1999 Ford Escort SE Wagon from North America - Comments

Nothing has gone wrong with this Escort.

This is a great little wagon.

I have read lots of negative feedback about the Escorts, but one has to put this car into proper perspective. We were looking at Toyota Corolla wagons as well prior to buying, but the Corollas were about $2-3,000 more for the same year with less options.

Domestic cars definately depreciate faster, but this means that you can buy one at a very good price used. It also has to be remembered that most Domestics are not rated as highly initially as the Imports - given this, the new or used buyer must be aware of the reasons behind the less favourable ratings ans accept this with less expectations in terms of overall performance.

I owned a 1992 Escort LX-E sedan a few years back, and it too, was a great little car.

Prior to purchasing this wagon, we owned a 1984 Volvo 240 wagon. About as solid of a car that you can buy. I was concerned that the 99 Escort would not measure up in thel laest. I thought that it would feel cheap and would be of poor build quality... not so!

The Escort is built very well indeed. A nice, comfortable interior, good quality materials with an excellent fit and finish. The ride is quite smooth, and the car handles quite well in the twisties.

The exterior lines are attractive and the body is well constructed. I admit that I do like Toyota vehicles (having owned a number of them over the years), so we test drove a 2005 Echo. Nice little car, but the doors sounds very thin and tinny when shut. The Escort on the other had, close with a solid and tight sounding thud.

Fuel economy is quite good as well. I see that the ratings on the internet state 41 MPG highway and 34 MPG city (Canadian gallon). I am achieving 36 MPG and 30 MPG. Not as high as the ratings, but then again, most cars do not achieve the rated economies. 30 and 36 MPG is pretty good in my opinion for a 2.0 liter automotic that is quite peppy and responsive.

We have only owned this car for a month and have only put 1,000 KM on the vehicle. But so far it is a pleasure to own and drive, and we are very pleased with this little Escort in every way.

I will write another review in one year's time.

I mentioned that I would update my review of our little Ford wagon after one year... well, here's the update. We have now owned the Escort for 16 months, and have driven a total of 33,000 KM (20,500 miles) in that time. The mileage on the clock is now 99,700 KM (62,000 miles).

The car has performed very well in that time and we have had no problems at all. Fuel efficiency has held very consistent and steady at 30.5 MPG city and 36 MPG highway (imperial gallon). Still very good for a 2.0 liter automatic I believe.

The maintenance schedule does not call for a tune up until 160,000 KM (100,000 miles), but I had the plugs, PCV valve, plug wires, etc replaced at 86,000 KM just to keep the car running in top condition. I also changed all the fluids (including transmission) and replaced the transmission filter. I also replaced the original battery after starting the car reliably for 7 years.

The interior has held up very well indeed. No wear is evident on the upholstery, no cracks or fading on the panels or dash. This is quite something given that we have a 3 year old toddler climbing all over the car's interior and an 11 month old baby throwing food on the seats. The body is perfect with no corrosion signs (we live beside the ocean). After a wash, wax and vacuum, the little Escort shines and looks almost like new in and out.

This continues to be an extremely reliable little Ford that was cheap to buy, and continues to be cheap to operate. The car has never let us down in any way. As in all vehicles, the key to longevity is proper maintenance, especially running with clean lubricants all around.

I still recommend this car to all those looking for basic, no frills budget buy transportation. If you keep your expectations realistic and in line with what this car is, you will be very happy.

I enjoyed reading this review. I liked the perspective (former Volvo 240 owner too) and the reasonable attitude and expectations. Once you own one of the good old Volvos, it's hard not to have high expectations from other vehicles.

My '85 240 was an excellent, yet crude, car. Dependability was unbeatable. The seats were very comfy. It felt very heavy and safe driving it. However, it was terribly noisy (wind, engine, road noise), and fuel consumption was kinda bad for a 4cyl. (21mpg avg).

At one time, I had an '88 Camry and too thought the doors sounded rather cheap and tinny when shut. I've noticed with several Nissans I've driven (Maxima, 200sx, Frontier) that they have the same cheap, tinny feel, although I think they are very good vehicles.

I'm currently in the market for a '97-'02 Escort. I got the chance to drive a friends '97 Mercury Tracer LS wagon (same as Escort) and was very pleasantly surprised! I have read a lot that they are very under powered with the automatic transmission and terribly noisy. Not so! Compared to the '89 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible I'm currently driving and my Mom's '95 Volvo 940, I find the Tracer/Escort quite peppy actually! Although highway passing power seems pretty non-existent unless it downshifts and revs up to 4,000rpms, which I don't like at all. It is definitely much quicker than Mom's Volvo or my Chrysler (both 4cyl).

What I noticed and really love about the Escort is that when accelerating at a pretty zippy pace, the engine doesn't need to rev above 3,000 rpm. I've driven several comparable small cars and they all liked revving up well above 3,000rpm, making lots of noise. I find this to be more typical of the Japanese economy cars. I HATE that!

As for interior noise, having reasonable expectations that it is a cheap, small car, I don't find it terribly noisy at all. Granted, it's noisier than my Mom's Volvo, but I wouldn't say it's any noisier than my LeBaron. Noise levels are tolerable for my taste and expectations.

The seats are very firm, but seem reasonably comfortable. For long distance driving, I'm not sure though.

As the original reviewer states, I too find the Escort to be very well built, especially for an economy car. The doors shut with a solid thud. Fit and finish seems quite good. Not as good as a comparable year Civic perhaps, but drastically better than the Cavalier.

The ride quality somewhat surprised me. It's firm as I expected, but rides very smoothly down the road. I figured it would ride more harshly and jarring. Not the case. The power steering is great. It's very tight and responsive. It doesn't feel overboosted like in the '95-'99 Nissan Sentra.

I do find the engine to feel a bit too buzzy while idling, stopped, in gear. The engine does sound a great deal better than most economy cars out there though. Most are very buzzy and whiny, but the Escort motor sounds deeper and somewhat gruff. I definitely prefer the way it sounds.

As much as I like the Escort, I'm a tad leery about buying one after all the reading that head gasket failure seems pretty common (typically after 100k miles though) and a few people have had premature automatic transmission failure. Overall, it seems like excellent, dependable, inexpensive transportation, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I hope your Escort keeps treating you so well!