1996 Ford Escort Ghia 1.6i Zetec

Summary:

The luxury and performance of a BMW 316i, but without the expense

Faults:

Nothing has ever gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

This is the best car I've owned yet, I've had it since new and have never had any problems.

This is my second Escort and the last Escort I had was also a really reliable car considering it wasn't started up for 9 months before I got it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th May, 2001

1996 Ford Escort RS2000 4x4 2.0 petrol

Faults:

L/H door window seal failed.

Engine oil filter seal leak.

General Comments:

An overall brilliant car that I`ve owned from new with no problems really.

Grips like a train on tracks.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd December, 1998

1996 Ford Escort LX 1.4 petrol

Faults:

Brakes squeak.

Noisy when changing gear and going up hills.

Cog above clutch broke after eighteen months as did the switch for the headlights. Both the indicator arm and the wiper arm had to be replaced. Car makes noises when driving.

General Comments:

Very unhappy with this car. Had an Astra before and am sorry to have changed to an Escort. Disappointed with all the problems I have had over the past eighteen months. I like the look of the car and the interior but am not keeping it due to all the faults.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th September, 1998

1996 Ford Escort LX 1.8TDi

Faults:

Fuel Lift pump failure at 6,000.

Electrical Failure at 8,000.

Fuel system/pump failure 13,000.

Re-build of fuel system by contractor as FORD unable to diagnose at 16,000.

Total electrical failure and re-wire due to complete corrosion of fuse boards caused by faulty build of bulkhead seals. Water ingress.

Further electrical failure at 18,500 still ongoing. Rear hatch leak causing lighting faults.

General Comments:

At first I didn't mind the problems because it was a reasonably economical car to run. But at less than eighteen months old and 18,500 miles it is costing me a fortune to fix and keep on the road.

I need a reliable car as I am often on call at hours when most people are tucked up in bed etc.

FORD have a very poor aftercare - as one has to fight for everything - but fight gently so as not to get their staff's backs up else you get nowhere fast. Unlike the car which goes no-where at all!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th January, 1998

13th Aug 2004, 09:50

Buy a Mazda if you want reliability- three of there models won the JD power survey this year: 323F, Premacy and MX-5.

7th Jun 2005, 11:07

Ironic really as Mazda are owned by Ford.

11th Jul 2005, 21:39

I don't mean to be rude, but Ford build great cars. I have an Escort with no problems at all. You might want to be careful when you say something that is not true at all.

6th Apr 2006, 19:40

I have a 1995 Ford Escort and I am very happy with it. I haven't had to fix anything on it. When I bought the car it had 175 000 km on it and now it has 194 000 km on it I've only owned it for 7 months. It runs very well.