1998 Ford Escort Si from UK and Ireland - Comments

OK, first of all I only paid £1500 for the car so there were bound to be a few teething problems:

Needed new brake disc's & pads for the MOT.

Suspension bushes needed replacing, also for the MOT.

The immobilizer has just started to play up, meaning the car just fails to start sometimes - Costly to fix so I haven't done so yet.

This car is very quick for a 1.8 and handles well. It leaves all small 'hot hatches' standing, will do 60mph in 2nd!

However the brakes are totally inadequate and under heavy braking the wheels will lock-up or even light braking in wet conditions.

The cabin has a sporty feel and is well put together with plenty of room, but the seats are very uncomfortable on anything, but the shortest of trips. - Anyone who has driven the car has commented on this.

Poor fuel economy, can just squeeze 260miles out of a tank (

I also have a 1.8si 1998 model n I agree on every thing said, but I find it a little more comfortable than what has been said. they are very thirsty on the juice, but its just like any other car you drive it hard it drinks it hard, but I find it very reliable, but a bit doggy on a morning and the power is awsome for what the car is. at 4 thousand revs the car will just pull and pull and pull away from a lot of high powered cars regards michael 19 yr old.

I wrote the original review. I just wanted to say I still stand by my comments regarding the comfort of the seats on long trips.

I eventually had to get rid of the escort as more and more things started to go wrong; The Suspension bushes or other suspension components started to break down again very quickly after being replaced.

Also annoying ECU faults would make driving the car any distance very stressful, as you would always be wondering if the car would even start up again to get you home on the return trip.

I believed maybe I had got a bad car, but research on-line leads me to believe that a lot of escorts and mondeos of this age suffer these kind of issues.

However, if you are after a sporty little car that is very fast and only group 8 insurance, but with the ability to be highly practical as well as fun; go for it!

My current car is a Volvo 850glt, a huge improvement on the comfort levels offered in the escort. But even with its 2.5 10v engine it can only manage 0-60 in the same time as the escort, whilst guzzling down the go-go juice at a whopping 20MPG.

Part of me wishes I had stuck with that escort, I miss it.