Faults:

Rear wheel-arches on both sides are rusting from the inside outward (all the spot welds in the wheel-arch flange are expanding as they rust away!)

Virtually all of the elements in the heated front screen are no longer work.

Nothing has hone wrong mechanically!

General Comments:

Car was a one owner, known history vehicle before being acquired from our in-laws. Always garaged, always serviced, never been in an accident. (Replaced a 1990 Escort cabriolet we'd had from new, that had 65,000 miles, with no rust). Holes appeared in the OS rear wheel-arch of the newer car some months before the 6 year corrosion warranty expired. That area was repaired by Ford dealer, but the underlying cause was not (bare metal joint between inner and outer whee-larch) ; the rest of that wheel arch and the near side one are now quite merrily rusting away. Ford have no interest. Built in Halewood with care, by the same people who now build the Jaguar X type?

Ludicrous instrument pack; who needs a line drawing of a car on an instrument pack (saves the cost of a tachometer presumably)

A cheap car to run, but check the wheel-arches very carefully before buying

Faults:

Seal around sunroof leaked £100 to get fixed.

Catalytic convertor craked after 37000 miles. Expensive to replace.

Minor electrical problem with earth-wire for rear fog light.

General Comments:

Nice car got it when I was 18 and performs well with cheapish insurance.

Well equipped with electric windows, and a fronted heat windscreen (real bonus in the winter)!!!

Nice comfortable cabin with easily laid out dashboard.

Faults:

Battery cut out whilst driving, and had to be later replaced.

Rear wiper only works when it wants to.

Rear doors creak when opening and closing.

Heated rear screen is either very slow or doesn't work.

General Comments:

This is such a good value car, much bigger and more comfortable than most other cars available at the same price.

The final generation escort is a huge improvement on the early 90's examples, and looks and feels much more like a real car.

The front seats are excellent and really comfortable.

However, the rear seats are very hard.

The car has no power steering, but it is still light and has a lot of 'feel'.

All controls are chunky and comfortable, and very easy to use.

Fuel economy is excellent, because the engine is so small - the fact that it's a big, heavy car doesn't seem to affect this.

Faults:

Timing belt at 100,000km.

Alternator at 120,000km.

Automatic transmission shifter cable replaced at 160,000.

General Comments:

Good looking car.

Very reliable.

Has air conditioning & compact disc player, but no cruise control for some reason.

Seats are bad for long distance driving.

I think it should get better fuel economy for a 4-cylinder.

Not a very "peppy" motor.

Faults:

The radiator has developed a few holes, so I replaced it with a brand new one. The previous owner had the same problem and had the holes plugged.

The speedometer seems to become erratic when the car is traveling over 55 MPH. There is a sound coming from the dash similar to an electric wire shorting out.

The service engine light comes on all the time.

The seats are uncomfortable for long trips.

General Comments:

The Escort is great on gas.

Even though it is a low horsepower car, it has some get up and go when you punch the accelerator.

Nice standard stereo system included.