Faults:

The Harmonic balancer went bad and started rubbing on the engine block.

The water pump failed and had to be replaced (not a chore for the feint of heart due to the timing belt being involved)

General Comments:

I loved my Ford Escort, in spite of it being a little on the ugly side from a style perspective.

I purchased it in 1998, in Anchorage Alaska USA, for $1600. It ran just fine except for the problems noted in the "What things have gone wrong with the car" section.

My first winter with it we had -20 Fahrenheit for nearly a month and that little car was starting when even the brand new ones wouldn't, and I was jump-starting them!

I sold it to a neighbor who gave it to his grandson, it still comes back to visit on occasion although I suspect that living with a college kid is taking it's toll on it. But hey, I'm sure it has some amazing stories to tell about the experience too, haha.

I would own another of these in a heart beat, but it seems like you either get a good one that will live longer than you, or a bad one that is plagued with demons.

From a driver's stand point it was a decent compact car. I miss the standard transmission; having married a lovely lady who cannot for the life of her figure out the stick-shift I think I am forever banned from having one of those again. The car handled well, and it performed beautifully on snow and ice. Fuel economy was really great.

I think the only difficulty I had was that dang timing belt being such a difficult thing to work on/around, if not for that I never would have had to pay some other guy to work on it, it was that simple and nice of a car.

Faults:

I have only had minor things go wrong with the car. Prior to my purchase of this vehicle, I owned a Ford Ranger. I bought this Escort to get me back and forth on my 120 mile per day commute, and the gas mileage of this car is excellent! This car had been in an accident before I bought it, and the body damage is still there, but is minor.

However, the frame up front began to separate, and it made my steering unsteady. This has been fixed, and the steering is true now.

The emergency brake handle quit working.

Goes through starter solenoids quickly.

General Comments:

I love this car and wouldn't trade it for a brand new car. Not even another Escort.

This car gets great gas mileage.

This Escort is very compact.

This Escort is very comfortable.

And, it has mildly good acceleration. Not bad for a 4 cylinder.

Faults:

Lots of little things have gone wrong which in time mount up to become very frustrating.

Wiring for example wasn't very good on the car and needed a few solid days work to fix.

Cooling was also a problem, but two constant fans now do a proper job.

Dump valve was also replaced due to it being the wrong type a 'diaphragm' rather then 'twin piston' dump valve, which released too much pressure for engine to properly operate.

General Comments:

Despite it's problems this is a dream car for me, especially as it was an upgrade from my previous car a Mk2 Fiat Punto 1.2 which was painfully slow.

The RS Turbo carries real history which shows on the countless faces who love to watch me zoom by, especially on high boost.

My escort is tuned to nearly 220bhp which gives me enough speed and torque to beat most of the so called 'fast cars'. Impreza's and Evo's for example pose no real threat anymore unless they're highly tuned due to the low weight on a RST. My power to weight ratio is close to 200hp/tonne.

The RS Turbo represents an alternative sports car which shows that despite 15-20 years of development cars still can't leave it in the dust, a testament to it being far ahead of it's time. But with a legacy from cosworth it's hardly surprising.

I have been offered faster cars in exchange for my RS, but haven't been able to part with it, it just gives you a feeling while driving that's unique and raw.