LOVE FOR THE MK6
Jamie Brothwell explains her passion for the unloved Mk6.
The last-of-the-line Escorts may not enjoy the worldwide acclaim of the earlier models, but for some the appeal of a fast Ford is about much more than performance figures alone. Lifelong Blue Oval fan, and owner of numerous fast Fords, Jamie Brothwell, explains her love for the humble Mk6 Escort…
Where does my love for Ford come from? That’s a question I get asked many times. Well, it could be that I was brought home from hospital in a Granada 2.8 Ghia X – like the one Cowley drove in The Professionals. It could be the Mk1 Escort Estate that my dad got stuck between two trees when we were acquiring a cheap Christmas tree from the woods when I was three years old. Or perhaps the Maritime Blue Mk2 Transit that my dad shut my thumb in the door of when I was five and made my thumbnail fall off (although I doubt this one made me love the brand!). Or the Diamond White Sierra Sapphire that I was so proud of when my parents bought it in 1992..?
Ultimately, I have so many childhood memories and although they maybe diverse, there remains one constant running throughout– a Ford.
Growing up on a sleepy council estate in Suffolk in the ’80s and early ’90s, there might as well have only been two brands of car in the world; Ford or Vauxhall. And as you have already started to see, we sat firmly on the Blue Oval side of the fence. I remember, in our street growing up, there were five cars; three were Sierras and two were Cavaliers. And on one cold March morning in 1994, my mum announced that her boss was coming round to show me his new car – a car that turned out to be a brand new M-registration Escort RS Cosworth LUX! From that day I was hooked. I can remember thinking how luxurious it was with the Raven leather, the amazement at the banana pod with the integrated dials, and being fascinated by the turbo gauge. This was the ‘bee’s knees’ (as I would have said at the time) and I pledged from that day I would own an Escort RS Cosworth...
REALISING A DREAM
I’m pleased to say I have owned many Ford Escorts over the years, including the RS Cosworth that I promised myself when I was a child, and the once ‘nations most loved’ car is my own personal favourite too. For me though, the Cosworth isn’t my most cherished of the Escorts, that accolade falls to the Mk6. Why? I hear you cry…
Well, for me, like so many, the cars you grow up with and hold a personal association with are the ones that you tend to love and cherish the most when you get older, and that is very much the case for me. I learnt to drive in my mum’s red three-door Mk6 Escort Mexico. It was that very car that gave me my freedom. And the fact that the other car on our drive at the time was a matching Radiant Red Escort GTi, which made me the envy of my class mates at the time, also adds to the fond motoring memories. Regrettably, I never actually owned the Mexico, but I did later purchase the GTi from my parents in 2004, and promptly set about modifying it with 17in alloys (big at the time), suspension upgrades, and an obligatory enormous stereo install.
I’ve always loved cars and over the years have had a huge variety, but it was the launch of the 2016 Focus RS that brought me back to the Ford scene, and now
having had no fewer than four of them – plus four RS Cosworths too – I have arrived back where I started, with my love of the Escort Mk6.
My return to Mk6 ownership came about as a result of my normal daily car being changed, and a gap between cars meant that I only had an Escort RS Cosworth to use every day. Initially, I did use the Cosworth as my ‘daily’, but I was always nervous of where I left it, and whether it would be there when I got back.
So that got me thinking, I love driving a retro daily so why not get a Mk6 to use to run errands? It would still give that oldschool retro vibe, but without the worry of where I could safely leave it... and the rest, as they say, is history. Upon starting my search I initially looked at the Mk6 RS2000 models. However, as I was looking, by chance, I stumbled upon a low-mileage ‘blast from the past’ and nostalgia got the better of me.
To me, the Mk6 not only represents exceptional value in a mostly-overpriced Ford scene, but if you can find a solid rustfree example they are actually a fantastic little car that drives as good as a modern machine. I now own three Mk6 Escorts, and this collection all started with a Radiant Red three-door with 52k miles; a car which I bought in homage to my mum’s Mexico from 1995.
