50 years of the Ford Escort
It’s been 50 years since the launch of Ford’s bestselling family favourite, the Escort. We look back at why so many have fallen for these cars’ charms
The Escort range was a winner from the off; it was Britain’s most popular car after BLMC’s allconquering Sixties AD016, and would’ve occupied the top spot much sooner had it not been for its Cortina stablemate. As it was, the Escort first became Britain’s best-seller in 1983 – and would remain so unchallenged for 15 years, to be toppled only when it was replaced by the Focus.
Typifying the original Escort in our three-car generation game is the 1300 GT, which was available from launch and best represents the MkI in sporty trim (yes; the Twin Cam was available in 1968 too, but hardily readily available with only 1263 built). Inside, it feels minimal but what few elements there are all appear nicely finished. It feels special, without excessive adornments.
The binnacle positions the rev counter and speedometer directly in front of the driver, with four auxiliaries to the right. It has a shallow sloping dash with a pair of big air vents and a strip of wood veneer underneath. The driving position is comfortable; slightly upright, with your legs outstretched.
On the move, the 1300GT is easy to get to grips with, thanks to its added throttle response over a standard MkI, its eagerness perfectly matching the cheery looks. The 1300 four-pot, mated to a progressive twin-choke downdraught Weber carburettor, is willing to rev but not exactly flexible, shuddering should you attempt to pull from low revs in too high a gear. It begins to pull strongly from 2000rpm, but it does its best work up to 4000rpm. A harshness creeps in beyond 5000rpm, tempering any willingness to further explore the upper reaches of the rev range. What’s more, the fact that its delicious engine note is the dominant element of the 1300GT’s soundtrack means you’re always conscious of how hard you’re working the engine and when it begins to sound strained.
Like all three Escort generations we’re looking at here, the MkI makes do with a four-speed gearbox. The shift action is short and smooth and the raised transmission tunnel means the lever falls nicely to hand. As such, there is no excuse for driver laziness – compensate for the GT’s lack of flexibility by generously exercising its ‘box and you’ll find it’s very lively indeed.
The Escort was the first Ford to benefit from rack-and-pinion steering. The self-centring effect could be stronger, but otherwise it’s precise and always lets the driver know what the road wheels are doing. Likewise, the ride is smooth on the flat, though bouncy over undulations, but sticks to the road remarkably well nonetheless. Body roll is kept to a minimum.
MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
We’ve chosen quite a late RS2000 – one of many Fords fitted with go-faster equipment in period – to represent the second-generation Escort. In this case, external features include a wedge nose with quad lamps, which gives the car an aggressive air, plus an RS rubber bootlid spoiler, various decals and alloy wheels. Aside from those changes, it sits squatter and uses a hotted-up version of the Weber-fed Cortina 2.0-litre ‘four’; think of it as an enhanced road car, rather than a tamed track car like the Cosworth-powered RS1800.
But we’re not dealing with any old RS2000 here; this one demonstrates just how well these cars lend themselves to owner improvements.
The standard car offers nimble handling, a welldamped ride and plenty of verve from its willing single-cam engine out of the box. What the owner of this rare Rivera Blue example, Steve Ellis, has done is detailed separately, but it amounts to engine work resulting in over 50 per cent more power, fuel injection and a 2.8-litre Capri five-speed gearbox in place of the original four-speeder.
In short, this Escort is a rocket. The take up is incredible and only minimal inputs are required for the controls. The steering is heavy but the rack is quick, allowing for impressive levels of precision. The throttle is incisive, while equally responsive selections can be made using the short-throw gearbox.
Inside, it feels more modern than the MkI thanks to its instrument layout (which comprises gauges housed in an instrument binnacle behind Perspex), a flat plastic- and vinyl-lined dashboard and deep centre console tray. Those sculpted Recaro seats really are the stars of the show, though; they look great, provide a fantastic driving position for heeland-toe work and feel wondrously comfortable.
Handling is taut and tight, but what’s really impressive is that while there’s a considerable amount of road noise, you don’t get any sense of it in terms of the ride, which is tight but not crashy. It rides beautifully and while you’re always aware that the suspension is working hard, you don’t get a sense of it when you’re pinned to the well-bolstered bucket seat. It’s absolutely stupendous. Finally, we arrive at the third generation. We have to admit that we were tempted to select an XR3, given the company it would be keeping, but decided in the end it was more important to demonstrate the
range’s versatility. As such, we opted for the topspec, non-sporting 1600 Ghia.
Where the MkII was in essence a reskin of the Escort’s compact body with few mechanical changes – new 1.6-litre engine aside – the third-generation Escort was as crucial in its importance as the MkI. That’s because Ford exercised considerable caution before adopting front-wheel drive for its new arrival; if Ford was going to be late to the FWD party, it had to get things right.
In the Sixties, BMC had demonstrated a willingness among the public to accept front-wheel drive, and by the Seventies numerous European manufacturers had joined the fray. But it wasn’t until the technology had been proven in the 1976-on Fiesta that the Escort would finally wave goodbye to rear-drive.
Best described as a fastback with a bustle, the MkIII represented a real departure in terms of its styling from the previous Escorts, too; there’s considerably more glass area than there is in the MkII, not to mention a comparatively indecent amount of chrome owing to its Ghia specification. Those garish side stripes are hardly understated, either – the only thing that gave the 1300GT’s spec away from a distance was its black grille! Plus, of course, it’s a hatchback. With mounting Eighties competition, it’s clear the Escort had to work harder than ever to stand out from the crowd.
In keeping with previous generations, the MkIII is pleasingly straightforward inside, though the Ghia specification – which includes such niceties as a glass sunroof plus a roof-mounted digital clock – is key to its appeal.
At the heart of the MkIII though were the 1.3- and 1.6-litre versions of Ford’s new CVH engine, which was considered state of the art in 1980 thanks to the design of its combustion chamber from which its acronym is derived (Compound Valve angle Hemispherical chamber). In 1.6-litre guise, the CVH has impressive flexibility, given its size; it doesn’t protest if you set off in third, nor is there any hint of harshness. In period, it was celebrated for its smooth running right up to the top end of its rev range, and these characteristics still shine through.
The engine is mounted transversely and drives a four-speed gearbox developed from the Fiesta. The missing fifth gear means the Ghia is slightly overgeared to compensate. Top gear performance is theoretically compromised in the name of relaxed cruising, but this doesn’t feel the case in practice. Consistent with the Escort ethos, too, the gearchange is light and positive.
Although far from heavy, the steering has a pleasingly solid feel to it and while it leans in the corners it doesn’t feel unsafe as the handling remains neutral in most situations. If there is criticism to be levelled at the MkIII Escort it’s that the ride is too soft, resulting in quite a bit of pitching, particularly over knobbled surfaces.
There are far though more positives than negatives and the delightful CVH unit more than balances out any misgivings we may have concerning the ride.