The Ford Escort Mk4 Was Good Enough To Stay On Top (1988 1.3 L Road Test)
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2024
- WIN with Lancaster Insurance: bit.ly/44qSTFz
After the front-wheel drive Mk3 Ford Escort managed to retain its spot as Britain's best-seller, the facelifted Mk4 had it all to do in the face of the Vauxhall Astra, Volkswagen Golf and Japanese competition. With modernised styling, a new interior, more fuel efficient engines and more powerful XR3i and RS Turbo variants to challenge other hot hatchbacks, was the Mk4 good enough to keep Ford at the #1 spot?
Road tests sponsored by CAARParts: www.caarparts.co.uk/
Thanks to Drive Dad's Car for loan of this car: drivedadscar.com/
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Chapters
0:00 Meet The Mk4 Escort!
1:09 New Engines
1:55 Replacing The Mk3
2:27 Styling
2:49 Mechanical ABS
3:16 Suspension Changes
3:45 Driving Impressions
4:16 Trim Levels
4:48 Evolution
5:38 Against Rivals - Why It Won!
6:05 Memories & Nostalgia
7:09 Was The Mk4 Escort Good Enough? - Авто та транспорт
It's very telling how quick things can shifted in society. The Escort MK4 was literally everywhere, on every street and road, up and down the UK.
Street furniture of yesteryear quickly goes extinct, it seems!
Now it's all Qashqais, VAG shite (incl Audis) and chavs in A class mercs!
@@simonspider
Nailed it
Love those escorts of the 80s. Bring back so many Brilliant memories..
Too right!
And despite all the hooning about, I still managed to get 30,000 miles out of each set of front tyres and 60,000 out of each set on the back! What a car!
My sister's first car was a 1.3 Popular estate, it was 12 years old and had covered 144,000 miles when she bought it. I was probably a bit dismissive of this old nail I thought she'd bought, but was proved completely wrong when it never missed a beat over the next 3 years and a further 30,000 miles. A really tough little car.
They were remarkably durable if cared for!
Toured Scotland in a brand new one identical to this one in the summer of 1990 with a friend of mine. It was a lovely car. Happy memories.
Fantastic!
I'll copy my comment from the preview...
"My first brand new car was a red 'F' registered Escort 1.3L. Looks like this one has survived better than mine, which is not surprising given I did 152,000 miles in mine!"
First car in 2002 was a 1987 MK4 Escort Bravo 1.4 cvh in Rosso red and white wheel trims. I was an apprentice at local Ford garage at the time I purchased it from a customer after after it came in with faulty alternator and she didn't want to spend any more money on it.
I vaguely remember my dad picking up in his brand new F plate Burgundy 1.4L after chopping in his D plate 1.1 3dr popular back in 1988.
Also i remember my dad saying on his 1986 1.1 popular he had to option rear seat belts. I think they came mandatory soon after. 😂
He optioned rear seatbelts?! How decadent!
Great video I currently own a 'H' reg Escort Eclipse in Flambeau Red absolutely love the car. It gets so many admiring comments people just love it. 👍😉
It brings back memories for a lot of people, me included! -Phil
I had a brand new one of these in two tone metallic grey. Mine was the 1.6 LX and I loved it. Thinking back it was so basic but most of us knew nothing different then. I even bought an XR3i steering wheel and got that fitted. 😊
I had an auction bought non turbo diesel one of these. Heaviest steering I’ve ever used on a semi modern car. It was absolutely bullet proof and got driven foot to the floor everywhere it went. It cost so little to buy I used to run it on red diesel not giving a crap if I lost it. After two years of flat out everywhere I sold it for more than I payed…..wish I’d kept it.
Can't argue with that for cheap motoring!
The mk4 escorts were probably fords most successful products, like you say they got lazy with mk5. I remember the last of the escorts using the GTI name as opposed to the RS and XR3i in a last ditch attempt to get customers back before the focus replacement came in. Great review. 👍
Loved mine. Company car - took it down to the south of France. Might have preferred an XR3i but it did the job. Moved on to a Sierra 2.0GL. Ahh, the good ol' days!
My Dad had a 1.1 Fiesta L auto (G reg) and a 1.3 Fiesta LA (K reg facelift) and he had no issues with the CVT transmission on those (both new). I believe they were a joint project with Fiat and the 'Selecta' models came with that same CVT system which was fitted to Panda, Uno and Tipo (not sure on Regatta).
The 1.1 Fiesta we took all the way down to Southern Portugal and various regions of France in the early 90s and then with the 1.3, we took that to Spain a few times, France and then drove it all the way to Hungary. No problems. The K reg one that we took to Hungary in 1994 got the most ridiculous amount of attention as all the cars there were Trabants, Skodas, Wartburgs and Ladas in various colours of dysentery - a brand new bright red (radiant red) Fiesta was as good as a supercar to the humble mid 90s Hungarian (family members being some of them).
