1989 Ford Escort Mark4 CL (5 door hatch) review from Norway

(Fixed Stuff!)

- Built in radio died.. made nice blue smoke!

- Changed rear muffler (sprung a big hole) around 130000km

- Replaced batteries 3 times (each lasted ~2 year)

- Replaced alternator at 140000km

- Minor leakage from engine, replaced small seal near distributer.

- Replaced steering rack parts to reduce dead zone.

- Place for Battery was deeply rusted.. had to fill up with rubber padding/epoxy

- Knob for heater temperature selector broke off, replaced cheaply.

(Annoying Stuff, not-fixed/fixable!)

- Water seeps (very slowly) near sunroof area.

- Trouble with battery area caused water to get in the car, still makes a lot of condensation inside.

- Some rust showing up around rear wheel arches.

This car is awesome! Its only 1.4L making around 80hp when new (must be down to 70-75hp now) yet it is hugely fast.

Ride quality is rather bad and car is too high so rolls a lot. Still the fully manual steering is spot-on, feedback from wheels is clear and crisp. Good value, good performance (for such small engine in a 16 years old car!) and quite good fuel economy, when I drive sensible.

For a 16 years old car, on which I learned to drive as well, it's a technical marvel. All lights work, heated seats work flawlessly, sunroof works, starts on within 3sec of turning the key even in winter. And most of all, it never broke down on side of road.