Ford Escort SE
As much as I came to like this Ford Escort SE, my mind keeps on
rewinding back to the spoiler perched on the rear deck. It's the
silliest-looking thing I've seen in at least a couple of years,
easily outdoing the piece Ford tacked on to the latest Taurus SHO a
couple of years ago. It's too narrow, it's angled the wrong way, and
from the top looks like nothing so much as a bent-out-of-shape
skateboard.
Still, the spoiler is optional, and despite it, there's a lot to
like about the Escort. It's got a cute outer shell, with curvy,
dimpled lights and big oval door handles. It has a big, torquey
2.0-litre engine; it is also surprisingly fun to drive.
Though it's not particularly fast, and nor does it corner
particularly well, the Escort's endowed with a solid-feeling chassis,
quick and accurate (if a little bit light) steering, and grippy
Uniroyal Tiger Paw tires. It hangs on well in corners, with only
moderate body roll, and can be hurled down on-ramps and through
traffic with nary a complaint from the car. The shifter feels good,
with only a slight vibration from the stick, and the clutch is light
and linear.
The only blots in the Escort's driving experience are its
lacklustre brakes. Equipped with optional ABS, its stopping distances
still seemed long compared to other cars in its class, though pedal
feel was excellent. Then again, my bright-red tester had less than
200 km on it when I picked it up, so they may not have been broken in
yet.
But Escort's trump card isn't in its looks or its drivetrain; it's
in its well-built, thoughtfully designed interior. Packed with
interesting organic shapes (except in the oddly flat doors with their
square handles) and thoughtful touches, it gives Escort the feel of a
larger, more expensive car. Visibility is excellent, because of the
large glass area and high-mounted seats, but the outside mirrors are
too small and too triangular to be of any use.
The instrument cluster reminds me of an Olds Intrigue, and the
much-ballyhooed Integrated Control Panel actually works better
here&emdash;with simpler controls and better feeling
buttons&emdash;than in the Taurus, where it was originally used. The
swoopy dash, too, reminds of the Taurus, but isn't quite as curvy,
and, along with the centre console, packs far more useful storage
spaces.
The Escort, however, is a small car, with not a lot of room in
back if you're sitting behind someone tall; headroom is tight, and
there isn't a lot of space under the front seats in which to tuck
your feet. The trunk, however, is usefully big, and can be expanded
by flopping down the split-folding rear seats. Like the doors, it
shuts with a tinny clang, but can be opened from the standard
remote-control unit.
With a suggested price of $18,546, including air conditioning,
ABS, power mirrors, alloy wheels and that awful spoiler, the Escort I
tested was a reasonably good value, which explains why it's
consistently occupied one of the top-five seller slots for the last
few years. A more lightly-equipped SE, without the unnecessary
spoiler and wheels, runs just $16,095.
There's also a wagon model to choose from at the same price, and a
more powerful two-door ZX2 coupe. (For bargain hunters like me, a
stripped-down LX model, without air conditioning or power mirrors,
but with all of the same mechanical bits, is an even better deal at
$14,895.)
What's better, Ford dealers are advertising Escorts at far less
than list&emdash;Wheels alone is packed with ads pushing
air-conditioned models at around $14,000, which makes this
entertaining, nicely designed little car quite a bargain.