Escort Van

[Sam Thompson]

Thinking of getting either an Escort van or a Combo or something. Has anyone got an escort (I know a couple of lads with combos) of them? What sort of mpg are we getting? Are they reliable? Whats insurance like? Would you recommend one?

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Sam

[tractormatt]

i have a combo van and it seems to hold up ok, i can get 50mpg when it is not loaded but as it is a 1.7 non turbo it drops to about 30-35 as you have to put the boot in on thie hills but it is 12/13 years old so probably not what it used to be when new. isurance is pretty good under 400 for commercial 3rd party fire and theft last year for a 22 year old, the engines are isuzu so a pretty solid, the only weakness with vauxhalls apparently is the cambelt changes need to be kept on top of as they seem to fail more regularly than others don;t know if this applies to the izusu engine or just the vauxhall ones.

 

matt

[alex_m]

my work mate has an escort van, it does what its supposed to, just not very fast!

[harvey b davison]

have a think about a citroen c15. They are cheap as chips, economical, reliable, etc. Ok they are an old design, but so are escorts. Prefer the citroen any day.

[agg221]

Ran a 2000 model Escort van (ex Post Office) for 8yrs until Jan this year and I only sold it due to birth of second child and hence needing more seats for the nursery run. It was a non-turbo, 1.8 diesel model on a manual 5-speed box and I sold it at 105k on the clock. Before that I ran a 1994 Combo up to 146k.

 

I much preferred the Escort. It was ultra-reliable, just not very quick (mind you, I got it up to 95 on the long downhill on the M20 and only had to slow down on the uphill when the temp gauge started climbing rapidly!). The clutch was part gone when I bought it at 27k and still hanging on when I sold it. The only thing that lets them down is the rot. They go around the rear wheel arches (usually covered by the inner plastic lining), and at the rear spring hangers and the rear bumper mounts. The rear door seals went, which didn't help as the water ran in unless I parked it on a hill.

 

I averaged 45mpg over the 8yrs, and I was pleased with it overall. I could load it right up, and on the top (low enough to reach, unlike the Combo) and it never really struggled.

 

The Combo was definitely faster, even though it had a 1.7l diesel, and more refined, and had a bigger load capacity, but when things went wrong it was a pig to get parts for and really difficult to fix. Things really started packing up at 100k on the clock and it just got worse from there. Worst thing was the funny dome-shaped bit over the cab, which rots through at the edges and because it's fixed on with a rubber strip you can't just weld it up. I really wasn't sad to see that one go.

 

Alec

[Sam Thompson]

Ran a 2000 model Escort van (ex Post Office) for 8yrs until Jan this year and I only sold it due to birth of second child and hence needing more seats for the nursery run. It was a non-turbo, 1.8 diesel model on a manual 5-speed box and I sold it at 105k on the clock. Before that I ran a 1994 Combo up to 146k.

 

I much preferred the Escort. It was ultra-reliable, just not very quick (mind you, I got it up to 95 on the long downhill on the M20 and only had to slow down on the uphill when the temp gauge started climbing rapidly!). The clutch was part gone when I bought it at 27k and still hanging on when I sold it. The only thing that lets them down is the rot. They go around the rear wheel arches (usually covered by the inner plastic lining), and at the rear spring hangers and the rear bumper mounts. The rear door seals went, which didn't help as the water ran in unless I parked it on a hill.

 

I averaged 45mpg over the 8yrs, and I was pleased with it overall. I could load it right up, and on the top (low enough to reach, unlike the Combo) and it never really struggled.

 

The Combo was definitely faster, even though it had a 1.7l diesel, and more refined, and had a bigger load capacity, but when things went wrong it was a pig to get parts for and really difficult to fix. Things really started packing up at 100k on the clock and it just got worse from there. Worst thing was the funny dome-shaped bit over the cab, which rots through at the edges and because it's fixed on with a rubber strip you can't just weld it up. I really wasn't sad to see that one go.

 

Alec

 

 

Cheers Mate, really helpful reply

 

I'm looking at a Y reg one at the moment. A mate has it and has done a lot of work on it (He's a mechanic) but before that it was RAC. Its got about 100k on the clock, but they are "good" miles, all motorway and long runs. He's only selling it because he needs a bigger van. He reckons he does 600 miles on a tank (1.8D) and it cost £60 to fill the tank (?). Going to take it for a drive this next week and then price up a paint job (Its bright RAC Orange at the moment, I might leave it for the "Hi-vis" look though).

 

 

Cheers,

[mikecotterill]

I'm looking at similar at the moment, though I'm drawn to an astravan, o did have a days drive in a combo couple of years old, and did think it was noisy on the m/way. And that's coming from someone who drives a v8 90 daily! But maybe all small vans are like that?

[armchairarborist]

ford escort vans are the most reliable vehicle ever.. they reliably break down every week, you could set your clock by the one i had:lol: