1985 Mk3 Ford Escort Goes for a Drive

The Mk3 Escort was an astonishing departure from the traditional Mk2, now a front wheel drive hatchback, now fondly remembered by millions, but what was it really like?
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[@calumbaxter9946]

Thank you so much for reviewing my car and i think it was a very fair assessment. From an era when you could thrash a car through all the gears, not break the speed limit and have great fun in the process. To people who have watched this video, I have only had the car 6 months and there are some cosmetic areas to sort like the poorly repainted front wing, trim bits, badges etc; most of the work I have done has been mechanical so far, including de-sludging that rough old CVH unit...

[@furiousdriving]

Hi Calum, thanks for letting me take it out, it was just like old times driving it, in fact it was nicer than at least one of mine back in the 90s! The car is amazing as a survivor and I hope you thought it was a fair review of it

[@MrRetro-]

Great car calum, ive got 2, not sure i would been happy with the way he drives it, no need to rev the tits off it, and the mk3 base model, was called the Base, popular did not arrive until the mk4. Great car, not keen on the reviewer

[@calumbaxter9946]

@@furiousdriving Thanks! Today I changed all the hydraulic lifters, 1 was seized and 5 were faulty.. performance much improved!

[@calumbaxter9946]

@@MrRetro- I am more than happy with the way it was driven, I sometimes go into the higher rev range myself as I do with all my classics; they were designed to go through the rev range without issues and I enjoy driving them the way the manufacturer intended. Each to their own however.

[@furiousdriving]

@@calumbaxter9946 Great news, that car is well on the way to being an absolute minter, that will have made a big difference to it!

[@khew1]

"the most I've ever spent on an escort, which I think was £1000" - bit personal there mate 😂 Great video!

[@bryjan51]

Must have the top model😀.

[@garywillcox2286]

How long does that get you in an Escort Matt

[@avtomad722]

Couldn't be more nostalgic! Anyone growing up in the 80's remembers these, this was the car for the people, so lovely this one survived.

[@iainduncan3409]

Had both a mark 2 and then the mark 3 (A reg) sunburst red 1.6L - with XR3 numbers and spats at the front - loved it, leaked like a sieve mind you and had a very disconcerting steering wheel wobble at around 65 mph - great memories

[@karazor-el9596]

litteraly 80% of all the cars on the roads were ford

[@benday1218]

Those cassette holders...as lethal as Arkwright's till!

[@furiousdriving]

vicious!

[@markf4720]

I know what you mean about them being cheap in the 90s. I bought a W-reg 1.3 Ghia (fitted with 1.6 engine) with 190,000 miles as summer transport while at uni, for the princely sum of £160. On the way back from collecting it on the M4, one of the pistons rods snapped and the engine tore itself to bits. Went back to the guy who sold it to me and got half my money back. The car sat in my parents garage for most of the summer until I saved up the required £150 for a local scrapyard to fit an engine (back to a 1.3!), after which I promptly managed to roll the car into a bramble-filled ditch. Got it dragged out with a few dents and broken door mirror and sold it for £250 before term started. £20 profit was a lot of beer money in those days! 😁

[@gord307]

Always baffled me, these cars. People would buy them. They would spend their entire ownership of the car breaking down, getting it repaired, getting it welded, slapping filler on the wheel arches etc.. And when the car finally bit the dust, they would buy another one! Looking at them now, though, I can see the charm and tremendous space and practicality. Loving the excellent visibility, too, of these 80s vehicles. Thank you for another excellent review :-)

[@WayneSpillett]

The British bought Ford, Vauxhall and Austin Rover cars in the 1980s because parts and servicing were cheap compared to Japanese cars, but given the breakdowns you mention that was probably a false economy and something from Nissan or Toyota might have been cheaper in the long run.

[@michaelkeen5010]

These and most other British cars of the 70’s and 80’s were the same, prone to rust and breakdowns, then along came the Japanese with reliability and rust. Until the advent of galvanised steel and better manufacturing did matters improve. I’ve been a car owner from the early 70’s so I speak with some knowledge.

