Ford Escort : 'Credit Crunch Car'

Advantages: Cheap to run, plenty of room, 5 seats, good first car, cheap parts, widely available, large boot
Disadvantages: no power steering, slow going up a steep hill

...The 1.4 Ford Escort is quite a car in many ways. Featuring 5 doors, a large boot and a sun roof, this spacious car certainly has all the features. It pretty much has everything you find in a standard car, except power steering which can make moving when stationary a hard task. Being quite an old car means the Ford Escort is an ideal first car because the insurance is only around £60-£70 a month for someone aged 20-22. I was fully insured for my first year, as this is when most people have a few minor scrapes and bumps as they're new to the road. Then I moved onto third party fire and theft for my second year, as I had gained good experience and confidence from driving solidly for a year. The insurance came down to around £50 a month for my second year of driving. The windows are manual along with the doors, which require a key to...

f1insidetrack 29.10.2009 (25.11.2009) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.4 Hatchback

Ford Escort Finesse

Advantages: spacious family car
Disadvantages: RUST(common Ford problem) not very safe

...FORD ESCORT FINESSE This review is based on a Finesse model of an escort, this model is a 1.6 16v, and it was first registered in 2000 on a 'W' plate. PERSONAL OWNING I owned one of these cars from 2000 till 2006 unfortunately it was an insurance write off so had to be replaced. In the time I owned this car it had a few problems such as the head gasket going along with the cylinder head but this was at around 90,000 miles. It had general ware and tear bits replaced throughout its life but no other major engine problems, suspension problems etc. Being a ford they are prone to rust and at around about 4-5 years old this car did suffer quite badly from rust mainly noticeable around the arches or the car. I used this car as a family car in the time I had it I found it spacious for things such as family transporting, shopping...

raregreyastra 03.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

Ford escort 1.4 LX 1991

Advantages: Cheap on parts, cheap on road tax, cheap and chearful
Disadvantages: Poor handling, sluggish, prone to rust.

...I bought this car a couple of years ago when I was in between cars, I have a van that is used for my Business during the day, but you cant realy use it for pleasure, or trips out to places. So I bought this car .. cheap ( £100) with no MOT, and in need of a few mechanical repairs. ***First thoughts*** The escort I got had a bent rear axle, ( probably due to the poor handling !! ) and was in need of some welding. , MOT and tax later , the car was back on the road. I must admit I had a very low view of this car , compaired to other cars I've owned, but I have to say this car was a pleasure to own, it did all that was required of it, was reliable transport, cheap on all it's running costs, and does exactly what it says on the tin. The interior is comfortable, seats adjustable, has inbuilt security, by way of a standard alarm...

cashman44 30.06.2004 (06.08.2004) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.4 Hatchback

Ford Escort 1.6 16v Estate mkV

Advantages: Cheap to buy, cheap enough to run, cheap insurance, space.
Disadvantages: Rust, comfort and looks

...still some old reliable Escorts but the body work suffers the most. ~ Summary ~ So if you are looking for a cheap car and need space, think about this model. Being an Escort you can get parts really cheap and running costs can be kept low by doing things yourself. Costs can be kept down by using your local garage rather than a main dealer as all garages know the common Ford faults. Be prepared for high mileage estates as they are used by builders, decorators or salesmen. Signs to look out for are worn steering wheel, seats and gear knob. Make sure there is no play in the steering wheel or you will be looking at new power steering in the future. Make sure you run engine for a while so that you can hear it through all the rev ranges as they tend to have problems with the idle control valve. Don't forget that the MK5 are run by...

lostsworld 13.05.2006 (12.06.2006) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

Ford Escort Eclipse 1.3

Advantages: Extras
Disadvantages: Power, electric window switches

...I owned a Ford Escort Eclipse 1.3 (H plate) for around 2 years. I used to do 50 miles a day in it during this time and so I am in a position to comment on its reliabilty and driveablity. The pros of this car were that it was the last in that particular model that were produced so it came with electric windows, metallic paint, a sunroof, body colour bumpers and a spoiler. The cons were that due ot the window switches being in a poor position on the door handles they got water in them from the rain etc and used to stop working. The engine was an overhead cam and so made a strange noise rather like a sewing machine. After owning the car for just over a year and washing it every weekend, the paint started to flake off. Th Overall this car was a nice run around but it lacked power and wasnt really built to a high standard....

