1997 Ford Escort Chiccane 5dr Estate review from UK and Ireland

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.

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.