[@lewis72]

The thing is, Fords were very easy to buy. There was a Ford dealer in almost every town and they did very good finance deals and the like. Ford rarely offered uch in the way of technical innovation either in the '70s & '80s. Whereas BL were offering O/D manuals (Triumphs), 4 valves/cylinder (Dolly Sprint), all-alloy engines (Jag V12, Rover V8) Ford just sold basic, well proven technology in an easy-on-the-eye package that was mostly practical.

[@tjfSIM]

@@WayneSpillett Very true! I remember very well growing up in our street in the 80s and hearing the sound of frustrated people trying to start their Austin Princesses, Maestros and Escorts on a cold morning. Those who'd been sensible enough to fork out a bit extra and go German or Japanese would smugly trundle off to work without a care in the world!

[@alexander1485]

@@michaelkeen5010 but how many cars have you owned without selling or having them break on you? (or getting bored/tired of)

[@bundy26]

This brings back so many memories. Back in the early 90s, while living in Uruguay, my dad had 2 of these. The first one was a 1984 Brazilian market 1.3L 3 door with the Renault engine I believe and a 4 speed. That was a great little car. The second one was a 1985 German built 1.6 GL 3 door 5 speed. I remember the father of an ex friend of mine had a shop and was going to adapt a universal alternator because the original was so expensive. He took the car from my house to his and on his way I guess he decided to floor it and destroyed the engine (connecting rod thru block). I ended up buying an engine from this guy who imported European ones for race cars but made a mistake and got a 1.3 instead of a 1.6. It looked identical to the one in my car except the CC difference. To not make this any longer, the engine bolted right up to my escort. Nice little car also except for that problem. Thanks again for bringing back memories.

[@TT_1221]

We had 6 Escorts over all the years, all through the range from Mk1 to the final Mk6 and never had any serious trouble with them. Happy memories from growing up with them, going to school and going on holidays and very much part of my childhood!

[@peterkeenan8938]

Many thanks for the review and for the memories. In 1984, I bought an 1.6GL Orion from new. I had it for 15 years and it was a faithful and reliable car, carrying me and my family for 174,000 miles. I gave it away when I bought a new Mondeo and the guy who had it blew the head gasket after 3 months!

[@paulprescott7913]

I had a 1984 1.4cvh which i bought in 1991. I had the car for 5 years and it never let me down. Cost wise all it ever had was oil changes, a exhaust and a battery. Only sold it for something newer. Brilliant car.

[@cornishrider]

The ABS ad was for the new Granada hatchback, it was like an old public information film, normality mixed with terrifying consequences!

[@peterbollans9982]

had a 85 b reg 1600 ghia in blue, loved that car

[@grantmarshall3026]

Mr Furious Driving , my dad had a 1985 Escort 1.3L in 1990, replacing an unspeakably reliable but equally rusty Fiat 131 that only broke down once in 5 years. The Escort was far from reliable and lasted 3 years, and from what I can remember is the noise and the smell of petrol! In 1996 I spent £250 on a base spec 1.1 3 door Escort resplendent in OAP beige, with a black wing and blue bonnet! It was 11 years old at the time, it’s engine was rebuilt as it had been round the clock displaying 52000 miles (152,000 miles), and was capable of 96 mph, and was smooth as a sewing machine as the guy I bought it off had it from new, and done all his own work. Bodywork evidently wasn’t his strength, evident in it’s 3 tone colouring, but it was rock solid where it counted, and as I was 21, it was all I could afford! When I sold it, it drove on for another few years, and I would spot it regularly! Thanks for the memories chaps, great vid as always!!

[@leotoczyski263]

I loved these cars as a kid. I knew a few people that owned them in the 80s. Think my aunt had a gold 1.3 or 1.6 Ghia. Nice valour seats and electric windows. They got a lot of flack but they were nice looking cars and they were everywhere back in the day. Nice video 👍

[@bextar6365]

Now days people complain about hard plastics and hard touch areas in new cars... This car was loaded with both, the dash is 100% plastic and people bought them and got bye just fine with all.

[@jkk244]

Technically speaking, that Escort has true hubcaps, as they cover the actual hubs. Larger versions are “wheel covers”. At least the way it worked on the US before modern times when every car comes with alloy wheels.

[@TK-Will.]

I had an earlier X reg 1.1L . Loved it. Easy driving, low maintenance, low insurance. Great car for the time.

[@sg8539]

Loved the raspy exhaust note esp at higher revs on the 1.3 L estate on a B registration my friend owned in the 80s, was nippy around town too.

