Hey, everyone! With Phase One of my great relocation complete, I’m slipping back into the big chair here for a couple days before I kick off Phase Two. I’m pleased to report that our first trip went swimmingly, and both of our old GM trucks, with nearly 430,000 miles between them, purred like kittens the whole way. There’s a lot to be said for a cheap old car you can rely on, and today, I want to talk about two examples of another one: the Mazda BG chassis-derived Ford Escort.
Huge thanks to Matt and Thomas for holding down the fort this week. Yesterday, Thomas showed you a couple of rock-star dream machines slowly succumbing to the forces of chaos. I don’t think either one is worth the scratch they’re asking, based on how much work you’d have to do to them, but there is an ass for every seat, as the saying goes, even those nasty, moldy seats. You all preferred the Maserati to the stretch limo Rolls by a good margin, but it doesn’t sound like any of you were too happy about it.
For the sake of playing the game, I think the Rolls would be a lot more interesting to work on, though I’d rather have a regular-length Shadow. I have no idea where I’d park a leviathan like that limo, running or not. And for the record, my picks for Monday and Tuesday are the Celebrity and the Colt, respectively. Probably no surprises there.
Some automotive partnerships are like celebrity marriages: not well thought-out, brief, and tumultuous: Daimler-Chrysler, for example. Others are like those cute couples who wear matching outfits and clean everybody’s clock at Pictionary because they share a hive mind. They seem to go together so well that when they do break up, it’s a shock. Such was the case with Ford and Mazda. For decades, the two automakers shared parts and designs, badge-engineered models for each other, and between the two of them they turned out some really excellent little cars. Probably the most unsung hero of this long-term partnership was the 1991 and later US-market Ford Escort, which was built on Mazda’s BG platform. They were cheap, tough, and drove better than you would have guessed. These days, they’re getting a little thin on the ground, as old cars tend to, but you can still find decent ones. These two look pretty good to me, and while the prices aren’t as cheap as they would have been a couple years ago, they’re still not terribly expensive. Let’s check them out.
1997 Ford Escort LX Wagon – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Columbus, OH
Odometer reading: 153,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
1997 was a big year for the little Escort. It got a restyle to match the rest of Ford’s increasingly ovoid styling, a bump in power, and a new interior which finally did away with the motorized seat belts. Unfortunately, the hatchback body styles didn’t make the jump to the new generation; the only options were a funny-looking four-door sedan, and this much more charming station wagon.
Standard model Escorts had been powered by Ford’s CVH four-cylinder engine from the very beginning, even after the switch to the Mazda chassis. For this one, Ford bumped up the displacement to 2.0 liters and added a new intake manifold, which gave the Escort 22 more horsepower, but did nothing to quell the CVH’s thrashy nature. It also developed a nasty habit of dropping valve seats. This wagon has had its engine replaced with a used unit, and I suspect that’s the reason. It currently runs and drives fine, but it has a “Serivce Engine Soon” light illuminated, which the seller seems to think is not the same thing as a “Check Engine” light. Regardless of what the light says, if you want help fixing it, remember to search for “Ford Escort service,” and not… you know.
Inside, it’s a little threadbare, but not bad at all. It doesn’t have much in the way of options on it, but that’s fine; you buy a car like this for economy and simplicity, not luxury. It might not even have air conditioning. The tan upholstery is a nice change from the industrial-looking gray these usually came with, at least.
They don’t call the region where this car lives the “Rust Belt” for nothing, but it seems to have survived more or less unscathed. I don’t see any signs of rust at all in the photos, but of course you would be wise to take a look underneath and make sure it’s solid. Something struck me as odd about this car, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t until I looked at photos of other Escort wagons that I figured it out: it has no roof rack like most other Escort wagons do.
2002 Ford ZX2 – $3,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Beachwood, NJ
Odometer reading: 80,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Everyone knows that the coolest version of the Escort was the GT model, with its Mazda twin-cam engine and asymmetrical grille. But when the hatchback versions of the Escort died during the refresh, the GT died with it. It wasn’t until 1998 that a new sporty Escort arrived to fill its shoes: the ZX2. It lost the hatchback practicality, but kept the same fun-to-drive spirit.