Bren801 14.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.3

Yet another ford escort review

Advantages: Nice engine, cheap, insurable
Disadvantages: offset drivers seat, fuel economy

...Yet another car that I bought on the eastern edge of the M25, this was actually a good one. A 1994 M plate ford escort 1.6 LX. Coming from a very basic 1984 1.3 golf, it was amazing. It had a fews toys - power steering, electric windows. It had a 5 speed gearbox, decent headlights, proper electrics, reasonable speakers. It didn't smell of death. It accelerated. All these things my old golf didn't do. I ran this car for 6 months - 5000 miles. It was subjected to my usual servicing schedule of a 10000 mile service with a 5000 mile interim oil change, and fully synthetic oil. It responded very well to this, the oil I was dropping out at 5000 miles was still quite clear and light brown. Fuel economy was constant at 30mpg, no matter how I drove it. Even on a motorway journey to bristol and back from kent. This is also...

robachamings1 10.02.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

Ford Escort 1.8i Zetec Mark 6 (Si / LX)

Advantages: Sporty Look, Nice engine, cheap to run, good modding car
Disadvantages: Reliability, not made anymore, common, not the quickest car around

...I have owned my Ford Escort now for about five months and all-in-all I have been satisfied with it. I have had previous experiences with Ford cars and I have been quite impressed by their cars reliability, performance and practicalities. This review is on both the LX and Si model as the two cars are almost identical. The only differences I know of are that the Si has a slightly different interior with White Dials and more sportier seats. Performance First of all, after purchasing the car and giving it the 'Ive just bought a new car, lets see what it can do' drive I was pleasantly suprised on how the car picks up speed after 3000 revs. Being a Zetec engine it is set for economy between 1000-3000 revs, but as soon as you go over 3000 revs the car realises you are going for performance and the car starts picking up...

lunaticrik 28.06.2004 (18.01.2005) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.8

FAST FORD GTi ON A BUDGET

Advantages: quite nippy 115bhp engine. looks great. cheap to obtain.
Disadvantages: repairs can be pricy, problems with coolant system

...an average escort. Even though it is far out performed by it's big brothers in the Escort range, it still holds its own against similarly specced cars. And with it being a Ford, and therefore easyish to keep in good condition, it should be possible to find well maintained examples, or slightly tuned ones that can actually outperform similar cars. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS? They can be hard to track down, as they were reasonably rare cars, but should be possible to find a few great examples of well kept, low mileage gti's. One of the possible drawbacks with a car like this, unfortunately can be the locks, with the central locking on mine being slightly tempramental. Being a Ford, they do have a tendancy to be quite poor. Although, in my experience a few times it was impossible to get it to unlock from the outside, so the car was still always...

freeridemtber 19.11.2006 (18.04.2007) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort GTi

1998 Ford Escort chicane 1.6 zetec

Advantages: Cheap, Reliable, Cheap, Economic, Cheap
Disadvantages: Rust

...ever tried to steal this car but it does have multilocks. I also sometimes use a steering lock aswell to be on the safe side. The engine when i got it had a tendancy to 'chugg' at idle speed, since then i put some fuel injector cleaner in and it has solved the problem. Also own a 1982 Ford Escort XR3 which has been looked after and has covered 185,000 miles so the rumours about ford being unreliable are definately un true. The newer Escort is pretty much identicle to the older models but has more modern styling and a few things have been imporved on such as the battery eating through the body. The gearbox is very smooth and the engine is quite fast. Also, many replacement and performance parts are available from other model escorts at a low price, i got a set of 16 inch alloy wheels including tyres for £30 and most parts from...

veilsidemonkey 09.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

Ford Escort 1.6, Mexico and SI

Advantages: Cheap to buy
Disadvantages: a little tinkering maybe.

...Hi, I've had a couple of escorts, both N reg, one a Mexico 1.6, the other a 1.6 SI, sold both recently. Mileage 84,000 and 63,000 respectively. Both cars had minor probs, but nothing major. Tickover could be erratic, upto 2000 rpm and down to 50 rpm! on both cars, but not effecting normal open road driving, which on both cars was excellent and never missed a beat. The tickover always fixed itself by turning off engines and restarting, and was ok for a week or so. Apparently a simple repair could resolve but never bad enough to warrant cost! Rocker gasket leaks, easy to fix as long as u have a star bolt kit to remove the throttle bracket, spark plugs can stick (long service item) so loosen off every six months and re- tighten, NEVER cold start and only leave engine on for a couple of seconds!!! let it run until...

pauldocgreen 13.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback