthcoming Focus, and nobody cared. Great when you're buying them used though.

The 1.6 "Zetec" engine pulls well for what it is and is reasonably refined. The car actually handles quite nicely within the scope of a family hatchback and the steering has a fair amount of feel. It's no hot hatch (or Focus), but when you've got kids in the back, nobody with an ounce of responsibility would drive in a manner to notice the difference.

The interior is plasticky, but very robust and perfectly functional. The seats are comfortable and the driving position, like most Fords, is comfortable for several hundred miles at a time. The car is no more tiring or "hard work" on a run than a modern Focus, and gobbles up motorway miles with the best of them. The boot is a useful size too.

Reliability has been first class. I service the car myself using genuine Ford parts (cheaper than most manufacturer's 3rd party stuff if you buy them from factors) and use genuine Ford 5W/30 oil. The engine hasn't missed a beat, runs smoothly and quietly, and uses about half a litre of oil every 6,000 miles.

The real beauty of this car is that it has cost me virtually nothing to own and run since I've had it. I paid £1750 for the car in 2001 and it's still worth a grand today. A standard service costs me about £40 in parts, a major about £75. It's an easy car to work on too, costs peanuts to insure, and with "kids in the back" driving, regularly returns 40 mpg.

If you just want no frills, reliable transport, and don't expect it to be as sharp as a hot hatch, the Escort does virtually nothing wrong.