[@davetspiritpr6834]

My sister in law had an X reg in minty green back in the day she kept it in lovely condition I was very envious of it as I had a very rusty marina at the time she sold it on after about 10 years and it stayed in the area but over about 5years of seeing it on occasions it became a wreck nice to be reminded of the escort great video thanks.

[@simonburleigh1872]

The only Ford that I ever owned was a very rough 1984 mark 3 Escort 1.3 L 4 speed 5 door estate in late 90's. It was the cheapest car that I ever had at £175 and was in several shades of red. Rough, crude, bouncy but great loadspace. Your video brings back the memories.

[@leighhogben1423]

Good old mk3 Escort. Where have they all gone! I had a 1985 1.3 GL. At the time i thought it was quick. Left my friends 1750 Austin Maxi behind ! The only mod i did was to get rid of that troublesome VV carb for a twin choke Webber. Great to see the road thrash sorry road test on a mk3. Looking forward to future videos 👍

[@douglasfleetney5031]

Nice one Matt! I passed my test in a Mk3 1.6 Ghia on a five speed box way back in 1986 right in the middle of Canterbury with the local Dr Death of examiners (still managed a first time pass though). Thinking about it I had the same examiner a few years later when I did my HGV, and yes I passed that one as well..... The creeping, gut wrenching terror of that day came flooding back! Still I passed and that is all that matters. The fact it put me off the Mk3 for life doesn't really matter as that is the first time I have seen the inside of one since that day. Gods we had some dreadful cars back then.... Thanks for another great video.

[@cornishrider]

A very familiar sound to my early 90's college/uni life! I couldn't afford one but scrounged lifts in many! Looks a refreshing simple design today.

[@furiousdriving]

yes, its a lovely clean design, still looks good after all these years

[@lash9400]

I was 21 when I bought a Mk3 A reg XR3i only had it 3 months as the insurance crippled me financially, sold it to my sister and it got nicked a few months later. Oh the 1990s.

[@griff5476]

My mum had a few escorts as company cars during the 80s/90's. I loved them. My first car was a dreaded 1.3 popular in fetching brown ☺️ Surprisingly the parcel shelf in this doesn't look much different to the one in our 2009 focus 😂

[@Zeem4]

I once had an A-reg 1.1 base model, and I confirm that it was slow. I remember the dashboard with the longer shelf and no speaker, it had a rocker switch for the heater fan instead of the rotary switch, loads of painted metal showing inside, vinyl seats and very thin carpets. I paid £75 for it in the late 90s, the passenger front floorpan was rotten due to battery leakage (a very common problem), and there was a big hole behind the pedal box which let in all the engine noise and freezing winter air. I started to teach myself to weld on it but forgot to respond to a sticker that the council put on the windscreen, so it got towed away with all my welding gear still in the boot, which I never got back. I didn't have it for very long so I never really bonded with it, but I wish I still had it as I bet the 1.1 base models are as rare as hens' teeth.

[@Goldenwolfteeth]

My first and favourite ever car! It was 3 days older than me, and cost £0 from my neighbours' son after his dad died. Was a 1.3 3-door in bluey-green, with one wheel arch painted with the same gloss green paint as the window frames of the old boy's house after he had a coming together with a wall. I added XR2 wheels and seats, a loud exhaust, spot lights, cd player 6x9 speakers and a square front number plate mounted off centre just like a Mitsubishi Evo! I then wrapped it around a tree... Good times!

[@stephenrock4541]

Your videos are really well made. Ive had a few of these bought a mark 4 .5 door for £30 in 99 .loved it. I was homeless at the time and it was a life saver.

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

CVH = Compromised, Vibrating and Harsh. 🤣 Love these, my Grandad bought a brand new 1.3 Ghia in 1982, on an A reg. I loved it as a young lad. It had not one, but TWO wheel trims! The chrome 'vanity' ring and the main hub cap. Blue velour interior, bit of wood. Same colour as this L model from memory, a light bluish silver.