I later went on to look at a neighbour's F reg Escort 1.3L 3 door in red (which this very much reminds me of) when I passed my driving test in 1996 but ended up going with Vauxhall and had a litany of Belmonts and Astras.
I bought my late son a mk4 escort from an auction house. No one bid on it but me and I got it for £50. I think it was a 1.6GL, even had a sunroof.
My son tarted it up and px it for a much newer car once he had passed his test and got £500 for it. The escort was the perfect car to learn to drive in. Greetings from Cumbria in the U.K.
Early Mark 4's - C and D registration - used a new paint process that backfired spectacularly. They were absolute rot boxes and the trade knew to avoid them even at 5-6 years old. In late '87 for the E plate, Ford revised this plus they fitted plastic front arch liners - you'll see these on the last D plate cars.
Excellent point. Although it wasn’t just the paint - Ford had changed the grade of steel, which rotted very quickly. This is why there are very few C and D plate cars, especially British ones built at Halewood. The XR3i and RS models did not use this steel and were built in Germany, hence also why there is more of them. So yes, poor paint and poor steel was not a good formula!
In the days before easyjet I drove one of these to Prague. I parked it outside my friend's apartment. The next day we went downstairs and there was an old guy walking around scratching his head. He had never before seen a Ford Escort. He had no idea why the steering wheel was on the 'wrong' side. And he was pointing to the GB sticker on the back asking where thee car had come from (the Czech for Great Britain is Velka Britanie).
Proof you don't need planes to see other countries and cultures, just an old Ford!
I assume this was in the 80s,since the Czech guy had never seen a Ford Escort?? I hadn't realized it was particularly easy to just drive into what would've been an Eastern bloc country in the 80s!
@@markhealey9409 It was in early 1990. The communist government had just been replaced and Vaclav Havel had just been elected president.
When I clocked 100,000 miles in mine I was doing 100mph (at least that's what it said on the clock) on the Autobahn between Cologne and the Dutch border!
What a way to do it!
My first car was an 89 G 1.4 Escort 5dr. Unfortunately it got rear ended in May 04 by an uninsured Escort van and uninsured Renault Kangoo. Front car of a 3 car shunt. Was pronounced a cat B write off by my insurance and scrapped. I couldn’t wait to move onto something else after passing my test but 20 years on look back rather fondly at the Escort.
So do I! -Phil
5:24 an interesting fact, the escort MK4 was produced until 1996 in south america, alongside the escort MK5
Blimey, long shelf life!
Nice blue Avenger at 7:46
Good spot.
Stay tuned for a future video 👀
The Mk4 was my favourite Escort
A great all-rounder for sure!
When I started primary school my folks upgraded to a 1.4L estate, same colour as this one but with a 4-speed. It was the car I practised driving on at 17 too - was a bit of a banger by then! I guess not many millennials have used a manual choke unironically, though!
I bought a mk4 Escort “Bonus” in 2007 for £110, it was a 3 door 1.3 OHV engine model, it was a good car, had it for just a year but in that time it didn’t need anything except a service.
I agree with you on your comments it was good enough to stay on top.
Learned to drive in one of these. Happy days.
Another good review but wait - “Wot, no Killingworth?” 😂
Worry not, we'll be back soon! 😉
Having had a mk3 xr3 and mk 4 van I remember both having horrible gear changes.Having said that before I had rwd cars with direct gear selectors that just clicked into place by comparrison.The xr3 was on a weber carb but was never as fast as it was made out to be for a 1.6.
My father took us to Spain and back twice !!! In 3 door estate van Escorts , 1, Mk3 1.3 pop plus , 2 Mk4 1.3L , 4 gears of fun , they were company cars
Later my 1st car was a mk3 Escort 1.3 Cvh , deathtrap the tappets were horrendous Leeds to Stockton-on-Tees it was burning so hot it stank pulled off into a petrol station flipped bonnet flames were licking off the exhaust manifold, engine swap @College was even worse + I only had 4th and second gear , some one had messed with the gears once engine was out I figure , sold it .....kicking myself 30 years later !!! I'd do anything to restore that car 😢
The kind of decent, unassuming and durable car that has died a death in recent years. I had a neighbour who used to absolutely thrash his mk4 Escort on a daily basis- it also served as his work ‘van’. And it just kept on going. No frills, gizmos or even anything vaguely fashionable - but they were inexpensive to buy, cheap to fix, and provided transport for millions of ordinary folk. I liked them a lot for that - and there are no modern cars that can hold a candle to these in terms of great value for money.
Had a 1.3 Popular Plus estate to say it was basic was an understatement, But it was reliable for time I had it, sold to friend who promptly wrapped it round a lamp post ugh .. well at least I got paid for it
It clearly left an impression, gotta love the bare-bones Popular!
My first car was an F reg 5 door Escort L in radiant red like this one, but with the slightly nicer grille in the front bumper and a 1.8 diesel engine. It also had a black rear spoiler that I assumed was fitted by a previous owner. Same wheel covers which I swapped for RS1600i/Turbo S1 alloys.
Loved my MK1, 3,4 and 5 😅😅
Just bought one by myself. 1.4CL, -86. Only 185000km.
Great find!
Back in the 80’s and 90’s I had a series of Escorts as company cars. Two Mk 3s were followed by a couple of Mk 4s, the a few Mk5s. My favourite were definitely the Mk4s, they handled competently, drank less fuel and were much more comfortable over 40,000 a year. It all went a bit wrong with the Mk5 though.
Arguably a better all-rounder than its predecessor OR successor!
My company had so many bad reports about the Mk5, they switched to Vauxhall Astras.
I’ve had every Mark of Escort apart from a Mk1 & I agree, the Mk4 was the best. I stupidly “ upgraded “ to a Mk5 and gave the Mk4 to my Mum. Within a few months, we had swopped and I’d got the Mk4 back. I hated that Mk5. My Girlfriend at the time had the facelift Mk5 with the oval grille & that was crap also.
Good car ..I would have gone for this 1.3 L engine over the CVH every time.
Much smoother!
The old escorts were simple and dependable and were everywhere despite being outclassed dynamically by many rivals.
Not sporty, but a good tool!
I owned a 1.4L and never liked it sadly. It started when I discovered the wrong carburettor was fitted to the car (not Fords fault) and after that had continual problems and multiple AA call outs! Traded it in pretty quickly for a Fiesta which was a great wee car.
Never forgotten how tappety and raspy the 1.3 Escort was but the engine was bulletproof.
Not quiet, but it'll get you there!
Another good video 🚘🚙🚗👍👍👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️👏👏👏👏
Thanks Jimmy!
I had a new one a popular plus actually in white it was a dependable old car although I must admit there was nothing in it to go wrong 😂 good old cars simple and reliable .
Can't beat the simplicity!
What is the industrial estate where some of these videos are filmed?
This is at Drive Dad's Car in Matlock Bath: drivedadscar.com/
I had a mk5 estate with the 1.3 cvh and cat. It was gutless and barely had enough power to use 5th gear on anything other than flat surfaces
I had an 88 xr3i and an 89 Eclipse. The Eclipse 1.3 engine was awful but it actually looked quite smart. The xr3i was just a shed, should never have bought it really. Replaced it with a Rover 220 gti which was massively better.
I had a 1990 Popular from 3 years old, we kept it untill 1999 when a diesel Mondeo '96' supplanted it. By then it was really rattly and burnt oil. It did the job of ferrying the kids around and commuting.
Can't argue with that!
@@ClassicsWorldUK it was a toss-up between that and an Astra Merit, both in red at £2950!
The Mk4 basically ticked all the boxes for an affordable small family car in the late 1980s. You knew exactly what you were getting with no nasty surprises. There was also a high level of brand loyality associated with Ford, Vauxhall and BL/Rover, but particularly with Ford. Some drivers had probably owned nothing but Fords since they passed their driving test in the 1950s. If private buyers/fleet managers had been happy with their Escorts and/or Sierras they stuck with what they knew and kept on buying them.
Hit the nail on the head, Paul!
Nice cars but I always preferred the mk2 astra
Good call, have you seen our Mk1 Astra road test?
This engine is the same Endura engine from the Fiesta?
Yes it is.
I had a q reg escort rs turbo
Very cool!
I learned to drive in one of these.
Easy to drive and maintain but the engine was so nasty it sounded like a Moulinex blender!
Not the smoothest powerplant out there...
The speedos on these were so inaccurate I had 110 showing on a 1.1 popular 😂
Ah... 😂
Had the misfortune of swapping my 1.6 LX for a new MK5 Zetec 1.8 LX. The new car was complete pig and spent more time at the dealer than I drove it. Luckily I started a new job with a company car so the MK5 was sold. Sadly, the MK5 was so bad that it put me off Fords for the rest of my life.
I had one. Great car until it rusted away.
They're certainly rot prone...
My grandad had one owned it seven years and 255'000miles
Hated that 1.3 HCS that sounded like a rattling Talbot
The styling of the mk5 was bland, as was the original Mondeo.