Runabouts From Days Of Yore: 1988 Toyota Corolla FX vs 1994 Ford Escort Wagon

Good morning! Today we’re keeping it simple, and looking at a couple of nice old runabouts from thirty or so years ago. They’re nothing special, but I found them both charming, and I hope you do too.

Yesterday, I showed you a really nice example of the fundamentally flawed Mazda RX-8, and an opportunity to push the “Easy” button and vote for a somewhat tired Lexus instead. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, with this crowd, that the majority of you chose the hard way. The RX-8 won handily.

I have to agree. That Lexus is a perfectly fine car, I’m sure, but I’m not going to give someone five grand for something like that. Three hundred bucks to rent for the week, sure. But seeing it in my garage every day would be depressing, I think. I’d prefer a second-generation RX-7 to that RX-8, but I wouldn’t say no to it.

Today’s choices are probably not going to seem very inspiring either, but they were both pretty good little economy cars in their day, and they’re a lot more honest-feeling than the few remaining small cars around today. These things aren’t putting on airs; they’re just here to do a job, which is to serve you faithfully, and get you from point A to point B with as little difficulty as possible. They’re the Sam Gamgees of the car world, and we need more of them these days. Let’s take a look.

1988 Toyota Corolla FX – $2,800

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Oklahoma City, OK

Odometer reading: 197,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

I confess I have been a little hard on the Toyota Corolla in this column in the past. I’ve called them boring, and uninspiring, and I think I even compared them to an Applebee’s restaurant at one point. I’m not going to apologize, but I will admit that they are excellent at what they do. And there is one model of Corolla, available only in the late 1980s, that I have had a bit of a car-crush on all along: the FX hatchback.

And I don’t necessarily mean the “cool” version, the FX-16 GTS, with the twin-cam 4A-GE engine. The standard FX hatchback came with this humble carbureted 4A-C engine, which is only good for seventy-something horsepower, but it’s basically indestructible. For some reason, a whole lot of Corolla FXs ended up with automatic transmissions, including this one. And if I’m reading the gear indicator right, it’s a simple three-speed affair. The seller says it runs and drives great, even though it’s closing in on 200,000 miles, and I’m sure it will take you anywhere you want to go. It’ll just take a while to get there.

It looks good inside, though I get the idea that those seats aren’t original. The rest of the interior doesn’t look blue. But I’d rather have mismatched nice seats than original ripped-up ones. The only other place where this car shows its age inside is on the driver’s side door panel; it’s worn clean through on the top. Somebody spent a lot of miles with the window down and their arm on the windowsill. I’m not surprised; as far as I can tell, it doesn’t have air conditioning.

I don’t know exactly why I’m so drawn to this particular body style of Corolla. It just works, for whatever reason, and I especially like the two-tone versions like this. It looks nice and clean, and in fact the seller says that rust “isn’t a problem.” I assume that means there isn’t any, not that it has rust but they don’t consider it problematic.

1994 Ford Escort LX Wagon – $3,200

Engine/drivetrain: 1.9-liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Valparaiso, IN

Odometer reading: 101,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

The second generation of the US-model Ford Escort is one of those cars that was so ubiquitous that not many people really had an opinion about it. It just existed, and did its job. Maybe you had one – I did – or knew someone who had one, but if not, it was just sort of an NPC vehicle at the time, part of the scenery. But the thing is, to be that anonymous, something has to be really competent. If it didn’t work well, it would have stood out a lot more.

The Escort was available in four different body styles: two- and four-door hatchbacks, a four-door sedan, and arguably the best one, this four-door wagon. And I say that as someone who chose a four-door hatch. The wagon is just so damn useful, and even better, it’s well-proportioned and good-looking. This one is painted in the same “Electric Smurf” color as my Escort, and I still really like the color. It’s an LX, meaning that it has the basic 1.9 liter Ford CVH instead of the rowdy 1.8 liter Mazda BP engine that the Escort GT had. It’s also an automatic, which is a minor disappointment, but so was mine, and it was fine. This one runs well, and has just had its water pump and timing belt changed, so it’s good to go for a good long while.

All Escorts of this era had motorized seat belts; you just had to put up with them. This looks like one of the “belt and suspenders” cars that also came with a driver’s side airbag. It’s in nice shape inside, with only a few signs of wear. It’s a comfy car, too; I put a lot of miles on mine on road trips and it treated me well.

The wheels and tires are new, and obviously not stock, but I think they suit it well. The wider tires might cut into the Escort’s excellent fuel economy a little bit, but who cares? They look great. It’s an Indiana car, so you’d be wise to check underneath for rust, especially since the seller saw fit to take the photos from somewhere across the street, apparently.

Yes, they both have two-digit horsepower figures and automatic transmissions. No, they’re not going to win any drag races. But what are you in such a hurry for, anyway? Nobody needs to get to 60 MPH in five seconds, or eight, or even ten. Just take your time, enjoy the scenery, leave the rat race to others. Which is the one for you?

(Image credits: sellers)