Ford Escort van review (1991-2002)
PROS
- Cheap and easy to maintain
CONS
- A rather uninspiring drive
Summary
The Ford Escort van was exactly what it said on the tin – a van version of the Escort car. As such it was never meant to be anything but a pedestrian workhorse.
However, since its final demise in 2002, this van seems to have achieved somewhat of a celebrity status and is still much sought-after in the secondhand market.
Marked improvements in the Escort van came in 1996 as it followed its car brother with a new model.
This version featured either a 1.3-litre petrol engine or a 1.8-litre diesel, although the petrol version was latterly dropped, leaving the diesel in both plain and turbocharged formats.
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While the petrol-engined Escort van managed half-reasonable performance, progress in both diesel engines was slow.
The non-turbo 1.8 offered just 60hp and 81lb ft or torque while the turbo added another 10 horses and 91lb ft of torque. This seems pathetic today but was about par for the course for diesel engines of that period.
After 1996, ride and handling improved enormously as the Ford boffins got serious about NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). They tweaked suspension, gearbox and steering mechanisms to give a much more refined ride. Engine noise was reduced, too.
Pre-1996 models were pretty basic, with few creature comforts and very average seats.
After that, things improved greatly with better seats and a smart dash reminiscent of the Mondeo car.
A radio/cassette player was fitted as standard along with power steering, but features such as ABS brakes were not offered.
One of Ford's big plus points with vans has always been cost of ownership.
Ford vans are always cheap, generally reliable, and there is always a Ford dealer just round the corner. It counts for a lot if anything goes wrong. And when it does, Ford parts are generally reasonably priced and plentiful.
While petrol engines were a tad thirsty by today’s standards, the diesel engines should prove fairly frugal.
Three-year warranties were unheard of when the Escort van was in production and, along with everyone else, Ford offered just a 12-month guarantee.
It may have been out of production for years now but the British roads still abound with Escort vans in various states of disrepair. As long as they are maintained to a reasonable standard, they will probably plug away faithfully for many years.
Their final demise is likely to be from neglect and rust rather than mechanical failure.
Although pretty low spec on the safety front by today's standards, the Escort was up with the others in its class for the late 1990s.
Although anti-lock brakes weren't offered, an alarm came as standard and later models offered a driver's airbag as standard.
Side impact bars and seatbelt grabbers also feature on later models.
