Eruptionfm@hotmail.co.uk- thanks for the lengthy reply. Thing is, pretty much all of what you wrote is just personal opinion - there were no technical details in there. Suggesting that a twist beam doesn't work is plain lunacy. Is it as-good as independant? That's debatable. It's better than some, worse than others. Assuming that the maxi setup is actually better is a dangerous road to go down unless you have testing experience of both with data to prove/disprove statements.

Yes, the escort/fiesta/puma front arms are a crap DESIGN. They're not necessarily crap geometry, which is what is important when talking about handling. You don't let a few rubber bushes write off a car as a bad handling chassis. Of course, lowering most cars will adversely affect the geometry, including the mk3/4 Escort!

Putting a multi-link setup on a mk3/4 Escort does make it handle very well, but standard geometry i'd go with the later 'inferior' setup, as you put it.

I think you're confusing adjustability with good handling. Just because you make every link adjustable won't necessarily make a car handle. If the actual pick-up points are in the wrong place in the first instance, no adjusting TCA's or whatever will fix the handling problem (there is of course only one ideal static camber/toe/caster angle for a particular application with any given suspension design).