1999 Ford Escort SE sedan review from North America

Lots of things have needed replacing prematurely and/or multiple times. Engine and transmission mounts (car vibrated very badly, fixed then started vibrating again), brakes pads and rotors, tie rods, rear struts and springs, automatic transmission started to slip.

I gave my mother my previous 1994 Escort to use as a trade-in so I could "move up" to a newer car, her 1999 Escort SE. She had a few problems with it every year, so I should have seen the warning signs.

The older (1991 to 1996 Escorts) were the BEST. I had a 1994 Escort LX 4-door hatchback with a 1.9 liter engine and a 5 speed manual transmission. Roomy, comfortable, reliable and good on gas. Nice looking car too. But, mine didn't have air conditioning.

My mother got this 1999 Escort when it was six months old. Maybe it was abused or just a lemon to begin with. Bland looking, not very versatile (sedan vs hatchback) and such a money pit! Both my mother and I both drove this car very gently and I did a lot of highway driving.

When I got this 1999 Escort, it had about half the mileage my 1994 Escort had. The 1994 had hardly anything that every needed replacing. But not the 1999. I went from a good car to a bad car. I was always fixing things. About $2000 per year. And I was still driving an old car (7 years old at the time I traded it in on a new Toyota Matrix). I figured if I'm going to spend that kind of money on a car, might as well be on monthly payments on a nice, new, reliable one!

I briefly considered looking for a low mileage 1994-96 4-door Escort hatchback or wagon. If a new car is not in your budget, that's what I would do. The 1997 and up Escorts were not as good. Several other people have agreed with me on this.