Faults:

I have read a lot of people talk about engine vibration. The problem with mine was the transmission mount that is under the battery tray and the front motor mount, the rubber transmission mount actually sags over time, and the engine lowers, causing it to be very close to the crossmember. I replaced the transmission mount and the front and rear motor mounts, and it is now smooth at idle, the mount on the fan belt end of the motor does not seem to go bad. I used Autozone mounts and it is now fine.

General Comments:

My car has been great. It's a crude car, but very dependable if taken care of.

Faults:

Plastic trim around steering column broke at about 140,000 miles, but I don't really care and haven't fixed it yet

Torque converter went at about 75,000, but still under warranty

Leaked antifreeze around the thermostat, an easy fix that cost me about 99 cents for a new gasket and some RTV

General Comments:

This is an excellent little sport compact. I drive it to work 5 days a week on a 75 mile round trip commute for the past 7 years, and now at 150,000 miles haven't had a single failure that cost me more than 10 bucks.

I drive this car hard too, just to give you an idea, tires with a 60,000 mile warranty usually only last me 10,000 miles. I have never had a car that so willingly tackles freeway ramps at 100mph day after day without ever giving me a scare.

Why would Ford stop making the Escort? It's a reliable, fun, affordable little car. Anybody looking for a fun daily driver, I would recommend a late 90's or early 2000's ZX2.

Faults:

The car always started well, except for one time when the starter went out at 89,500 miles. (I had to push start it to get it home, good thing about a manual.)

The car is also maintained. I change my timing belt every 40,000 miles.

Oil and filter every 2,500 to 3,000 miles.

Fuel filter every 15,000 miles.

Brake pads every 35,000 miles.

I have only changed the rotors once.

I also added a K&N air filter with cold air intake.

General Comments:

This is a pretty reliable car. It has never not started, except for one time when the starter went out, but that is OK because you can always push start it when you have a 5 speed manual transmission.

I maintain all of my cars well. It pays off, it really does. I have put almost 180,000 miles on this car and it has only had one starter problem.

This car is sweet, and it handles great and can hit 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds, and gets 37 mpg on the highway.

I am happy with this Ford. I wonder how long it will last; should I keep in touch?

Faults:

With a ZX2 depending on the which one you buy, I bought the wrong type supposedly. My timing belt shredded without warning. Which got me stuck 30 miles from my home. They told me that with this car, if the timing belt goes then the 4th valve in the motor goes. They also had problems when fixing a number of different parts that caused them to break. Over all in the past 6 months I have put over $2500 into my car. Not very cheap for a college student. The button on the shifter keeps sticking causing me to be stuck at a location until I can finally get it to work. I just had this piece fixed a few months ago and this is the 2nd time it has happened since it was fixed. Water leaks into this vehicle like it was a convertable with its top down. The moon roof leaks, it's a 2 door car and water leaks through the back windows. It holds moisture and I somehow got water into the backseat floor (causing MOLD!!) I have tried many things to get this to dry and nothing seems to work. It also leaks into the trunk real bad. The moisture is making the trunk smell musty.

General Comments:

The leather seats are starting to wear. Not the quickest getting from 0-60. When trying to make it speed up quicker it sounds like the engine will explode. The handling is decent and it gets good gas mileage (27mpg). I wouldn't recommend this car to ANYONE!!!