Good morning! Well, wouldn’t you know it, we came back from 85 degrees right into a snowstorm. That’s got me back in a cheap winter-beater mood, so today we’re staying in that $3-4,000 sweet spot, and looking at a couple of colorful characters that would serve anyone well in crappy weather – as long as they know how to drive a stick.
I generally try to keep the prices of the two competitors somewhat close, but yesterday it just wasn’t possible. I wanted those two cars, and one was ten grand more than the other. Usually what happens in that situation is that the cheaper car wins by a landslide, and that’s exactly what happened here. The Renault Twingo may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s “normal” enough to just hop in and drive without dealing with too much weirdness. And for $4,000 Canadian – what is that, $3,000 US? – it’s an easy sell. The Ami is cool, but for that price, you have to really want it.
Personally, I’d love a chance to drive the Ami, or a 2CV, or even better a Mehari, but I wouldn’t want to own one, I don’t think. The Twingo, on the other hand, I could totally see myself in. And I even like the purple.
Color is an important part of a car’s personality, which is why it’s a shame that so many car buyers choose such boring options. It’s not hard to find the other color options; they’re right there in the back of the brochure, or in the buttons on the online configurator these days. You don’t have to choose white, silver, or gray. Luckily, the original owners of these two braved the more saturated end of the color chart, and chose colors that make them pop. They’re not the most exciting cars in the world, but at least they don’t blend into the background. Let’s check them out.
1995 Chevrolet S-10 LS – $3,991
Engine/drivetrain: 4.3 liter overhead valve V6, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA
Odometer reading: 238,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The second generation of Chevy’s compact S-10 pickup gets a lot of grief, and I’ve never quite understood why. Its bigger sibling, the GMT400, is a legend, but for some reason the GMT325 just doesn’t command the same respect. It has a lot of the same DNA, and in fact this one has the same 4.3 liter V6 and NV3500 five-speed manual as the base model GMT400. It’s a good truck. But for some reason, it has always played second fiddle to the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.
This truck has well over 200,000 miles on it, but I have no doubt it runs strong and pulls hard. I’m a big fan of the 4.3, as you all know. It’s not the smoothest engine ever made, it has a lower redline than a Victrola record, and I guarantee you it leaks oil from somewhere, but it will keep putting out big lazy torque until the end of time. And the NV3500 is strong too, if maybe a little sloppy. It’s being sold at a dealership, so we’ll have to take their word for it when they say “well maintained,” but if you can drive it off with no funny smells or noises, it should be good.
It does have a weak spot, the same one as all GM vehicles of this era: the interior. All that gray plastic was cheesy-looking when Clinton was in office, and it has not aged well since then. This one has it all: scuffs, sun damage, broken pieces, even a missing radio knob. The driver’s seat and door panel show every inch of those 238,000 miles too. But what the hell; it’s a truck. And since it’s an LS model, it has some niceties like power windows and air conditioning.
It’s not as beat-up outside as you might expect a truck this old to be. It has some scuffs and dings, but no major damage, and it even has a nice bed-liner. I’ve always liked the alloy wheels on these, too. And it’s teal, which is a color long overdue for a comeback.
2012 Ford Escape XLS – $2,999
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Zion, IL
Odometer reading: 168,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The partnership between Ford and Mazda created a lot of really good cars. A lot of the heavy lifting was done by Mazda, though; the highly underrated 1991-2002 Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer were based on Mazda’s excellent BG platform, and the Ford Probe was mechanically the same as a GD/GE chassis Mazda 626. The Ford Escape was based on a Mazda platform as well, and Mazda sold its own version: the Tribute. It’s not the best crossover SUV in the world, but it’s pretty damn good.
Mazda also provided the base engine for the Escape and Tribute: the excellent MZR twin-cam four-cylinder, called the Duratec by Ford. This one has the simplest drivetrain available in the Escape, and probably the most robust, a simple five-speed manual driving only the front wheels. You don’t really need all-wheel-drive for most situations anyway; why bother with the maintenance and complexity for just driving around? This one is also being sold by a dealership, so don’t expect any maintenance history. Check it over carefully, or bring a friend along who knows cars.
