1996 Ford Escort LX review from North America

When I first bought it there was quite a bit I had to replace. It was used after all. The first and most major was a heater core ($800). I tested the car in July so, stupid me, I didn't check the heat. I had the water pump and timing belt replaced as well. Some of the more "wear and tear" items included tires, ball joints, brakes, rotors, and tie rods. After that the car was very reliable. It never broke down or left me stranded. I should also note it was a tank in the snow.

I should mention I have the sedan model. Well, this car is just your basic commuter car. It was very bland looking on the outside, although the alloys and spoiler did help.

The interior, while functional, is nothing special but it gets the job done. Performance is almost non-existant since the car had an 88 HP motor hooked to an automatic transmission. It was a step down from my old V6 Cavalier which had plenty of power. The upside to this was it had awsome fuel economy. If I took it easy, I could get close to 40 MPG. Beware on the highways since trucks blow this thing around pretty good.

It came with a very rare factory alarm system. When I say rare, I mean that I personally have not seen another so equipped. It was more annoying than anything else since it only armed the system and didn't actually unlock the doors. Also even if you didn't arm it, you had to push the disarm button to be able to start the car. It had a really nice Pioneer CD player that came with it when I bought it. They didn't bother upgrading the speakers which were all pretty much shot. Since I was a college student at the time, all I could afford was crappy Roadmaster (think Walmart) speakers. Stuff that never worked when I had it was the AC, driver's seatbelt motor and rear defroster. I never understood the allure of using motorized seatbelts.

The only reason I'm not driving this car now is because it was totalled in an accident. I recommend this car for people who want a reliable and economical commuter car. If it's performance you want, look somewhere else. I have never driven a GT or LX-E version, which has a more powerful motor, so I can't comment on them.