[@royale4318]

According to the comprehensive 1985 Ford Range brochure I have, there were actually two trim levels below this - 'Saloon' (which was not badged as such, just as 'Escort') and 'Popular.' My Grandad's last car was a Y reg 1.1L 2 door in Titan Blue. By the time the video car was made, the 1.3 was the smallest engine in the L, with the 1.1 reserved for the 'Saloon'

[@RadfahrerProductions]

Hello Drivers. These were also my first two cars. 83 1.1l three-door in beige with basic equipment. Never ran well with its variable venturi carburettor and the awkwardly installed ignition. 90 after facelift 1.4l three-door metallic dark blue. Great car, but after a few years I exchanged it for a Hyundai with automatic transmission and better equipment, which was unfortunately not available in the MK4. Thanks for this blast from the past.

[@Ash-928]

My first car in 1998 was the same trim as this in red. I fitted a chunky "leather" steering wheel from a Sierra.and XR3i alloy wheels and a posh sounding horn from a Granada Scorpio. What a car!

[@carravioli4803]

I’m not going to lie I had an Escort L back in the day and it was painfully slow but I’m pleased some have been kept going! Another great review, another great Friday morning!

[@GentilsGarage]

What a blast from the past... 18 years ago. I had one exactly like this. colour, 5 doors, interior, etc. Except mine was a special edition with a sunroof, radio... and that was it. Loved it, but then upgraded to a BMW E28.

[@-abacchus]

Wow, love it. This video really takes me back to when I first learned to drive. My 1st, second and third cars were MK3's (all 1.3L). I had the worst accident in the third Escort, with a combined impact speed of 120mph - every panel ended up bent, but I'm still here, that's some testomy of these cars.

[@carsyourdaddrove]

Exactly the same here. My first car in 1997 as a 1.3 Popular Plus. Had a head on accident on a country Lane. The wings crumpled and one fell off, but I still managed to drive it home!

[@andrewgardner9615]

If I remember the rear suspension had trailing links but was a single wishbone design-could be quite harsh.Amazing survivor

[@richardmcgowan6383]

My dad had one of these in the early 80s, W-reg. The ride was awful - hard and crashy. His previous car had been a Citroen GS, and after hovercrafting around in that the Escort felt like it had square wheels.

[@Iain_C]

Brings back childhood memories, my parents had one, X reg I think. I remember it having just 1 speaker, and a crackly AM radio.

[@frothe42]

You had me chuckling throughout the video, I really enjoyed this! When the Escort came to the US in 1981, it was marketed as a global car, but I like the styling on this verses the US version. 1.6 litre CVH which was anemic at best, and the automatic was horrendous; screaming in first gear, then lugging into second and third, it was awful. We also were not used to the horn being on the turn signal stalk, which went back to the steering wheel for 1985, to which had some improvements until 1986, which was then restyled and a 1.9 litre 4 replaced the 1.6 for more power. Power door locks became optional after 1986. L, GL, GLX were the models on the first gen, then, GL & LX on the restyled Escort after 1986. I remember they had a sport model, turbo 4, and TRX tyres, but the first generation Escorts proved to be disposable. They are extremely rare!

[@davidjack4775]

I had the joy of learning to drive in a 1986 Escort 1.6 diesel it was also the L specification, seem to recall it being easy to drive but was amazingly slow

[@owengoodspeed5763]

Brought back happy memories of my very late 1982 1.6 GL 5 speed which I very much enjoyed. If I recall correctly it produced 79bhp which, in such s light car actually felt quite potent. Well I had just come from a 1.3 MK2 Escort! Again, from memory, its 0-60 was about 10.6 with a top of 106 according to magazines of the day. I had it for about 4.5 years and then bought a 1.8GL Golf mk 2 which was quieter and quicker but much less stable when braking on wet roads and had more irritating faults so that I wished I had kept the Escort for longer.

[@thetelltalesigns8819]

I remember that advert with the ABS, I think it was for the MK3 Granada.

[@mikeymk9091]

Identical to my first car in 1991, except that was Coral beige with a brown interior. I loved it despite the understeer issue, and i still look back fondly on it despite owning over 200 cars since

[@mikeymk9091]

5-speed gearbox on mine made touring about a lot better, i think. Y-reg. Mate put a troll doll on his right hand shelf, in his A-reg blue one. No rear belts. 1.3 CVH was like ball bearings in a biscuit tin, design fault caused it to eat cyl-4 tappets, auto choke was terrible when i was 17 and had no clue how to activate it..

