It is the best small car I have driven yet
I have had no problems with the car. It is perfect.
The only complaint that I have about the car is that it is not the best in the snow.
During the months that I have it out of the garage it is the best.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th July, 2005
A comfortable, reliable and cheap to maintain car that still looks good in 2005
Lower suspension arm bushes wore out around 30k miles.
Rear wheel bearing races began to break up at 39k miles.
Don't spend money on trying to get power from the 1.6 engine, it doesn't work.
This car has had a new engine fitted at 44k miles, a 1.8 zetec 130PS unit. this has transformed the car from a reasonable, but underpowered car into a car to put a grin on your face.
The Escort Mk6 is a much better car than its predecessor the Mk5, and drives well, parts supply is plentiful and cheap.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 5th April, 2005
You don't buy an Escort because you love Escorts; you buy an Escort because it's a quality car.
The tape player stopped working about a year after I bought the car.
Around 90,000 miles the rear axles started making a chattery sound whenever I made a sharp right turn.
Also around 90,000 miles, the shocks started to get a little 'swoopy."
But I never once had to take it in for repairs.
It was certainly no muscle car, but it accelerated quick enough to get me into traffic or onto a highway if I had to.
At speeds above 70-75, the times I had occasion to drive it that fast, it felt like it was 'floating' above the highway just a little bit - just enough to feel a little out-of-control. Lower speeds were fine; you could drive it really hard, and it always felt stable. It just wasn't much of a cruiser.
Fairly sure-footed in the snow and ice, too. Not as steady as the Volkswagens I've driven, but I never felt scared that I wouldn't make it home.
It got 40 mpg in the summertime, mainly on country roads.
The seats were really cushy for the first hour you drove or so; any trip longer than that was liable to leave you with a sore back.
As plain, ordinary, zero-frills, zero-personality, looks-like-every-other-car-in-the-world transportation goes, it would be hard to do much better. I would never claim to have loved my Escort, but it sure did earn my respect. 60,000 worry-free miles is pretty darn good.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th March, 2005
Generally a very good car, if a little dull
OK, first of all I only paid £1500 for the car so there were bound to be a few teething problems:
Needed new brake disc's & pads for the MOT.
Suspension bushes needed replacing, also for the MOT.
The immobilizer has just started to play up, meaning the car just fails to start sometimes - Costly to fix so I haven't done so yet.
This car is very quick for a 1.8 and handles well. It leaves all small 'hot hatches' standing, will do 60mph in 2nd!
However the brakes are totally inadequate and under heavy braking the wheels will lock-up or even light braking in wet conditions.
The cabin has a sporty feel and is well put together with plenty of room, but the seats are very uncomfortable on anything, but the shortest of trips. - Anyone who has driven the car has commented on this.
Poor fuel economy, can just squeeze 260miles out of a tank (£40) and that's driving sensibly.
On the positive side the car is a low insurance group (8) and has the same engine/performance as the group 13 GTI.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th March, 2005
9th Feb 2007, 08:39
I wrote the original review. I just wanted to say I still stand by my comments regarding the comfort of the seats on long trips.
I eventually had to get rid of the escort as more and more things started to go wrong; The Suspension bushes or other suspension components started to break down again very quickly after being replaced.
Also annoying ECU faults would make driving the car any distance very stressful, as you would always be wondering if the car would even start up again to get you home on the return trip.
I believed maybe I had got a bad car, but research on-line leads me to believe that a lot of escorts and mondeos of this age suffer these kind of issues.
However, if you are after a sporty little car that is very fast and only group 8 insurance, but with the ability to be highly practical as well as fun; go for it!
My current car is a Volvo 850glt, a huge improvement on the comfort levels offered in the escort. But even with its 2.5 10v engine it can only manage 0-60 in the same time as the escort, whilst guzzling down the go-go juice at a whopping 20MPG.
Part of me wishes I had stuck with that escort, I miss it.