Faults:

The only fault has been the door open warning light staying on when the doors are in fact shut.

General Comments:

The 1.8 engine is fast and responsive. the ride is comfortable. The interior is fairly spacious and light (has sun-roof).

I've had the car for over 5 years now, travelled 59,000 miles and only needed new tyres and windscreen wiper blades.

My wife has a year old Ford Focus, but I prefer the Escort.

Faults:

The back spring on the passenger side has broken.

The air conditioner runs all the time regardless if it is shut off or not.

The windshield is coming out.

The rear passengers seal on the door is coming off.

The paint and clear coat is coming off.

General Comments:

This car has a bit of spunk to it. When the gas is pressed it will take off. It has a bit of edge.

This car however will rev itself up on its own.

It also will inch forward in drive.

On long car rides it could be a bit more comfortable.

Faults:

Front suspension bushes on driver's side.

General Comments:

Pretty quick from stationary, awesome after 3,500 revs.

Add an induction kit and it's even better!

Excellent handling, firm, but sporty ride with positive steering that gives good feedback.

Fantastic front seats, side bolsters grab you round corners.

Excellent driving position.

Brilliant gear change (typical Ford) smooth and precise.

Build quality very good. However paint does chip easily.

Faults:

I owned the Escort for 5 1/2 years. The only thing that needed to be replaced was the alternator at 99k miles.

General Comments:

Very efficient, reliable. I thoroughly enjoyed ownership.

Faults:

The car suffered a very irregular idle. This meant 4 return trips to the dealer who had it checked out and different parts replaced each time it went in. He gave up eventually and had the car sent to a real Ford dealership who traced the fault to a faulty breather valve.

Electrics were another problem, although a minor problem.

The rear wiper started when it felt like it and just wouldn't stop unless we pulled the fuse. The relay was replaced and then it stopped working altogether.

After cleaning the contacts between the rear sill and the tailgate spring loaded connectors, the wiper has been fine.

General Comments:

We bought the car because it looked the part with alloy wheels and tailgate spoiler. And it was black which looked classy. A test drive proved fine, so we parted with our cash.

Our first criticism to the dealer was that the alarm and central locking didn't work. His reply was "It has no alarm OR central locking"

On a 1997 car! No alarm!

A call to the main Ford dealer confirmed this.

Lots of other things too. No rev counter. There is a display which is supposed to show which doors are left open, but that isn't functional on the Chicane.

So, a comfortable car, it looks the part, it's comfortable, quiet and has reasonable performance from it's 1.6 litre Zetec engine. Don't expect much though, it won't deliver.

Fuel economy is supposed to be around 35 miles per gallon. The car has just been through a full Ford dealer engine setup, and it returns nothing like 35 miles per gallon.

Probably around 22 around town and 29 on a run. £400 spent and it now has an alarm and remote central locking.

Faults:

The day after I bought the car the service engine soon light came on. Nobody could figure out what was wrong with it. I had to have taken the car in at least 10 times. Each time they would reset it, the next day it would come back on.

Just recently the check water light has been on, when it has enough water in it.

It is hard to get it first, third, fifth, and reverse.

The alternater locks up sometimes.

General Comments:

Most of the problems with the car are because of me. I race the poor thing at least 6 or 7 times a day. It really hasn't done that bad.