Faults:

I had a problem with the Electronic Control Unit, which meant that the car wouldn't start properly and would over-rev before cutting out altogether.

The catalytic converter went.

Needed new suspension bushes at the front.

General Comments:

Generally, the car was excellent and had everything I would want, including; air conditioning, CD player, power steering, central locking with deadlocks, alarm, immobiliser, airbags, electric windows and front fog lights. So in terms of equipment levels, the car scores very well.

Performance wise, the car was just as good. It had a good amount of punch and good acceleration existed in all gears.

In terms of economy, I did tend to drive it fairly sensibly, hence a 45mpg return, which is not bad considering it's an 1800cc engine.

Comfort wise, the car was not the most comfortable to drive. Whilst it had sports seats, there was minimal padding to make long motorway journeys comfortable. However, the suspension provided the right level of comfort against performance.

Apart from the 3 issues above, the car was very good. I do slightly regret selling it, but it has meant I was able to get the Escort's successor - the Focus!

Faults:

As someone said before the similarities of the faults are unreal. my car used to auto cruise until I dipped the clutch where the revs go up the settle, air bag light flashes, erratic idle,

Faults:

The front suspension bushes have needed replacing every 20,000 miles, which I understand is a common issue with Ford Escorts.

Other than that, absolutely nothing has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

I bought this, my third consecutive Ford Escort, new, and have been impressed by its performance, economy and reliability since day one.

The Escort has a reputation for being dull, dull, dull, but in my wholly subjective opinion I think this car is as stylish as any estate in the price bracket.

I bought at a time when the Focus was being introduced as a replacement for the Escort and accordingly got a great deal to buy new.

The ride is reasonably comfortable but probably compromised somewhat by the sports set-up. There is more punch under acceleration than might be expected, although the brakes (front discs and rear drums) are not the keenest performers.

Steering is tight and assured.

Running costs are relatively low. I have averaged between 35 and 40 miles per gallon on unleaded petrol over the past 5 years or so, without ever driving in a style that might be expected to maximise economy!

The boot space is excellent, especially with the rear seats down.

Servicing costs are consistently low. The only non routine items that I have ever needed to stump up for are replacement front suspension bushes, which have tended to go every 20,000 miles or so, at a cost of around £50 a time.

Other than the odd stone chip on the bonnet, the car is in the same condition as the day I bought it, and that's with a wash every 6 months whether it has needed one or not!

Faults:

Clutch cable broke at 71,000 miles and the clutch started slipping at 80,000 fixed by main dealer for a hefty price.

Rear parcel shelf supports broke.

Rear speaker failed to ever work and Ford garage was unable to fix problem.

General Comments:

The car was very well equipped for the price.

Engine never caused a problem.

Cabin is of good quality.

Faults:

Power steering pump 45,000 miles.

Cold start wax-stat went making starting in the cold very difficult.

Drivers seat sagged badly - making it very uncomfortable for my lower back.

Various trim on back seats came away and required gluing/refitting.

The large pipe from the air filter to the turbo perished causing a whisting noise on acceleration. 50,000.

A solenoid on the injector pump went leaving the engine running very erratically and lots of smoke! 50,000 miles.

Clutch pedal automatic adjuster disintegrated on a round-about leaving me with no clutch! Had to be towed to a garage. 55,000 miles.

2 days later the windscreen wiper linkage broke as it was heavily warn leaving me with no wipers! 55,000 miles.

Front suspension bushes became quite soggy and needed bottom wishbones/bushes replacing.

Front brakes ceased and made knocking noises on braking 60,000 miles.

CV joint 60,000 miles.

Quite a lot of rust starting underneath.

General Comments:

Fuel economy was great, I could get over 50 mpg with it fully laden on long runs and 40 mpg on local runs.

The brakes were never good, and the front calipers kept ceasing and knocking, they should probably have been replaced.

The mechanical problems were all unexpected/disappointing for a car with pretty low mileage and only 3 years old.

The driver's seat was very uncomfortable and I had to get a foam backed seat cover to try to make it more comfortable.

It was a very practical car and the boot space was better than the Audi 80 Estate I owned previously.

The interior was very plastic, but at least it didn't have lots of materials that pretended to be anything else (i.e fake carbon fiber or fake wood).

The corrosion was also disappointing particularly round the rear suspension.