I remember these when I worked at ford. The price of a hatch was around £23.500 and the estate and ltd saloon approx £24.500+. Very nice car in their day but didn't catch on with enthusiasts and now is in banger territory.
I had an ex police one in 2003 with calibrated dials and SVP dampers and sump guard along with a build sticker on the b post from Ford SVP. As said it wasn't the best on fuel and driven enthusiastically would drink it quite a bit.