The interior is nothing special, but it looks like a fairly nice place to be. It’s got all the basic power stuff, windows and locks and whatnot, and a CD player. You kept your CDs, right? It’s in good condition, and it doesn’t look like they Armor-Alled it to death before taking the photos.
It’s an Illinois car, so that cool green paint is a little bit crispy around the edges. The previous generation of Escape and Tribute had some serious issues with subframe rust, but I don’t think these were affected. It’s still a good idea to poke around underneath and make sure it’s not about to break in two. I appreciate the fact that the dealership isn’t trying to hide the rust, though.
One of the things I like about my big green Chevy is the fact that I always know where I parked it. It sticks out like a sore thumb, so there’s none of that “Is it this row? Is it the next row?” nonsense. Between that, and the visibility in traffic, and you could argue that brightly-colored cars are just safer all around. So which one catches your eye: the tough little truck, or the celery-colored crossover?
Well I clicked on this story hoping the S10 was near me as soon as I saw the thumbnail.
And while it is about as far from me in the mainland US as it could possibly be, I’d still love a basic truck like that (just add 4WD and it’d be perfect) and this one seems to be in good shape overall.
Mazda for $1,000 less and 70,000 less miles and it looks better. For my money on a beater I figured the more miles the more stuff ends up breaking so get the beater with the least options. It is so sad to see a fully equipped beater where nothing works, it is better just not to have it then worry about should I fix it.
Chevy. Good looking and a great engine. I had a Caprice with the 4.3 and loved it. I can only imagine what the underside of the Escape looks like.
S10, all day every day. I love S10’s and Sonomas, and that is (almost) the perfect spec. Add 4WD and I would absolutely be finding a way to buy it right now.
I’ll take the S-10…looks good in teal, is in decent shape, and is not a Fix Or Repair Daily Escape w/ some rust. Yeah, Mazda engine but it’s still a Found On Road Dead
I have personal experience with both 1st and 2nd gen Escapes. Pretty darn good rigs. I really liked our 1st gen “Tribute” as it had the V6 and lockable AWD. I like our 2nd gen too, not as fun to drive with the 4 cyl, but man, that is a solid little powertrain. Lot’s of little things you have to do on these, as they were and are a cheap Ford, but overall pretty dependable. Would absolutely not touch one that has rust on it though, no thanks.
That S-10 is awesome! I love the color, too! It is close to the same color of my first car – a ‘95 Saturn SL1. My neighbor just picked up an ‘04 S-10 with 80k miles in immaculate condition from Oklahoma. Red extended cab with the 4.3 and an auto riding in steelies. I am very jealous.
Who is giving 2nd Gen S-10’s grief? I’ve never heard anything but good things from the guys who have them. One of my customers in my part sellin’ days used them as service trucks for his semi fleet.
Every one I’ve met that has an S10 won’t part with it, no matter how rough they are. Well, I take that back.
I had a friend in high school who was a huge Ford fan, but ended up getting an S10, kept it for a couple years, sold it to buy a Ford Ranger… And got rid of the Ranger after a few months to buy a Sonoma.
S10s are great, but they had plenty of QC issues as did the Blazers had. According to someone”they creaked and rattled from the factory”. This example definitely shows that. Then again, it was MUCH cheaper than the Tacoma (or the Ranger)…so.
If anyone’s got questions about that exact and specific Escape, it was my (future) father-in-law’s! He traded it in a couple months back with me (I’m in sales at Wilde Toyota in Milwaukee, WI). Hell, my fiancé drove that car the whole time we were dating…
A teal 4.3 V6 S-10 with a stick that isn’t completely beat to shit and rusted out? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!?!?!
Besides, with as much rust is showing on that generation os Escape, I guarantee there are no rocker panels left under that cladding, and the rear struts are going to punch through the body any second.
I owned a 2nd gen Escape FWD with the V6 so I might be biased. I mean I like the truck and it’s priced well for the time being.
But if $3K can get me a running, semi-recent vehicle with good fuel economy, utility and safety features and can last me at least a couple years I think I’d go with that instead. And the Escape looks like it can meet that despite the rust. The powertrain is bulletproof
I *really* like that generation of Escape, but the rust would concern me. It’s a shame because the Duratec engine is very good. I have the 2.0 version and except for valve cover gaskets that don’t seem to last very long, it’s a great, no b.s. MPFI, timing-chain engine. Normal people seem to give up on them around 250k, but I’ve seen them pass 300k without major work. Also, I sort of the like the rugged basic-ness of “recession era” Fords. All that hard plastic isn’t pleasant if you’re into fondling your car’s interior bits, but it cleans up easy and lasts, and a lot of interior switches and pieces are interchangeable amongst other FoMoCo vehicles.
I really wanted to go with the Escape as I have much more of a need for something that can seat four in reasonable comfort than I do for a truck and it’s $1000 cheaper. If they hadn’t included the rust in the photos, I’d have done it. As it is, that’s just too scary, so I had to go with the S-10.
I really wanted the escape, but the rust on the hatch and it looks like the rear wheel arches are crusty as well so I had to go S10. The escape with a manual is so tempting though. Especially given the color!
I like the color of that Escape too much to pass, but I’d do a serious rust inspection underneath. Hopefully, it’s just that tailgate. The S10 is a good option, but a bit much for that mileage.
I don’t think either of these are horrible for the price, but the pickup is an easy win for me simply for the moderate increase in utility. I do like that they’re both in colors instead of shades of grey.
I’m a compact truck guy and that S-10 is about as burly as a compact truck gets. I’ll take it and savor the experience of getting a half yard of gravel without sitting on the bump-stops.
They have a model of that pickup. That alone tells you how popular it is.
The Twingo is actually $4000 USD, which I realized after finding the Canada-side craigslist ad this morning where the mileage is kilometerage and the price is $5700.
Still a great price I think, especially since there are no others available in North America right now, it seems.
As for today’s showdown, I went S-10, since I’d have more use for a small truck than a small SUV, and I like the color more.
I want to say Escape, but I can hear it rusting right now, and my speakers aren’t even on.
I had a 2005 Escape and a rear shock mount rusted out so badly that the shock burst through into the interior. Probably didn’t help that I hit speed bumps at full speed.
That’s a common issue with those.
Haha. Name checks out
I’ll pick the S10 if I have to, but both of these cars make me wish I was choosing between Corvettes again.
Awe, c’mon Captian Buzz-kill! S-10’s rule!
I’ve never known anyone to malign an S10.
Many people I know who’ve owned a Chevy/GMC S10 with the 2200 and 5MT loved them. They just had families and can’t make a small, basic, pickup work day-to-day for them.
The S10 was quite popular in developing countries in Latin America. Before the Izuzu based Colorado came out in 2012 or 13, they produced THIS S10 for more than a decade….
People who could not afford a full size truck usually got this instead….
The Escape is a cooler color, but the rust is a problem. The S10 is on the west coast, so no rust.
If it wasn’t for the rust, I would’ve picked the Escape.
Therefore, I voted for the S10.
We have a 2005 Tribute thats our third car and with 190,000 miles it still hums along. You have to watch out for rust (which the escape has) but these vehicles are pretty solid and cheap to run.
4.3 5spd S10? If it was regular cab that would be the holy grail.
A 4.3 S10 is ridiculously overpowered, and a small block Chevy bolts with relative ease if it’s not enough for you. My 4.3 Sonoma is is a blast, and a V8 swap is in the works for this year or next.
I like it the way it is. But my holy grail would’ve been a 4×4 truck with the extended cab.
I missed on a 2000 LS Ext Cab with the 3rd door, 5 spd and 4×4 a couple years ago for less than $4K. Still regret it
Oh, that hurts! What a great truck!