I covered over 1000 miles last summer in that car, bringing back so many happy memories from my youth. My mum’s car had the registration M25 KEG, which with the Mk6 Mexico being built to commemorate 25 years of the Londonto-Mexico rally was always a talking point. So, in honour of that car, I bought the registration N25 MEX for my new car – which compliments nicely my Escort RS Cosworth with the registration N25 COS too.
COMPLETE THE HAT-TRICK
More recently I have added two more Mk6 Escorts to my garage. The first of which is a very rare Escort RS2000 4x4 – not only rare because there is thought to be only 36 left of the 601 built, but furthermore because it is finished in State Blue; a colour that was never actually specified as an option by Ford. I love this car because when I was young I would read the brochure and this was the model I always wanted. The Cosworth seemed too far from my reach
back then, and there was something about the Flow Raven cloth interior and the white dials that made me love it. Which is why when this particular, 66k miles example came up for sale via a friend I jumped at the chance to buy it in its completely original condition, including double DIN CD player and plush Ford carpet mats. I may well add some RS 7-spoke ‘softline’ alloys ahead of the 2020 show season as I think they really compliment the style but I cannot wait to show this car.
The most recent edition to my fleet is my Ash Black five-door Mexico. Now, this is a car that will divide opinion, as in fact the Mk6 Mexico did back in 1995, and in some circles continues to do so to this day. The car at launch was a hybrid; a low-spec featuring Mistral Raven cloth wrapped around LX seats with some Si white dials, a boot spoiler, and strangely, black plastic, noncolour coded bumpers. Under the bonnet is a 90PS 1.6-litre Zetec engine. Hardly a show-stopper... My particular example, I bought with one owner and just 28k miles, and given the original advert featured a five-door model with the strap line ‘Wish you were here’, I felt that it was a great piece of Ford history. And whilst it may not be the greatest Ford in the world, it has huge sentimental value to me personally, and to me that comes with a higher value than the price or appreciation.
All of my Mk6 Escorts are in regular use, the Red car is used as a bit of a hack to be honest, the RS2000 4x4 I have recently being using as my daily, while I have given the black Mexico to my Mum on long-term loan who uses it daily.
The Mk5 and Mk6 divide opinion. Many like the boxier and arguably more aggressive styling of the Mk5, which is more closely associated to the Cosworth. However, in my opinion, the interior quality is somewhat lacking and less refined than in the Mk6. Although the Mk5-B was launched with its oval grille, new rear lights, and overall rounder styling was a step towards a better car, by the time the Mk6 arrived on the scene the public in the main had lost patience for the Escort.
Both the Mk5 and Mk6 remain a rather underrated car, and are barely mentioned outside of Cosworth form. I believe the lack of tuneability versus earlier models hampered its desirability amongst diehard Ford fans, in addition to a time in the car scene where manufacturers started to offer PCP deals where more and more youngsters were buying Saxo VTRs, Peugeot 106 Quicksilvers and MG ZRs rather than buying Ford Escorts and modifying them.
Was the Mk6 Escort a bad car? No. It’s just that other brands not only caught up with Ford, but they overtook them and ultimately stole their breakfast in the 1990s with smart finance schemes, free insurance and fancy body kits.
FUTURE CLASSIC
Today the Mk5 and Mk6 Escorts in good condition represent a fantastic opportunity to get into the Ford scene at an affordable level. But with fewer and fewer vehicles available, as with many Fords, they are sure to increase in value in the coming years. I would urge any budding Ford fan to go out and grab a good one now, before it’s too late.
It’s fair to say that Ford owned the roads in the ’70s and ’80s, with the famous ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ attitude ensuring their cars were always the ones people aspired to own. But despite both the Escort RS Cosworth and RS2000 winning rallies, the Escort seemed to lose its way in the ’90s.
However, in my opinion, Ford are very much back in the game, starting the new decade with the fantastic Fiesta and Focus ST, and with the Puma ST on its way, not to mention maybe even a new RS to follow too. Watch this space.
“...For me the cars you grow up with and hold a personal association with are the ones that you tend to love and cherish the most when you get older...”