The new Ford Escort

[Mega]

http://www.carscoops.com/2014/04/sco...ew-escort.html

Not sure it will get to Blighty as we are into hatchbacks (unless its a F**king BMW).....The major problem for Ford/GM/REnualt etc is for very little money more you can buy (or lease) a BMW/Audi/Merc.........which would you rather have?.....Yes thus Ford etc have to give BIG discounts.

Not easy to judge how big it is or what (old) platform its running on.
Mike

[DRumsfeld2000]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I bought a Ford once and never again. I will stick with BMWs, Mercs and Audis.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I bought a Ford once and never again. I will stick with BMWs, Mercs and Audis.

I'd agree with a lot of their stuff over the years, but having had a good look over their newer Focus and Fiesta Ecodiesel hatchbacks I reckon they make a decent car today.

Great fuel economy(eco diesel), nice design, good build quality, and a few people we know who've been living with them long-term seem for rate them.

Not sure if they're global models or just imported EU models that may not be available in the US.

[charliebrown]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I owned an old ford escort, built on a 1995 mazda platform. Excellent car, very reliable. Lasted 15 years, 180K miles mostly city driving, the rust belt got it.
Engine, and trans, AC were still going good. I now own a ford focus. So far no problems. The gas milage is not as good. A decade from now I will give you
a reliability report.

[lektrode]

Re: The new Ford Escort

....now own a ford focus. So far no problems. The gas milage is not as good. ...

rented one (pretty sure it was a '13) last spring - it was a pig around town (altho HNL = stopngo hell zone), only low 20's for MPG - didnt like the way the (auto) transmission shifted either, seemed like it was always confused/indecisive about what gear it wanted to be in - my obs is that the only design consideration was acceleration vs MPG - likely where all the advances in the engine tech went for?

the chevy cruze (a '13 unit) was much better all the way round, got near 30 round town (rated 36hwy) - i also think GM's auto trans are the best in class - at least they've always seemed to be, growing up with them (the ole man was a buick guy) - smooth shifting, seem to know WHEN to shift moreso than others i've tried over the past 30years

the one thing i do like about fords trannies (auto) tho is that if you put em into say 2nd, it stays in 2nd - where as the GM units - at least all the ones i've driven - will drop down into 1st and then up to 2nd as speed chgs = not quite as good on snow.

all that said tho - the toyota corrola is my fave rental - mostly because they seemed to have emulated GM's basic driveablity feel/metrics - ie: how the controls are organized, something i detest about fords (esp the radio) - and stuff like how the tranny (auto) shifts, round town MPG etc

[lakedaemonian]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I've rented small Fords in Aussie and the US.

I'm guessing the US powetrains are different?

http://www.ford.co.nz/cars/new-fiest...ions/spec-data

4.9 l/100km = 48 mpg

http://www.ford.co.nz/cars/all-new-2...ions/spec-data

5.3 l/100km = 43 mpg

Although I noticed the small eco hatchback's sold here seem to be missing a diesel powered Fiesta in the current range as seem here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-dail...eriously-green

3.2-3.7l/100km = 76 mpg +

[flintlock]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I'd agree with a lot of their stuff over the years, but having had a good look over their newer Focus and Fiesta Ecodiesel hatchbacks I reckon they make a decent car today.

Great fuel economy(eco diesel), nice design, good build quality, and a few people we know who've been living with them long-term seem for rate them.

Not sure if they're global models or just imported EU models that may not be available in the US.

Yep, a lot of people are stuck in the past when it comes to perceptions of cars. It's not like BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are the paragons of reliability either.

[charliebrown]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I never take the car on the highway, So it only gets stop and go driving. It is a 2007 wagon body. I would say I'm getting about 26 MPG.
I had it on trip once where mixed driving was in the low 30's. My old escort/mazda got low 30's on the exact same work commute. On the
highway with a stiff wind at my back, I could hit 40 MPG in that car. A focus sedan might get a a little better milage do to less weight and
better aerodynamics. Note my escort was a wagon body too. I just love my little wagons. I can load 2 x 4s, bikes, etc in them.

[flintlock]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I never take the car on the highway, So it only gets stop and go driving. It is a 2007 wagon body. I would say I'm getting about 26 MPG.
I had it on trip once where mixed driving was in the low 30's. My old escort/mazda got low 30's on the exact same work commute. On the
highway with a stiff wind at my back, I could hit 40 MPG in that car. A focus sedan might get a a little better milage do to less weight and
better aerodynamics. Note my escort was a wagon body too. I just love my little wagons. I can load 2 x 4s, bikes, etc in them.

An old girlfriend of mine had an Escort from that era she bought new. Its kind of an apples to oranges comparison considering the 95 had a whopping 88 HP in most models and the new Focus has about 160! So we should expect some mileage differences. Wish I could remember that old car as fondly as you CB, but my first impression was " Why did you buy this car?".

"Economy" cars of today are in many ways better than luxury cars just 20 years ago, both in performance and refinement. Americans especially seem to demand high HP numbers yet still expect good mpg, which amazingly they seem to deliver.

[charliebrown]

Re: The new Ford Escort

It had a 5 speed manual, so I was able to control the power band slightly better than an automatic. It was not a performance car, but it did OK.
I did get it going over 100MPH one time with a little more pedal left.

