Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

...Flour, Green King IPA, Ford Escort, you get the picture.

Enough of the simile, lets get onto the nitty gritty business about telling you about the mk6 Ford Escort rather than rambling on about chocolates and pissy "real" ale.

Launched the same week as Take That's 'Never Forget' the Escort was in true Ford style basically the same old Escort we'd always glanced over in yet another new bodystyle. Drawing from ...
...standard engines.

Ford often maligned for their reliability and drivability quietly, and for many years now have been churning out an engine that is outstandingly reliable, smooth, modern and well built engines. The Zetec-E. The 1.6/1.8 Zetec engines offered in the Escort are gems. Whilst they never where the most powerful in the class, the Zetec has gained a reputation for being reliable. Compared to its counterparts at the time, ... more

There was once a film, that gave us the oft' quoted maxim that "life is like a box of chocolates," this could well be true although I've never managed to apply this abstract to anything remotely connected to life, but then again I have a pretty odd way of living anyway.

Imagine now, that you are sitting infront of the television picking at a box of Quality Street. We've all been there, zoned out in front of some film, (normally Die Hard 1, on ITV when they've borrowed the video from BBC for a change,) you're appreciating how bad the "television edit" is, and winching at that part when McClain walks across the broken glass and ribbons his feet… You reach for the Quality Street not paying attention, you pick a sweet… Damn, its one of those bloody awful malt-toffee things, you try again engrossed at the man in a vest on the screen, again, you pick one of those damn things, again and again not concentrating and picking out the most vile "sweets" ever created.

That's a bit like me with cars, I end up not concentrating and ending up with some of the most horrid cars, but like the coconut éclair, make the best of what you've got, you can always suck the chocolate off and deposit the rest in an ashtray.

The Escort, is and always will be a synonym of mediocrity, as bland as they come, Jacobs Cream Crackers, Homepride Flour, Green King IPA, Ford Escort, you get the picture.

Enough of the simile, lets get onto the nitty gritty business about telling you about the mk6 Ford Escort rather than rambling on about chocolates and pissy "real" ale.

Launched the same week as Take That's 'Never Forget' the Escort was in true Ford style basically the same old Escort we'd always glanced over in yet another new bodystyle. Drawing from what I would imagine was the same design for its counterpart mk4 Fiesta, the mk6 Escort featured possibly the fastest dating front end ever seen on a car, the oval grill, the slightly too small headlamps, the high bumper, and startlingly crap grill (again,) the Escort hit the road. Already slightly ashamed of its front end, which seemed like a good idea six months beforehand in a final design meeting.

Underneath, pretty much the same old Escort. The floor is very similar, as is the front suspension and the rear subframe are all classic Escort affairs, as are the brakes, electronics and interior. Like repackaging East-17 as E-17 we where treated to the same naff product, slightly more rounded, and with more than a slight hint of being passed its sell by date.

To say there is no difference is just a bit blasé, the refined crumple zones and improved passive and active safety, the suspension whilst similar is however revised. Escort gained more standard features, the choice of engines was slimmed down leaving a the outdated OHV and CVH engines behind, (nearly, a few very basic models clung onto them,) a passable diesel was offered as an option, but the real jewel in the crown however the Zetec petrol series became the standard engines.

Ford often maligned for their reliability and drivability quietly, and for many years now have been churning out an engine that is outstandingly reliable, smooth, modern and well built engines. The Zetec-E. The 1.6/1.8 Zetec engines offered in the Escort are gems. Whilst they never where the most powerful in the class, the Zetec has gained a reputation for being reliable. Compared to its counterparts at the time, GMs EcoTec, VWs 1.4/1.6, and PSAs XU series engines, it doesn't blow a headgasket in a fit of rage occasionally. Its not schizophrenic like a VTEC, lazy like Renaults 16valver and compared to the very lengthy discussion I could have regarding Rovers horrid K-Series…… Lets just say it's a good engine.

The only common failures on the Zetec providing servicing and the use of 5w/30 semi synthetic oil are the odd idle fault, and ignition problems. Normally these are fairly easily and cheaply rectified you'll be pleased to know though.

Its never going to set the world alight performance wise, my 1.6 16v manages a perfectly adequate 88.7BHP (90ps) however the Escort is no slouch again in true Escort mediocrity the power available from it manages to nonplus the driver in a way only a Ford Escort can. The powerband of the engine sits in the perfectly reasonable 4000-6000RPM range, slightly lacking in low down torque.

This however can be attributed to many first generation 16v "common" engines, that said its certainly not hopeless at the muddy end of the tachometer like a VTEC. The 2.0 in the Mondeo though, of very similar design does feel rather torquey in diesel territory, which might be worth bearing in mind if you like that kind of thing.

