Welcome back! Today is all about something that doesn’t exist anymore: inexpensive compact cars from Ford. We’ve got two generations of them to look at, and even better, they’re both five-speed manuals that run and drive. See? I throw you guys a bone once in a while.
Speaking of which, our sad-puppy choices from yesterday went over like a lead balloon. The majority of you picked the Civic, but I get the feeling it was under duress. You all do realize that this is purely speculative, right? I’m not going to actually make you buy or drive any of these. (David won’t let me.)
That said, I think the Honda is the right choice here. What has been done to it can all be undone fairly easily, and even if you leave it looking like a pizza delivery driver’s tip-money project, it’ll still drive like a golden-age Honda, and that’s a wonderful thing.
So let’s move on and look at a couple of cheap but functional Ford economy cars from up near Seattle. These used to be the perfect college grad’s first new car; now they’re on their umpteenth owners and closing in on 200,000 miles, but still out there fighting the good fight. Let’s take a look.
1999 Ford Escort SE – $1,999
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Shoreline, WA
Odometer reading: 191,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Our European readers are probably looking at this car, with some mixture of confusion and pity, and thinking, “That’s a Ford Escort?” Yep, that’s a Ford Escort – American-style. It may look like a “catfish” Ford Taurus that someone left in the dryer too long, but it’s actually a pretty good little car under the blobby styling. Our Escort was heavily based on the Mazda BG platform, which underpinned the 323/Familia/Protege. Though Mazda had long since stopped using it, Ford’s version soldiered on all the way until 2003, well into Focus production.
The platform was old by 1999, but the engine was positively paleolithic. The sporty ZX2 coupe got Ford’s twin-cam Zetec engine, but the basic sedan and wagon soldiered on with the old CVH, as found under the hoods of US-model Escorts since the very beginning. This one has been punched out to a full 2 liters, and puts out 110 horsepower. It may be an old design, but it’s efficient and reliable – despite having a belt-driven camshaft. (Good grief.) The seller says this car “must be driven to be appreciated,” so I guess it runs just fine.
You can’t expect luxury appointments from a Ford Escort, no matter which side of the Atlantic it was built on. Hard plastic, cheap upholstery, and manual controls are the order of the day here. But I owned an Escort of the generation prior to this for three years, and I never wished for anything fancier. The seats are comfortable, everything works, and this one looks like it’s been well cared for.
Outside, it’s – well – it is what it is. The refrigerator-white paint isn’t helping it much, nor are the Wal-Mart wheel covers. But it’s not too banged up, and it’s rust-free. I’ve long thought that plain white economy cars like this could benefit from a partial wrap in a racing livery. Martini or Alitalia seem like obvious choices, but I prefer to think farther afield; I want to paint this car up like a Tamiya Frog RC buggy. Yes, that means the lower third would be pink. Like it says on the Frog’s rear wing: “No Guts, No Glory!”
2007 Ford Focus ZX3 – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Lakewood, WA
Odometer reading: 171,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, but power steering is going out
This Focus probably looks a little funny to European readers too. Our Focus looked the same as the European version early on, but diverged in 2004 when the second-generation Focus came out in Europe. We kept going with the first-generation platform, first with a mild facelift, and then with all-new sheetmetal. This is the last year of the post-facelift car, making it the last year that we were offered a three-door hatchback Focus here.
This car is powered by a 2 liter version of the Ford Duratec/Mazda MZR four-cylinder, a really nice and robust twin-cam engine that is a lot less thrashy than the CVH and Zetec engines of old. More powerful, too – it sends 136 horsepower to the front wheels, in this case through a five-speed manual. I had a Focus ZX3 with this engine and an automatic for a while, and it was plenty powerful for zipping through LA traffic. I always thought it would be a fun little car with a stick.
This is the basic S model, with crank windows and manual door locks. Again, it’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. The seller says the driver’s seat has been replaced, and if the rest of the interior is anything to go by, it must have been bad. This car is pretty grubby inside. It looks almost like there is water damage on the passenger seat; hopefully it isn’t smelly in there.
It runs and drives fine, but the seller has been advised that the power steering is going out and needs new lines. They’ve been quoted $700 to fix it, but I bet someone who’s handy could do it cheaper. I replaced the high-pressure power steering line on a Nissan Pathfinder in an apartment complex carport once; it’s not that hard.
I still don’t understand why Ford canceled all their small cars. They were actually pretty good, as long as you avoided that silly PowerShift gearbox. No such worries here – these two have three pedals on the floor and a lever between the seats, as the small car gods intended, and plenty of life left in them. Which one seems like the better deal to you?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Reluctantly chose the Escort after seeing and nearly smelling the Focus interior.
Anyone I know, myself included, found the Escort a good daily that just worked with no frills. If I needed that type of car, I would get one.
I’m picking the Focus. Water damaged seat, as someone left the windows down, I bet. It might be a little musty in there though.
Going with the Focus despite the ick factor of the interior. A more modern platform with almost a decade worth of safety improvements (plus the hatchback utility) justifies it for me. Should clean up to be at least respectable with some elbow grease and the power steering shouldn’t be too bad for a shade tree weekend fix.