[@keijak1]

Another great video. Passed my test in a 3 door yellow 1.3L back in 1982, can still remember the registration GHU73X. My mate had a very early 1980 W reg one, which was already rotting by 1986 and forever breaking down (my Astra 1.3L Mk1 in comparison was far more reliable) I remember helping him to cut a hole in the center speaker grill to fit a graphic equaliser. Happy days!

[@karazor-el9596]

if you were realy around then you would say 2 door not 3 or 4 door not 5

[@Bucharestguidedtours]

You can't not love the Ford Escort, I had many including the RS2000 MK6, still got my Mk4, great video Furious.

[@fhwolthuis]

Great drive! I remember these cars being so popular over here in the Netherlands back then. My parents made a test drive in an Orion back then but didn't buy one in the end. But a lot of these cars around in our neighbourhood. Even the 1.1 3 door Lasers were very popular.

[@furiousdriving]

They were everywhere here as well on every street, amazing how they've vanished

[@MrTrull1]

Always had a soft spot for these, right from the first TV adverts. Seemed miles ahead of the Mk2 & I’ve always loved the perky rear styling. Then learnt to drive in one (choice of this or Metro. Decided a bigger car would be a better way to learn), passing my test in 1984. Apparently it got written off a few months later by another learner, but I’ll never forget it!

[@doctorsocrates4413]

My very first car after passing my driving test was the mk3 escort...terrific car and nice to see some have survived.

[@a.tanner8524]

My dad had an Y reg metallic blue one of these in the early 80’s. After that we had a red B reg Orion. Happy days

[@daghammar4385]

I think anyone that has had an Escort in the family can safely claim Happy Days.

[@paulpattison2592]

I was briefly custodian of a brand-new 5-speed 5-door 1.6L in metallic Walnut Brown with a nicely light-coloured interior PBO 662Y. It had the earlier-type headrests with a hole and I bought a pair of the press-in headrest pads to make it a bit more luxurious (!) I can't remember if a passenger-side mirror came as standard, but interestingly my car had been incorrectly fitted with a driver's-side mirror from a LHD car - different mouldings at different angles, making it impossible to set it up for the driver's optimum rear vision ! Changed under warranty IIRC. Apart from the nasty thin-rimmed hard plastic steering wheel I liked the car, but a GL or Ghia would have had the 'soft-feel' wheel or fascia.

[@pod9538]

Oh going through Ireland in the 80s. Thank you auntie ann.

[@pod9538]

@Paulie Gualtieri red .

[@pod9538]

Funny. Red number plate .... blue mrk2 escort. Happy days.

[@pod9538]

Cheers bro. 😇😇

[@davidhays7749]

This has so many memories for me. My friends had these in the late 90s and early 2000s when they were cheap first and second cars. The one I really remember was a beige Popular model that had lead an incredibly hard life and didn't have a straight panel on it . (including the roof and floor pan) at some point an xr3i engine had been fitted and the thing flew. That said the engine was worn out and smoked like a burning oil well. The rear foot well had at least 2 Litres of oil sloshing around in it after the can it was in burst. It's last journey was too the scrap yard, the yards owner took one look at it and said " I take it you'll be wanting to leave that here then".

[@lanehogger1532]

Great memories. Re the rear speakers. The rear parcel shelf added good acoustics by making the speakers sound more bassy 👍🏼

[@garywillcox2286]

I remember my dad had a Y reg 1.3L back in the day. As long as it had oil changes the engine was pretty reliable. Always remember the noisy hydraulic tappets until the oil pressure built. Felt really modern and comparatively quick after a 1.3 Chevette. The Escort could hold an incredible amount of stuff

[@knifetrain3118]

I remember riding in the back seat of the American version Escort going up to the peak of Mount Washington all 6,288’ of it. Most terrifying experience of my life! 😬 🚗

[@Jam3sA]

So many features on this remind me of my first car, a mk2 1.1 Fiesta. The seat material, gearknob & fuel/temperature display. I was thinking the NVH in this wasn't too bad (other than the fan) in comparison to the Fiesta, this engine sounded so much smoother.