My idea of a fantasy car is one that starts every morning, i can pack lots of stuff into, gets good milage, and I don't have to take to the shop very often. The 95 escort had one overhaul at about 120, tune up, tie rod ends, struts, timing belt, radiator. That was really it. I owned
it for 15 years in the rust belt. The only pain was the exhaust which was not stainless and after the oem one rusted apart I was going to the muffler shop every 3 years. No other repairs were made.

[shiny!]

Re: The new Ford Escort

It had a 5 speed manual, so I was able to control the power band slightly better than an automatic. It was not a performance car, but it did OK.
I did get it going over 100MPH one time with a little more pedal left.

My idea of a fantasy car is one that starts every morning, i can pack lots of stuff into, gets good milage, and I don't have to take to the shop very often. The 95 escort had one overhaul at about 120, tune up, tie rod ends, struts, timing belt, radiator. That was really it. I owned
it for 15 years in the rust belt. The only pain was the exhaust which was not stainless and after the oem one rusted apart I was going to the muffler shop every 3 years. No other repairs were made.

Add "relatively safe" to that and we agree 100%.

I just hauled 900 pounds of bagged compost* in my 2012 Hyundai Accent hatchback. I wish it had a dropdown tailgate like a wagon because lifting 150 pound burlap sacks up over the "curb" in the back of the hatch was a b!tch and a half! But it handled well and got 36 mpg with all that weight. It could have carried more but I wanted to see out the windows.

It averages 34 mpg mixed, 40+ strictly highway. I've had it almost 3 years, got 27,000 miles on it and had zero repairs.

* you know those really BIG burlap coffee sacks that hold 69 kilograms of coffee beans? Six of those.

[stetts]

Re: The new Ford Escort

Charlie,
"My idea of a fantasy car is one that starts every morning, i can pack lots of stuff into, gets good milage, and I don't have to take to the shop very often."
IMO, you are a very wise man. I have the same idea with my 1997 Chevy Z-71 4wd with near 350,000 mi. It's the "go-to" vehicle when something else gets stuck. Oh, this is very rural South Texas.
Take care. Stetts

[DRumsfeld2000]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I have a BMW and a Merc and have owned many cars including Audi so maybe I know what I am talking about. Do you know what you are talking about? )

[flintlock]

Re: The new Ford Escort

I have a BMW and a Merc and have owned many cars including Audi so maybe I know what I am talking about. Do you know what you are talking about? )

Well first of all my comment wasn't directed at you in particular but rather the out of date concepts we all have about some brands. Take cadillac. Hardly the old fart car it used to be. My brother swore off BMWs by the way, after 3 lemons in a row. I dont need to own one, I was they guy dropping him off at the dealer every month. The empirical data simply doesn't back you up if you are claiming superior reliability. Performance wise, your argument makes perfect sense.


If you want to compare a Ford to a BMW and then complain about the Ford I'd say I do know better. You are either unfairly comparing vehicles at entirely different price points or if you are comparing reliability then your argument becomes even weaker. There's a good reason you can buy a nice 10 year old S class Mercedes for $8000, or a little less than the same year/mileage Ford F150. One cost $90k new, the other $25k. Its not because they are not sweet rides, its because they break and when they do they are insanely expensive to repair. I think Audi were rated dead last one year in reliability, so yeah, I think I know what I'm talking about. I bought and sold cars for years as a way to make some extra money and it allowed me to drive Porsches, bmws and other nice cars. I've pretty much driven them all. I also can turn a wrench when I feel like it and have worked on all the above, at least enough to know not to fall for slick marketing campaigns that tell me how great my life will be if I just drive the right car. You do know they use Mercedes and BMWs as taxis and police cars in Europe right? Kind of like how they use Fords here?

There simply are not that many BAD brands out there anymore. Sooner or later the market takes care of that. (ie, YUGO, Delorean, Geo, Suzuki etc) People wouldn't keep buying Fords at their particular price point if they were consistently total crap. Economics 101.

I'm no huge Ford fan. I've owned several. Probably wouldn't buy another. They are average cars for an average price. But these blanket statements about this or that car maker being crap is an oversimplification at best. If people want to sink their cash into rapidly depreciating, expensive to operate vehicles then they are free to do so. But I have lived long enough to know that not everyone who drives a Ford does so only because he can't afford a Mercedes. The Yuppies around here may own a Mercedes, but its the tricked out Jeep or classic car in the garage they really love. In fact, my neighbor owns a Ferrari 430 but he just bought a 1980 CJ he's almost as proud of.

[flintlock]

Re: The new Ford Escort

Charlie,
"My idea of a fantasy car is one that starts every morning, i can pack lots of stuff into, gets good milage, and I don't have to take to the shop very often."
IMO, you are a very wise man. I have the same idea with my 1997 Chevy Z-71 4wd with near 350,000 mi. It's the "go-to" vehicle when something else gets stuck. Oh, this is very rural South Texas.
Take care. Stetts

Agree. I wish I still had some of the old cars I used to own. I have a 2003 Dodge Ram that just gets better with age. In the affluent area I live in, driving an older vehicle with high miles is actually becoming sort of a new status symbol if you can believe that. I shopped a little recently for a new truck. Not because anything was wrong with mine, but just to see what was available. All these ridiculously complex mechanicals now. A nightmare to own if you keep them a long time like I do. Some of these trucks go into limp mode if you use a slightly different oil viscosity. Cylinder deactivation. A dealer shop's dream.