Series1Dry

would i expect from a standard or stage 1 escos (mixed driving). Was toying with the idea of getting one for ages and then the kids came along and i ended up with a mondy ! Now the kids are growing up a bit, i'm finding the temptation a bit much again. Also reliability. I know it's an old ford and it aint gonna be perfect but are they really as unreliable as people make out on here ? cheeRS.

Stoo

Mine has been 100% reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere. As for MPG..? No idea mate. Is it only me who doesn't know that kind of stuff? Unless it tells you on the dash I've no idea It's not that bad though, I'd say it was the same as my Focus ST but and the Cossie is running Greens ect..

Tonks

i used to get about 250 mile to a tank on my small turbo escos and that had a ggr305 conversion

jamie

booner999

i get 170 miles per tank...... running greens etc (stage 3) its only pushing out around 270bhp tho.

I didnt think it was too good

tabetha

Can't comment on MPG, as have 2wd sapph, but reliability I can.
They can be as reliable as the next car if treated right, though some parts are getting hard to get hold of, from fords anyway, but most stuff pattern ok.
Must be the easiest performance car to work on DIY, even the timing belt is dead easy.
Use a fully synth oil and take changes to 12,000 without problems.
Very cheap to maintain too.
I wouldn't have trusted mine when I bought it, as had been neglected, but was what I was after, so done most jobs now, just been stood 4 weeks with alarm/tracker on(charged once) started up on the button, never missed a beat.
The ecu's are a bit antiquated these days, but fine if you don't do loads of miles, if you do a more modern one would benefit the car big time.
I would personally go for a stage 1, minimum, as they are a bit sluggish as std compared with modern tdi's.
tabetha

frosty

mines running greys lived mapped and tuned by MSD pushing out close on 400 bhp, if i stick a tenner in and nail the arse off it i'll probably get 12 to 18 miles out of it, on the other hand i went to newquay in it which is nearly 300 miles from where i live, filled it up 55 quid and it got there on 55 quid with 2 kids misses and luggage at a steady 60 to 100 mph........not bad considering.......

Series1Dry

At today's prices that's high 20s for your 400bhp one, so stage 1 should return over 30 i'm guessing. That's not too bad really. We don't do too many miles so i could live with that

SortedCossie

i didn't buy it for economy, but i have a strangely economical small turbo escort (standard performance wise bar mongoose and K&N cone). On long runs I've done well over 450 miles on Ł60. I filled it the weekend for the first time since last october (it don't get used much over the winter) and it had done 310 miles which cost Ł53 to fill - thats over 27mpg which isn't bad for just using it around town with no runs to stretch its legs. I filled it to the very brim and yesterday went to a car meet, 22 miles each way, 50% motorway and the gauge hasn't moved from above the full mark.

with regards to running costs, again if maintained then they needn't cost the earth - in 4000 miles / 18 months mines cost me a massive Ł200!! and that was only for an oil and filter change, a new oil filler cap plus two lower front arms. OK, so i've also added some samco's and polybushed the front but they were changed through choice, not through necessity.

the only fault i've had is that if i leave it for more than 3 weeks the battery goes flat, but i hear a few have this problem - to do with the ford alarm?

Series1Dry

cheeRS for the info guys