[@simonsutton5499]

I liked your remark about the optimistic speedo, in my experience a Ford feature for a long time that may have been good for sales. I had a very early 1.3GL 3 door only 70000 Kms paid £50 for it because it was LHD. That`s all the lady was offered px against a new P reg Skoda Felicia. I remember it being really nice to drive & pleasant to be in but a bit thirsty. Thanks for the great video, brought back memories.

[@Thanos.m]

Although I wasn't alive when these things were new I remember there was still a few of them on the roads in the early 2000s most of then falling to pieces with considerable amount of rot it's crazy to thing that back then these things were as old as mk1 focuses are now

[@jamieogorman9461]

My friend had a 1.3 in bright yellow It took us all over, I had loads of the mk 4 and five. You could buy the rust buckets for peanuts when they were 10 yrs old.

[@furiousdriving]

I certainly used to, great work hacks but well used

[@pards004]

I had the posh 1.6 Ghia. It was mint, low mileage and never let me down. Went all over the country in it. Great little car for that era.

[@DeGlennen]

I've been driving a late '82 XR3 for last couple of years. When I bought it, I actually hadn't seen a mk3 on the road for at least 10 years. It also is one of those low mileage survivors with about 74000km on the clock. When I bought it, it actually was still on the original set of Pirelli P6 tyres dated 1982. Coming from a modern car to the Escort you can really feel it's age in the way it drives and handles. Option wise the XR3 really is a quite some distance apart from the L-spec, it even has some options late '90s cars didn't get.

[@kevinmurphy-steele5055]

So many good memories. It was the car I grew up with, the car I learned to drive in and the first three cars I owned. Always love the Mk3 Escort if I drove one again it would make me feel young again ❤️❤️❤️

[@davidfos84]

I think Quentin Willson described the CVH as sounding "like a wounded rhino". At the time it may have been regarded as harsh but through modern eyes (and ears) the CVH has an agricultural charm. It can now be excused as classic and of its time and the fact that it was never a well regarded engine can be ignored. About 15 years ago a local garage was selling one of these for £395. I thought they were having a laugh. Damn. And I love the whirring sound old Fords make on acceleration. Oh the Ford ad you mentioned was for the MK3 Granada in late '84 / early '85.

[@stevenjones1972]

Hi Matt, brilliant video, haven't see one of these for ages, clean and tidy for its year and mileage,

[@kevthedynamo]

I drove a few of these back in the 1980's and the facelifted version that came later. I found them quite smooth and easy to drive. Nice gearbox and the heaters seemed to be better than the one in my car now!

[@mattylamb9194]

I have heard that fords back in the day had reputation for good manual gearboxes and well laid out controls

[@kevthedynamo]

@@mattylamb9194 You heard right Matty, the gear change was so smooth, I passed my test in a Escort.

[@drpaulcampbell188]

I remember learning to drive in one of these, a 1.1 version so even less power than this so hill starts were always a laugh. Great video as always and i like the stereo thats fitted here, i remember those from back then.

[@furiousdriving]

I quite fancy one of these stereos for the Volvo

[@timhancock6626]

My first company car. 1982 1.3L in Sand Beige, or " Desert Rat " as we called it. I loved it and it never broke down in 80,000 miles. A five speed box would have been nice. It could get unstable if you braked too hard, but handled quite responsively if you drove with intelligence.The seats were in a really nice herringbone fabric. Later seat covers weren't half as tasteful. I preferred the decent clock to a rev counter to be honest. Mine had an auto choke in 82 on the CVH engine, and mine never gave trouble.

[@maxidyne]

So cool to see one again! In the 80's they where on every corner back here. In my street where 4 of them. Neighbours across the street had a 1.6 GL in a greyish green colour. It was quite luxurious, especially compared to my dads 80 GT. Thanks for the video Matt!

[@furiousdriving]

they were everywhere, but they also rusted everywhere and were worth so little for years so almost none left now

[@robertngreen6]

Good to see your review. I watched Mr Lloyd's review also and I love this little car - it's so basic though!

[@malcolmburt7844]

Great nostalgia trip for me! This is positively loaded compared with the C reg 1.1 Popular that my dad so kindly found for me, nearly new in 1987. It was painted in that hideous shade of pale blue seen on Panda cars at the time. Was meant to be my first “proper” car to replace my Dyane. What a truly horrible car... watching your one struggling uphill reminded me how I used to dread hauling mine up Bluebell Hill in your neck of the woods, getting to the top with the engine pinking terribly was a sense of achievement.