In place of the Mazda engine, the ZX2 uses Ford’s own Zetec twin-cam four, a nice revvy engine with plenty of power for such a lightweight car. Unfortunately, this one isn’t as much fun as it could be, since it has an automatic transmission. It does run and drive well, and with only 80,000 miles on it, it should continue to do so for a long time. It has a new battery and recent tires, too.
This is the only view we get of the interior, and it’s not much to go on. The driver’s seat looks a little tired, but the passenger’s seat is immaculate – typical for a car that was used by one person for commuting. The yellow paper key tag makes me think the seller is a small-time car dealer posing as a private seller; there are a lot of them on Facebook Marketplace. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, but don’t expect them to know much about the car’s history.
It doesn’t look too bad outside, but it does have a dent in the right front fender and what looks like a possible rust spot behind the right rear wheel. But the rest of the paint is shiny. I have to confess that I have always hated the rear spoiler on these cars; it looks ridiculous, and I’m sure it doesn’t do anything aerodynamically. I’ve seen one or two ZX2s without the spoiler, and they look so much better.
Sure, you could buy a Corolla or a Civic for the same money as these, but it’ll have way more miles on it, and I’m not convinced it would be a better car. These little Escorts are troopers, give or take a few well-documented flaws, and thanks to the Mazda DNA in the chassis, they handle pretty well, too. Neither one of these is exactly the right combination of features, so you’ll have to decide what’s more important to you. Are you going for the practical wagon with the lesser engine, or the sporty fun machine with the wrong transmission?
Today is definitely a “both” day. A little utility, a little zip, all for just a little cash. Plus the convenience of having one car still running while the other is getting age-related repairs done.
Laughed out loud at the instructions for looking up “Escort service”. I have a ukulele made by a luthier who called the brand “Wood Magic” I got it secondhand and wanted to learn more about it so made the mistake of Googling “Wood Magic” from my work computer. You do not get ukuleles.
Thought I was voting wagon but then found out today was a both option day, did that so I can have a less-slow little red wagon to go with the slow brown one.
So the auto gets a tach, and the manual doesn’t? My daughter had a 2003 Focus and it was the same way – the base level manual trim had no tach. What is/was Ford thinking?
“What is/was Ford thinking?:
They were thinking of AfFORDability…
The zx appears clean it’s probably not but why are $1k cars $3k to $4k still. The zx could be ok I guess.
If the ZX2 had the right trans I may have made the 9 mile trip up route 9 to take a look with real cash instead I’m using my pretend internet money on the wagon. Wait maybe I’ll go for option D and swap the manual into the ZX2….
Looks like something happened to the ZX link:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1307346844483607/?ref=category_feed&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post
I was going for the wagon – manual over automatic – but that check engine light. It’s not that hard to read a light this guy’s either an idiot – which means he probably didn’t change the oil enough – or it’s a symptom of something serious and he’s trying to sell it to a sucker. I keep a reader in my kit in case my own chariot starts complaining, so I could check it, but why bother. That wagon would be way cool and useful with the better motor.
Considering I had that exact same wagon, albeit in white and with the roof rack, I was initially going to go with the wagon. But the option for both, with a Zetec swap into the wagon, sold me.
Wagen Uber Alles!
Gotta go with the wagon. I had a ’95 that I picked up for $300 as a backup car for the 70’s Volvo I was dailying at the time. Apart from the less than comfortable seats and generalshitbox-ness one wouldexpectfrom such a cheap car, it was a really great little thing. It was reliable, got great fuel economy, practical, and surprisingly fun to drive.
I really like the ZX2. I briefly had one that I fixed and flipped during the tail end of the ’08 recession–my first flipper. Easy to work on, non-interference motor, and the Zetec is a great little motor. Okay, it’s a coupe, and the Ford oval everything made installing an aftermarket radio a minor hassle, but that car made my mortgage payment for a month or two. I voted both, as a Zetec swap into the wagon would make for an enjoyable drive.
Wagon for the win! I loved my 92 Escort wagon 5 speed. Mine looked good up top too but rust underneath killed it. It’s nice to see them carry on with the CVH (Constant Vibration and Harshness) from the 1.9L to the 2.0L.
I had the 2.0 and while moving that engine never bothered me. It wasn’t Honda smooth but it did the job and got 30 mpg going 80 with the a/c on all day. But stopping at a light in gear I could see the steering wheel vibrate up and down and some bit in the front end would rattle in sympathy.
Yeah mine easily got 30+mpg as well. I make fun of that engine but it never gave me any trouble. Timing belt snapped but it’s non-interference so no biggie. One quirk was, if I rolled to a stopped in 5th gear, it would be stuck in 5th gear. Badly. I’d be tugging on the shifter to the point I thought the linkage would break. I’d have to shut it down sometimes, pump the clutch a bunch and it would pop out of 5th. Learned to always pop it in neutral when coasting to a stop.
The wagon isn’t bad, but I’ll go with the ZX2, which seems like a decent deal for what you get.
Tricky not knowing the corrosion levels. Given that they’re both from the rust belt, I’ll assume they are equal.
I’ll go with the wagon despite having twice the miles and a worse engine. It appears better cared for. The driver seat and belt on the ZX2 look hammered and gross, and taking a low-res pic from the passenger side is almost certainly an attempt by the seller to hide how bad it is.
Stickshift wagon for me! That gauge cluster is a little funny, but one thing I love about cheap base model cars is that you can usually find factory upgrades at the junkyard/ craigslist/ or even ebay for cheap. It gives me a fun little project and would make the car even more lovable. I considered the both option to swap over every interior bits from the zx2 as well as the engine, but I doubt it would cost $3k to find that stuff piecemeal, and storage is at a premium.
Seems the little red wagon is the only choice. At least that’s my conclusion after clicking on both links and ending up at the same listing.
There’s no way that wagon isn’t rusted out underneath. Columbus LOVES to salt their roads. Probably the same for the coupe.
Also, I voted both only because I’ve never seen that as an option before and didn’t want to miss out on doing it.
Stickshift wagon for the win.
I can’t be bothered with nonsense like engine swaps. If you want a faster car, just buy a faster car in the first place and skip all the bother.
I almost went with both, but that swap idea brings up suboptimal memories of having one Escort wagon and 2 2-door hatches with two good engines and one good transmission combined, and thinking about trying to combine them, which didn’t even get past the stage of pulling an engine from any of them.
I went with the ZX2.
Everyone knows that the coolest version of the Escort was the EXP. Fight me!
I was tempted to vote both, but who am I kidding. I’d never get around to doing the engine swap.
Wagon for me.
Wagon HO! for me.
RUN away from the wagon and its craptastic SOHC motor. Not even a choice. ZX2, even with the slushbox.
When I saw the part about dropped valve seats I immediately thought of you.
Haha yup. The last Shitbox Showdown that included one of these Escorts the author completely overlooked the valve seat issue.
I went both, but assuming the wagon didn’t need another engine swap I’d just keep both. I have a weird soft spot for US market Escorts. In both cases I’d want to get a closer look though. I don’t believe there’s not more rust lurking.
lol, I figured a bunch would bite on the wagon and manual trans, I do agree the ZX2 should have a manual trans, but I can’t do a junker escort, I would never take the time to fix it when that engine light starts flashing. The ZX2 would get through the winter and with those miles would likely be a good car to flip to a new college age kid to destroy for that first year.
I had a ’99 Escort wagon, absolutely loaded. I kind of loved that car but the two issues were the seats (torture devices) and the CVH idle vibration. I had dreams of putting a Zetec in it, 15″ wheels from a ZX2, and seats from an MX-3 because really that would have fixed everything that sucked.
We did the Zetec swap on a ’98 Tracer. Bought a wrecked ZX2 and it was literally plug and play. Did have to swap a ton of stuff but it was worth it in the end.
I don’t have much interest in either. Neither are cool enough to be “fun” cars and I can get a newer, better daily driver for the same money with a little effort.
I voted for the wagon because it is red. Also, I will never accept that the ZX2 is sporty. It is just slightly less terrible to drive than typical econoshitboxes of its era. It is also ugly.