1995 Ford Escort TD LX Estate review from UK and Ireland

The car is used daily for work, covering 120 miles (return journey). It is main dealer serviced which I have found pays regardless of what some pundits say. The car has been very reliable, apart from 2 problems, the first being when the cambelt snapped immediately after being replaced as part of the 36k service. The cylinder head was completely replaced by Ford, who provided me with a car & had the car fixed within 36 hours - a backstreet garage would have proved less helpful. The second failure was not car related but due to a Sigma Thatcham approved immobiliser failing which stranded my wife & baby girls.

I must advise anyone with a Sigma Immobiliser that Secure Microsystems do not have a reliable or widespread service network, which would have had the car off the road for 5 days. The only option (after phone calls costing me nearly £55, lost wages of nearly £270 & the cost of the immobiliser of nearly £200 fitted, as well as loads of heartache) was to have my Ford main dealer rip the immobiliser out.

So do not get a Sigma unit, & in fact if you have one you should think about getting it removed as Sigma units seem to be deliberately under-engineered (ie 2a relays controlling loads of 5a+), this means they are built to work but designed to fail.

I have a major query outstanding with this company & I will want all my losses (£660+) reimbursed.

The Escort has surprised me in terms of its otherwise nippy performace & decent load carrying capacity & I would definitely recommend this ideal small family car. It was pleasing that Ford increased the service interval to 10k as the servicing every couple of months made the car otherwise an expensive option at the high mileages I do. This car is best serviced via a Ford main dealer whom you can trust.