[@jimd385]

Excellent. I always wanted an XR3i (white) but at the time I was penniless......and 12. Great video dude.

[@matthewkramer8328]

Thanks for the trip down mem lane. I had a baby blue bomb that faithfully took us throughout Europe in the mid 90s...

[@glennfairclough4899]

Had a 1.3 GL 3 door ... Y reg. It was surprisingly good fun ... Loved how you could feel the what the back end was doing through the seat... Sadly the engine blew up after being pushed a little to hard..

[@plutomotorsblackpool]

Great review as usual and loved watching you geek out at the period stereo, that's exactly what I would be like 😂.

[@alanbellwood3902]

My Dad and an early (ish) XR3i bought new from Thomas Motors Ford of Blackpool in 1981 great car but had stood on an airfield after manufacture and mice had chewed an HT lead. Also rear wash wipe pipes used to split very regularly. I had a MK6, have to say the later cars built at the Jaguar factory were really good to drive and well built. Turbo Diesel Mk6 was also a good bit of kit. Mk5 & 6 RS2000 were not half bad in 4x4 guise. Great review as ever 👏

[@theheaterguyryan5052]

This brings back memories my dad had two mark 3 a light blue and a dark navy diesel one and then a mark 4 1987 wine coloured one reliable car for the 1980s.

[@benday1218]

My dad had MK3 - B851 WKR (1.3 laser) and MK4 - E963 WKK (1.6 diesel GL). Fondly remembered!

[@phillippereira6468]

That speaker blanking plate looks perfect for the modern day as a way to rest your mobile phone on at an angle for navigation

[@estebanvasquez2307]

I'm not kidding when i say that your outfits are always on point and that you have even inspired some of my own outfits!

[@alvinpillay9995]

Love it. I still got my xr3 with the original 4speed box.

[@skr525ia]

Oh wow, my first car. I had a 1.6 Ghia in baltic blue. Still have the RS steering wheel in my basement. Still miss it but had to scrap it in 2000 due to a lot of rust in many places.

[@automotivepleasures5960]

My first car was a Wreg 1.6 GL mk3 escort 3dr estate in white with a k&n bolt on filter. Paid £475 in 1994 no rust on the outside 6mths MOT. When MOT was due the chassis was totally gone. Shame was quite rare and being 17 was the envy of my mates. Every weekend me and as many as 6 mates (2 in the back) would go out clubbing from the boring village life of Bourton to Cheltenham or Oxford. Good times!

[@theodor12]

Loved the video, as always.

[@lrochfort]

My Grandmother had a MK3. I remember playing with those ash trays in the rear. The 40 year old in me agrees on the speaker fade control; the 10 year old knows you're wrong because it's AWESOME

[@Teribus13]

The memories of the first cars I remember my dad owning. He had a red X-reg XR3 when I was very young, replaced by a black Y-reg XR3 with RS bits (which spontaneously combusted not long after my dad sold it). I've a soft spot for the mk3 escort because of those early memories. I wish I bought an S1 RS Turbo 10 years ago 😒

[@Chriswales]

Brings back so many memories, had a 84 1.6. I put a manual choke kit on because the automatic was useless. One thing that really got on my nerves was the rear seat back. It would hit the handles on the back doors. Meaning you had to open the doors to get the seat flat.

[@peterbell4662]

I had 3 as company cars - the first being a w registered 1.1L which was surprising thrashable for 50k when it became veryyy tired . The rear end was independent and it would actually drift if suitably abused . One rear shock absorber failed which gave it interesting handling which encouraged prompt repair . It served manfully as builders van etc ..

[@michaeltutty1540]

Great video, Matt. An interesting comparison with the Escort we got this side of the pond. The base models certainly were. Even the base model had something our VERY basic 72 Dodge Dart did not; an electric windscreen washer. The Dart had a rubber foot pump sitting on the rubber floor mat. That 1.3 litre Escort is faster than our 3.7 litre slant 6 in that Dart. 0-70 was over 13 seconds. As an aside, the North American Escort is unbeatable in the 5 mile per hour impact test. In the end, total damage after the 6 impacts was precisely $0.00, the only car that could make that claim.