Going with the Escort. The Focus is a better car, but the water damage on the passenger seat spooks me.
The Escort would make for a decent little runabout. I get the temptation to go with the more modern Focus, but I don’t want to deal with a nasty interior and a mechanical issue right from the start.
Or spend time and money to fix someone else’s problem. Life is short.
Both seem like sound choices. I don’t mind a detail job, so the hatch + lower miles tips it to the Focus. The higher safety rating helps as well, the Escort was fine for the time, but as you’d hope the newer design of the Focus improved on that front.
Was all set to go with the Focus, but picked the Escort based on condition. A little older, but much better cared for.
I test drove an ’03 four-door Focus w/5-speed as a possible first car for my daughter. This was about 10 years ago, and I remember the car being really responsive with the delightful manual trans. The rust, however, had some presence and we opted for a garage-kept 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition.
The Mercury had 132K well-run miles on the clock and served the family well for about six years. I sold it @ 185K. I did change out the failed air suspension for coil springs, replaced ignition coils, and little else. A good-running Panther.
I did like that little Focus though.
I picked the Escort just for the fun of trying to beat the dealer down to $999
Hatchback w/stick, I’m in focus now!
New Edge-era Foci are winners, especially in hatchback form. We’ll take the three-door, give it a very good detailing, and spend the savings over the Escort on sorting out the steering.
1. Buy the Focus
2. Make a car cleaning and detailing video to try to monitize that purchase.
3. Find out it’s near impossible to make any significant money that way.
4. Enjoy your clean Focus.
Power steering doesn’t really seem that necessary for this size of car.
I also had that thought. Parking would suck, but once on the move it would probably be ok.
My professors used to tell me that I could do so much better, I just lacked focus. Sadly, I preferred to hang out in bars in the company of escorts. Nothing’s changed.
My brother from a different Mother.
A former boss of mine had that era of Focus and it was CRAP. The Escort, as mentioned, is basically a Mazda with a Ford badge and pretty reliable. Sure- its pretty ugly but whatever. Basic transportation.
2003+ Focus shares its platform with Mazda3 and Volvo C30/S40/V50. Doesn’t apply to the topical car for sale, but somewhat relevant.
Escort looks like it’s been taken better care of, so it’s got my vote. Normally I’d go hatchback but I don’t like that the Ford needs work, looks abused, and is certainly filthy. Also, what’s up with the wires running through the trunk area? If there’s one sketchy rewiring job…there might be others. While both cars might be seen as disposable appliances, the owner of the Escort clearly did not treat it that way.
Check the ads themselves:
Fair enough. However, I will say that lots like that don’t do a great job at detailing, so for the Escort to look as good as it does it can’t have been too terrible to begin with. I’ve detailed countless cars over the years and have been brought several used cars recently purchased from dealerships to get them properly clean. Even the big name dealerships can’t get a used car to look clean. I suppose it’s possible they actually have a competent detailer on staff, but I’m doubtful. And honestly I’d buy the Escort solely on it being cleaner to start with, I stopped taking on cars like that Focus last year because I got tired of how much work it takes to get something that filthy looking good.
An SPI with that many miles either already got its valve seats dealt with or it’s about to inhale them and die. My guess is already dealt with.
Both are perfectly cromulent choices, although I’m not sure either is a spectacular deal. My first inclination is to pick the Focus since it is newer, but that car is rough. These cars are old enough that miles and age matter less than overall condition, so I’m going with the Escort.
$500 cheaper, a decade newer, more HP, why would you not choose the Focus? Fer real.
I suspect the Focus needs the detailing job that the Escort got. Those wires in the trunk space give me pause, but it’s less miles for less money with a newer car – AND I suspect the Escort is at a dealer and the Focus is private sale.
EDIT: Haha what the Focus has a trailer hitch, which must be what the wires are for. This might speak to harder use but I still think the Escort is lipstick on a pig with that detail job.
The Focus needs more than a detailing job. Looking at that interior, I am wondering if this car was flooded at some point. That car is risky (although, the Escort isn’t exactly a safe bet either).
I picked the Escort. It ain’t broke, and that’s important when getting a beater like this.
They’re both mediocre. I’ll take the car that looks most well-cared for. Plus, I rarely see Escorts any more.
With inflation being what it was, we’ve all had to cut back some.
Either is cool, but as an owner of a “new sheetmetal” version of this Focus, can attest the Focus punches above its weight. The engine is just that good – relatively fun with an auto, but absolutely fun with a manual (which was sourced from Ford’s German operations) – and the suspension is amazing for what it is. Ford’s control blade setup is pretty impressive; even other automakers thought so. And the egg shaped hatch looks grow on you for sure.
I would prefer a Focus over an Escort, but once again it’s the examples that we’re choosing from. And in this case, the Focus looks rode hard and put away wet. The Escort doesn’t show it’s miles at all- what did it do, drive around inside a mall for 191k?
Can’t go wrong really with either car. I picked the Focus because how well they drive.