On the road, and the Escort doesn't really perform that badly, it's a capable cruiser at motorway speeds and the gearing means the engine isn't too strained at 70-80mph. Acceleration 0-60 is circa 12 seconds, perfectly respectable and if you do feel like opening the taps it will amuse you mildly.

The Escort isn't a bad place to sit. The dash is a testament to plastic design, but most cars in its class are. The switchgear all feels solid, the seat is comfortable, and the driving position in my opinion is "just right." The headlamps, I must say are rather good of all things to point out!

Whilst we're on the road, I'm going to say something radical about the mk6 Escort that does distance itself from the previous Escorts, and make it a much better package.

It doesn't handle that badly.

There, I've said it.

It does understeer slightly, and its certainly not a chuckable little car, but compared to previous incarnations of Escort it manages to hold its own in the corners. I would say it handles better than the Astra, not as well as a Golf, and certainly not as good as the 306. However compared to the previous versions this was a major leap forward in the evolution of the Escort. All models managed to gain a front anti-roll bar which does make the car lean far less in the twisty stuff and the revised suspension geometry gets a C+ from me. Still using the traditional Escort setup of semi-independent rear suspension, it does however still feel bland and uninvolving for the driver.

The powersteering, by now practially standard on Escorts is well weighted, a fairly short rack allows quick manoeuvring without making the steering needlessly twitchy however before you get too excited and find your nearest mild corner to throw your Escort into slightly too quickly to prove me wrong, I must however make something clear.

THE BRAKES ARE DREADFUL.

Borrowed from the Fiesta, the braking system on the standard mk6's is poor. ABS is good when your in a skid, but general day-to-day service braking takes practice and patience. I would heartily recommend getting hold of a set of RS2000 front callipers, pads and discs and fitting those. I have and it has made the Escort feel far more inclined to stop. Other that uprating the system I see no possible way to improve upon the brakes. They certainly do not inspire confidence, and is a common complaint when the mk6 Escort is mentioned.

Bodywork wise, the later the Escort the less they tend to dissolve in the rain, however all the way though the Escorts life it was plagued by a tin-worm epidemic. Rear wheel arch scabs are seen on even the last of them, but more crucially sills, chassis rails and various parts of the car that should remain solid…. don't. Repairs can be cheap if you find a good cheap welder, and certainly shouldn't lead to the car being condemned without checking out the cost of the repair. That said, many nasty MOT Testers have donned the black cap for the Escort, and passed its final judgement on the poor things.

Longevity eh? The Escort should cope reasonably well. Excluding the odd superficial rust patch, if the correct servicing is maintained, (oil change every 10,000 miles, cambelts every 60k-ish) there is no reason the Escort could not manage very high mileages. Having dealt with Mondeo company cars with this family of engine at 150,000+ miles I would say its certainly not impossible for a petrol Zetec to live a long and fairly happy life.

So, how thirsty? Fords have always had a repuation for being a bit unconomical for the power/size of the engine. If you're a traditionalist the Escort certainly won't disapoint. 34ish MPG is the average from mine, (oil changes every 5000 miles too!) on a motorway a pleasing 44ish MPG is my record.

Wishbones are a common failure, however the benefit of a middle aged Ford is being in a prime position of having potentially the cheapest spares for any vehicle. An aftermarket wishbone can be had for £20, clutch kit £80, brake pads £10ish and no mechanic will mind working on an Escort. Bread and butter stuff they'll tell you. Even Ford dealer parts won't be too eye watering unless you want something rather out of the ordinary. I can't think of any particularly difficult job on the Escort mechanically.

By this time, Ford had sorted out most of the electrical gremlins that had plagued the outgoing mk5, electric windows even on my 1998 110,000 miler are strong and quick, everything on the functional dashboard works as it should, the central locking is noisy but that is a design flaw and is not a symptom of any fault. Don't be scared of this, they did it straight out the factory.

Security is good, Ford managing to combine their highly capable PATS anti-theft system, and deadlocking. Insurance reflects the nature of the cars use, cheapness of parts and fairly good standard security, with my "Flight" spec model weighing in at a perfectly reasonable group-6.

The car above all else should be cheap to buy and insure. I would never recommend anybody pump money into an old Escort now. Buy it, drive it, scrap it is probably the best way of looking at it. Whilst nobody will think you're going up in the world for driving it, there certainly are worse cars in its sub £1000 price bracket.

So, in all………

Its like that solid chocolate block with the nut in the middle. You can always eat around the nut, and enjoy a fair chunk of slightly gritty but satisfying chocolate. 

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