[@furiousdriving]

Im always amazed at the low outputs of low spec US cars of the 70s and 80s, emissions and MPG meant some very low tuned cars!

[@michaeltutty1540]

@@furiousdriving The slant 6 was never a particularly powerful engine. If I remember right, that 225 cid slant 6 with single barrel Holley carburetor was putting out 105 hp in 72. It was down to 97 by 1975. Our 81 Volvo with the 2.1 litre with single side draught Zenith carburetor was putting out a whopping 96 horsepower. Those engines got by on torque. Come to that, the 2.3 litre in my 90 Volvo 240 is only good for 115 hp.

[@rnetherclift]

Ford ABS advert with the tractor was for the Granada if I remember correctly. The new curvy one. I think they made ABS standard across all models.

[@seancooke4127]

True but, fair play to Ford, they did make ABS a £400 option on Escorts and Orions. This was very advanced for front wheel drive cars at the time.

[@gerardbooth40]

Spot on!

[@MajorKlanga]

It was indeed the first production car to feature ABS as standard. The system available on the Escort was a more primitive, slower acting antilock braking system.

[@seancooke4127]

In 1986 CAR magazine ran a Mk4 Escort the length of England in Scotland back and forth for a week till it covered 5000 miles. It was a 1.4 with anti lock brakes fitted and one of the driving crews came face to face with an animal in the road at night. They commented that the standard ABS averted a certain accident very competently.

[@knightad33]

The SCS, or Stop Control System, was not standard on the Mk4. It was driven by belts from the driveshafts.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Although I don't drive, the Mk3 was always one of my favorite cars, I loved the shape (particularly the 2 door version), I always thought the ridged rear lights were really cool too.

[@mattylamb9194]

They are good looking cars; prefer the looks to the Mk 4

[@jeanleclerc115]

Very nice video, we had a restyled black model in the family back in the late 80s, replaced later by a Sierra 2.0GT in 1991. At 15:48 I'd have to say that there were German Fords (the Taunus if I remember correctly) that were front wheel drive before the Fiesta, though I am not sure they were sold outside of continental Europe.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

My first Escort in 97 was an 81 5 door 1.3L and set me back £80. A friend had a 1.1 Rover Metro that he thought was the business, but my Escort left it for dust. Had many since, the last 2 being a Mk4 Van that I swapped for a Mk4 Cabrolet in 2013.

[@stanelder9995]

Even the GL models didn't come with a tachometer (at least not on the Orion variant). However, I had a 1.6L Escort on a C plate for a number of years and it was a very good car. Looked good with a set of genuine Ford XR3 driving lamps on the front! An interesting technical feature (optional) of these cars was the Lucas Girling mechanical anti-lock system (SCS). Lucas developed it on the MK3 but I think it was first offered for sale on the MK4.

[@duncfunk2998]

This brings back memories. My second ever car was a red 1982 Mk3 that I bought off my neighbour. I don't think it lasted that long and was replaced with a Mk4 soon after.

[@BLIGHTY1000]

20 odd years ago my mate was doing one of these up. I decided to try and fit a stereo in it, ended up with the live wire touching the body work and the whole loom in the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The car went to the scrappers. Soz Martin

[@stewartbrown4394]

Nice to see but back in the day I never really took much notice of them. I preferred the mark 1 Astra.

[@steamhammer2k]

I remember the 1.1L Escort I had as a company car. Boy that was slow (quicker that than the 1.0L metro I had before). The worst thing was the lack of a brake servo (even the metro had a brake servo) . You would have to stand on the brake to see any reduction in speed. I had a bad knee long after the car had been retired. BTW the auto choke was pain from day one, I often had to be rescued by the AA.

[@mard7021]

My first car in ‘91 after passing my test. Y reg 1.3L in white, basic when I think about it now but it was independence. Great times

[@jonnygti]

23:00 minutes, you deserve a medal for catching up with a motorbike in that 1.3 escort 🏅 😜😂

[@focus82grothm.84]

Ahh the good old Escort slightly 1.gear wine, takes me down the memory lane ☺💖

[@francissomadaly4043]

Hey Mr Furious. Nice video it brings back memories of my escort estate in the early 90s. But what about the Volvo's under carpet noise deadening. Did you ever fit it?