My Love / Hate Relationship with the car of my Dreams (Ford Escort Cosworth)

Name: bunjeeman

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Product:	Ford Escort Cosworth
Date:	10/06/02 (874 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks, Performance, Tunability

Disadvantages: High Cost, High Insurance, Age

There is no doubting the visual impact the Escort Cossie has on people the first time they lay their eyes on it. As with many people, it was love at first sight. I was only 18 years old at the time of its launch and could remember saying to myself that I would be the proud owner of one someday.

8 years on and living in Hong Kong, I am pleased to say that my dream has come true and I am now the proud owner of an 1993 White Lux Model. How I came about to become the owner is another story in itself, suffice to say that luck had played a major part in it the understatement of the year.

As expected the car performs and looks the part, Ford had a very focused approach to the project and knew what exactly they needed for the rally car and what the public would want. The overall package they came up with, was not only impressive in its day, but remains so to this day. As with all the other reviews, the performance, handling, grip and looks are superb. Although there are some things that can be addressed as being faults, such as the massive turbo lag (I have the big turbo version), I just need to take a look at it and all is forgiven. Ford knew that the engine response would suffer with the larger turbo (experience gained from the Sierra RS500) but was deemed an trade off on the road car as it was very much needed in the Rally Car, which due to homologation requirements required the road cars to have the same basic configuration. It was so planned, that after the inital run to satisfy the homologation, Ford brought out the smaller turbo version of this car, which had much better engine response and drivibility, but ultimately less tunability.
There were advantages gained for the homologation, it meant that the roard car shared many of the rally car's inherent strengths such as an seam welded body (built by Karman, Germany), big brakes and strenghtend mechanical components. The chassis is much stronger than standard Escorts and the only panels
which are shared are the door skins, roof and rear hatch. The big brakes are very effective and can pull you to a stop quickly and with an minimal amount of fuss. There is ABS and discs all round for the road car, however there is an tendency for the front discs to warp if the car is driven too enthusiastically for long periods of time and an upgrade is highly recommended if you intend to increase the car's performance.

The Escort RS Cosworth is the first car in the world to feature EL lit clocks, basically the dials glow rather than lit by bulbs and the green tint at night is really cool! Recaro body huging seats come as standard as does leather clad steering and gear knob. My example has leather as well, but is too slippery when cornering hard!!! As expected airbags for the driver is available as an option or as standard on the smaller turbo version and the passenger can be optional.

However, there are drawbacks of owning one now though, as always the insurance is high and you are in constant fear of returning to the carpark only to find it going walkies. As the car was launched during the rise of car theft, Ford included all the security measures at their means as standard features which include and Vecta immobiliser, dead loacks and Fords own built in security system.

But the biggest problem now, is that even the latest cars are now almost 5 years old and mine being one of the early ones is now 9 years old. As with all cars of their age, constant repairs / replacements are required now and as in my case where the performance has been increased, things breaking is becoming an regular occurence. Parts are not that more expensive that the regular Ford parts and can be obtained easily either through the main dealer or from the RS specialists around. But as I reside in Hong Kong, I have to have the parts sent over by courier or post (can get costly).

These are parts that I have needed to replace:

Hoses (Coola
nt, Turbo)
Radiator (Upgraded)
Air-con Compressor Pump
Suspension Bushes
CV Joints
Ball Joints
Wheel Bearings
Engine Mounts
Various Engine Sensors
Spark Plug Leads

I would recommend anyone who is or has thought about buying one to do so, there maybe cars now which can outperform it but none will make you feel so special! There is no mistaking it for anything other than an Escort Cosworth!

I have converted mine to Phase III specification (approximately GBP1,000) which produces over 300 BHP, in real terms, this is is more than adequate to blow away the Imprezas and Mitsubishi Evolutions. I have compared the performace on the road with many vehicles and in an straight line, it was very similar to an Audi S6. Which has over 380 BHP and does 0-60MPH in under 5 seconds!!!!! More than enough for most people!

This ones definately not one for the shy and faint hearted.

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